Prairie House Preservation Society

06/04/2026

Last Saturday was another beautiful day out on the prairie.
Thank you to our wonderful community volunteers, both local and from out of state, who came together to care for the Prairie House. Some came for community, some for preservation, and some for the experience of being in this remarkable place.
We are so grateful to everyone who showed up, worked hard, shared stories, and spent the day with us. Whether you have been part of this effort from the beginning or are just discovering it, we hope you will join us at the next one.
Come love the prairie with us!

06/02/2026

Join us for a performance of immersive works encouraging reflection, creativity and appreciation for Oklahoma’s distinctive cultural and artistic heritage. Featuring artists: Chazlen Rook, Nicholas Foster, Cheyenne McCoy and Danielle Szabo. The house will open at 7:30 for a brief self guided tour. Concert on the lawn from 8:00-9:00. Light refreshments and seating provided. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities can be found at the June Prairie Concert tab on our website. Link in bio.

05/19/2026

Join us for Love the Prairie from 10am to noon on Saturday, May 30th! We will tackle indoor and outdoor cleaning and landscaping projects and learn a bit about the Prairie House. Following the work we’ll enjoy some fellowship with a cookout! If you plan to join, please let us know through the link in our bio or email [email protected] See you there!

05/15/2026

Attention creatives! Sunrise on the Prairie is an event for photographers to use the interior, exterior, and grounds of the Prairie House to exercise their creativity. This EARLY morning event will allow you to capture the Prairie House in ethereal dawn light. A light breakfast and coffee will be provided. This event is very limited in size to allow room for participants to use the spaces to their greatest advantage. Will we see you there? Registration at the link in our bio.

05/12/2026

Thanks to KFOR-TV for covering our Architectural Sketch Series event last weekend at the Cunningham House. We agree that this is a great opportunity in our great state!

Norman art class brings their own pencil and paper

05/12/2026

Our Architectural Sketch Series, in partnership with , continued last weekend with visit to Herb Greene’s Cunningham House in northwest Oklahoma City. It was another successful event, made possible through the support of our site sponsor, New Fire Native Design Group. A Native American-owned architectural firm that provides design services for tribal nations across the country. Their work includes cultural centers, judicial facilities, health complexes, and more. Also a giant thanks to the current owners of the Cunningham house, for allowing us to enjoy this fantastic space! About the Cunningham House:
“The primary spaces of the Cunningham House, overlooking a golf course, are recessed into a slope, creating a sense of security and privacy. At the same time, a sweeping roof extends toward the view, expressing both shelter and aspiration.
Free-standing, vine-covered trellises and brick piers facing the golf course allow the interior to come alive with flecks and rays of the setting sun, fulfilling the client’s request for indirect sources of warm light. The roof extension and orientation of the house also protect the vines from most of Oklahoma’s ice storms.
Vertical rows of dark umber brick headers are set within a field of common red brick selected by the client. These details carry the color of the umber-stained roof soffits into the walls and create a regular counterpoint to the irregular cream-colored flash marks in the brick. The curved soffits rhythmically modulate the richly three-dimensional interiors.
In contrast, the street and side facades remain intentionally neutral in deference to the surrounding neighborhood.” 📷: Mary Frantz

04/29/2026

Recently, PHPS board members attended a screening of the in-progress documentary, Remembering the Future with Herb Greene, at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona. This special event allowed us to connect with Greene's work and support board member Lila Cohen in her documentary debut. We look forward to the film's release, sharing the vision behind the Prairie House with Herb Greene fans everywhere!

About the film:
Remembering the Future with Herb Greene is a feature-length documentary exploring the complicated legacy of architect Herb Greene and the Organic Architecture movement. Filmmaker and architect Lila Cohen embarks on a personal journey to capture the multifaceted narrative of her great uncle's life, revealing the power of creative freedom. The film uncovers a story about a family's legacy, exploring layers of inspiration, prejudice, triumphs, and losses that shaped Greene's life.

04/21/2026

PHPS is thrilled to announce that we are among the recipients of a grant from The National Trust Preservation Fund that will assist us in the development of a Capital Campaign to begin the work of conserving the house and prairie.

04/16/2026

From the archives: The form of the Greene Prairie House is an attempt to get closer to the world of our actual experience. In its suggestion of forms reminiscent of many things while imitating no one specific thing the house becomes a metaphor, related to the personal interests of the owners. Rhythmic progression of boards and shingles make a pattern symbolic of the animation and movement of the natural things which constitute the landscape. We are finally required to respond privately to the public world of form and tradition. Everyone’s past experience being different means that someone will see something somebody else won’t see. The Greene House wants to enliven these variable responses as a function of an aesthetic aim. Among other theorists and architects, the work of John Hurtig was a strong inspiration on the Prairie House.

Photo by: Mary Greene 1960

04/07/2026

In collaboration with , the second event in our 2026 Architectural Sketch Series welcomed Bruce Goff fans to The John Frank House, designed in 1955 and built in 1956 in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. The house was specifically designed to showcase the Franks’ love for pottery as the proprietors of . The Frank’s imagined their house would be built of materials that they, themselves, made, cloaked in ceramics crafted in colours and forms that they loved.

Taking a moment to introduce our series instructor, Fred Schmidt, FAIA. Fred is a licensed architect and watercolorist. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and has spent decades contributing to the profession through design, mentorship and education. Fred’s architectural studies at the OU College of Architecture in Norman, OK and the Technical Institute of Architecture in Seville, Spain included free hand on-site drawing, architectural delineation and perspective, figure drawing, and watercolor.

Sketching is a passion that Fred has pursued throughout his career. He has traveled widely throughout Europe and the US sketching and painting watercolors of iconic historic sites and architecture and brings that experience to the sketch program. He utilizes mediums that include graphite pencil, pen and ink, watercolor and charcoal. Fred is a member of Urban Sketchers Oklahoma City and Plein Air Painters of Oklahoma.

This series would not be possible without the generosity of our site sponsors. The Frank House sponsor is Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, a global architectural firm that includes an office in Oklahoma City. Committed to designs of economy, elegance, and delight that make lasting contributions to communities, we are exceedingly grateful for their sponsorship.

Photos by: Katie Couch