An Art Deco Masterpiece
Today’s opening plenary of the National Preservation Conference was held in the spectacular Boston Avenue Church – a National Historic Landmark and Art Deco masterpiece. Seldom have I been so surprised – and moved – by an interior. The church was built in 1929 and is filled with great detail large and small. I took numerous pictures of the interior, several of which I’ve posted. Today has been a gray, rainy day in Tulsa, so the exterior shot doesn’t show off the building at its best. The stunning setting was a great place to hear the Cherokee Youth Choir, with a group of middle-school and high-school boys and girls who sang three beautiful songs in their native Cherokee. The keynote speaker was Chief Wilma Mankiller of the Cherokee Nation. She gave a terrific talk about indigenous people, ending with the old Mohawk proverb: It is hard to see the future with tears in your eyes. More to come… DJB