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By 1956, H.C. Price had made a fortune building oil and gas pipelines, but he wanted to give something to the city where he lived as a way to bring attention to the small community. His solution was to commission a 19-story tower designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who was then the world's leading architect.
Warned that Wright could be difficult to work with, Price is reported to have responded: "That is OK. I'll help him."
The tall, slim innovatively decorated building that rose from the Oklahoma prairie immediately changed the horizon. It continues today to be an attraction that brings people to Price's hometown. In 2003, eight floors opened as the Inn at Price Tower.
THE BASICS: Originally, Price Tower functioned as space for the H.C. Price Oil Pipeline corporate offices, retail businesses and apartments. In 1981 the tower was sold to Phillips Petroleum, which had corporate headquarters in Bartlesville. The firm used it as an office building before donating it to the Price Tower Arts Center in 2001.