Lortondale

[Hometown]

Here's some Lortondale photos Steve sent me.

First there's the cover of the original Lortondale brochure.


Looking into a Lortondale home from the backyard.


And finally a aerial view.  Here's what Steve says about it.  "You can see the Tulsa 1954 downtown skyline in the background, the old water towers that used to be by Bell's Amusement Park, and the railroad tracks through midtown, before the Broken Arrow Expressway was built.  The street in the foreground of the photo is Darlington Ave.  This photo was taken before Lortondale Second Addition was even paved and plotted, and prior to the construction of the original Lortondale pool.  You can see the vacant lots where the Lortondale pool was built.  My house is clearly there in the photo.  My guess is it was taken in the fall of 1954 or spring of 1955."

[hoodlum]

what you can also see in that bottom photo is the only butterfly roof house in all of lortondale during initial construction. That home belonged to the guy who did all of them plumbing in the neighborhood.

[Steve]

Thanks Hometown for posting those pics for me.  The second picture is my own house, looking into my living room from the back yard.  (Photo was taken by hoodlum about 2 years ago.)

I have often wondered why there is only 1 butterfly roof house, the one on 27th Street.  It must have been a custom request by the original owner, or an experiment by the architect & builder.  I think they look really cool, but I can see some potential water problems since it seems to drain all roof rainwater into 2 small spots, one front and one in back.  They were probably too unusual to catch on with the buying public.

(For those that don't know, a "butterfly" roof is higher on each end and lower in the middle, shaped like a "V" when viewed from the front.)

[hoodlum]

the butterfly house was specifically designed and built for the plumber of lortondale.

sorry for the use of "them plumbing", sounded very bad

[Steve]

I should also give credit for picture #3, the aerial shot of Lortondale phase 1, circa 1954.  This photo, and many other great vintage photos, was given to our neighborhood association by Sharon Honn, daughter of Lortondale architect Donald Honn.

The aerial shows Darlington Ave in the foreground, 26th St, 26th Terrace, 26th Place, 27th St, and part of 27th Place, all of Lortondale phase 1.  Lortondale phase 2 was built in the big open field at the bottom of the picture in 1955-1956.  Yale Avenue, still just a 2-lane road, runs across the center of the picture horizontally.  North is to the right.

[Hometown]

Here's another one from Steve.



This photo is a full page ad from the January 1954 "House & Home" magazine for the Chrysler Air Temp air conditioning company.  The house feaured in the ad was one of the original Lortondale model homes constructed at 21st Place & Pittsburgh Ave.

[Steve]

Thanks for posting that great ad pic for me Hometown.  I love the quote at the bottom of the page, "The Truly Modern Home Must Be Air Conditioned."  And Lortondale/Chryler Air Conditioning received the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval!"

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by teddy jack eddy

My house is the at the bottom and all the way to the left. It's the southernmost house that's completed; the one with the big patio on the North side.

Great!  My house is on 26th Street by where 26th St. and 26th Terrace intersect, south side of the street, very close to the Lortondale Pool.  I remember that your house sold within the past year or two.

Are you going to the neighborhood meeting tonight 4-5-07?  We are meeting with Ed Sharrer of the City planning department/Historic Preservation Commission.  He is going to discuss the recent architecture survey that has been made of Lortondale and the efforts to place Lortondale on the National Historic Register.  He will answer question from homeowners and explain the process.  I am also going to ask him about the recent controversy with the City BOA and the Preservation Commission.  Should be a very interesting and worthwhile meeting for all Lortondale owners to attend.

[AMP]

My sister and brother n law owned one of those homes back in the early 1970's.  I know a few folks that still reside in that neighborhood.  

Interesting architecture, nice neighborhood, had a big swimming pool private culb back then, pool is still there not sure if it operated today.  

Great photos, the logos and graphics are pure 50's.  Brings back lots of memories.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by AMP

Interesting architecture, nice neighborhood, had a big swimming pool private culb back then, pool is still there not sure if it operated today.  

Great photos, the logos and graphics are pure 50's.  Brings back lots of memories.

Yep AMP, the Lortondale Pool at 4941 E 26th St. is still in operation today.  It is still a private neighborhood pool for dues-paying members and guests only.  It was Tulsa's very first private neighborhood pool and has been open every summer since 1956.  Clean-up, preparation and maintenance is underway for the 2007 season.  

There is also a second neighborhood pool at the corner of 27th & Hudson for the Lortondale Second Addition.  It opened later after the Lortondale Pool.  This pool was open last year but there were rumors that it was being shut down permanently after 2006; I don't know what the status of that one is today.

[colemandavid]

does anyone know of any lortondale homes on the market right now?

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by colemandavid

does anyone know of any lortondale homes on the market right now?

The last one I know about was in Lortondale Second, at the corner of 26th St. & Hudson; that house recently sold.

There are 2 houses in Lortondale that I know are vacant, but no signs or indication that they are for sale.  Do a frequent search at www.realtor.com and search in zip code 74114.  Homes that are realtor-listed usually show up there.  It only takes about 15 minutes or less to just drive through Lortondale or Lortondale Second to check for "sale by owner" signs too.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

Here's another one from Steve.



This photo is a full page ad from the January 1954 "House & Home" magazine for the Chrysler Air Temp air conditioning company.  The house feaured in the ad was one of the original Lortondale model homes constructed at 21st Place & Pittsburgh Ave.

for those of you that want to stay historically accurate when you have to replace a unit, Fedders is the spiritual successor to Airtemp.

[dbacks fan]

A different viewing ang of current Lortondale.




The address is the pool.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

for those of you that want to stay historically accurate when you have to replace a unit, Fedders is the spiritual successor to Airtemp.

That's interesting to know.  When I bought my Lortondale home in April 1987, it still had the original Chrysler furnace.  The outside A/C unit was a round Freidrich unit.  I replaced the old Chrysler furnace in 1988 with a Carrier.  I still have the same Freidrich outside A/C unit to this day; I have never even had to have it recharged with coolant!  It is located on the east side of the house under the wide roof overhang, and is shielded from sun and rain pretty well.  I just make sure every year it is kept clean of debris (that damn cottonwood crap mostly) and it has been running strong for me for 20 years and counting.  Preventative maintenance is the key.