Price Tower asks BAA to stay until they find a new space

Price Tower has invited the Bartlesville Art Association to stay in its current space while they search for a new permanent home.

The decision came after a recent meeting between BAA Board President Kathleen Rutledge, Copper Tree CEO Cynthia Blanchard and Price Tower Executive Director Donna Keffer, according to a Price Tower news release.

"It was never our intent to create a sense of panic on the part of the BAA to find another location," Blanchard said. "We support the arts and want to see a successful solution for (them)."

The meeting helped both parties understand each other's challenges and goals, the release said.

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Following the meeting, Blanchard and Keffer and Blanchard met with the BAA board to provide a solution to relieve any stress association officials were experiencing. The BAA is now welcome to stay in the annex throughout the summer, and even beyond if necessary, according to the release.

"We are pleased that we have this extension," Rutledge said. "The BAA board and our entire community have been searching for a suitable site for the past several weeks."

The desired location for the BAA would ideally encompass approximately 2,000 square feet on the ground floor, offering accessible parking, uncarpeted floors and a small office space for the BAA manager.

Earlier this year, a local group, Copper Tree Inc., purchased the iconic landmark as a way to save and preserve the beloved Bartlesville landmark.

Designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Price Tower was built in 1956 as the corporate headquarters for the H.C. Price Company. Price Tower remains the only Wright-designed skyscraper ever built.

In recent years, financial woes had led to a building in disrepair and left the nonprofit Price Tower Arts Center struggling to keep up maintenance on the historic property.

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Copper Tree CEO Cynthia Blanchard has a bold vision for the tower's future, with numerous ideas for modernization and licensing projects. The company has promised to infuse $10 million into updates and renovations in Price Tower to ensure its status as an Oklahoma tourist destination and Bartlesville icon.

Blanchard sees a future where a 19-room hotel and restaurant − open seven days a week − and the Copper Restaurant + Bar at the top of the tower form the core of the building's use, while secondary revenue streams make up the rest.

In recent weeks, Anthony Fischler, the owner of Patrick's Roadhouse in Santa Monica, California, has already begun transforming the 15th- and 16th-floor restaurant Copper restaurant into an exclusive high-end steakhouse called Wright Steak.