BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Frank Lloyd Wright’s only skyscraper, Bartlesville’s Price Tower, is in the middle of a lawsuit nearly two months after its closure.
2 News met Fred Schmidt sitting outside, sketching a picture of the tower. He wanted to see it at its best.
He fears the tower will fall from grace.
“There’s so much detail, there’s so much little stuff going on in the building,” Schmidt said.
Fitting for what is now the controversy around the tower, its owners are suing the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy and the Price Tower board to quiet the title—a court action intended to establish or settle the title to a property, especially when there is a disagreement.
Back in April, people spotted moving trucks taking artifacts away from the tower.
Ever since then, the owners have been at odds with the conservancy and the board. The tower closed about two months ago.
“Well, I hope it doesn’t mean that it’s going to start deteriorating,” Schmidt said.
- FOR THE FUTURE >>> 2 News spoke with Bartlesville's chamber on plans to preserve the tower's prominence in town
2 News called everyone involved in the lawsuit. We left a message with the owners’ attorney, but did not hear back.
2 News also called Brad Doenges, a prominent Bartlesville car dealer whose signature is on the deed that sold the tower for $10.
Doenges said he did not want to comment on legal issues.
The conservancy sent 2 News a statement, saying, in part, that they plan to settle disputes out of court. The statement accuses the tower’s owners of using the negotiations to buy time to prepare their own lawsuit.
Schmidt is an award-winning architect. He was the lead architect for the Oklahoma State Capitol dome and used to take architecture students on field trips around Green Country.
“[The tower] was one of the stops. We wanted them to see this fantastic piece of architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s a special building,” Schmidt said.
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