# The Frank Lloyd Wright Skyscraper That Sold for $10

Channel: Half as Interesting
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcftbR5rlfY
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/NcftbR5rlfY
Generated: 2025-07-10T04:35:45.928+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Frank Lloyd Wright's only realized skyscraper, the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, sold for a mere $10 in 2023 due to mounting debts and maintenance costs, despite its architectural significance. The building, originally designed in the 1920s and completed in 1956, faced financial struggles under its non-profit ownership, leading to its sale to private investors who also failed to manage its finances, ultimately resulting in another sale to a new preservation-focused company.

## Summary

**Key Points:**
- Frank Lloyd Wright's only completed skyscraper, the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, sold for $10 in 2023.
- Wright initially proposed a 10-story building for H.C. Price, but they compromised on a 19-story design, costing $2.1 million in 1956 (approximately $25 million today).
- The building's unique non-rectangular design included custom-designed furniture, which later became a point of legal contention.
- After the Price Company moved out in 1981, Phillips Petroleum used the tower for storage for 15 years due to an oil crisis.
- A non-profit, the Price Tower Arts Center, took over the building, but faced severe financial difficulties, losing nearly $400,000 in 2019 alone.
- The private investors who bought the tower for $10, Copper Tree Inc., failed to secure promised funding, accumulated $2 million in debt, and illegally sold protected furniture.
- A judge ordered Copper Tree Inc. to sell the tower for $1.4 million to McFarlin Building Company, with the proceeds managed by the court to pay debts and restore the building and its furnishings.

![Screenshot at 00:25: An aerial view of the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, highlighting its unique design amidst other city buildings.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-00-25.png)

**Context:** Frank Lloyd Wright, one of America's most celebrated architects, is known for his innovative designs like Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum. Despite a prolific career, he completed only one skyscraper, the Price Tower, in the small town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. This building, a unique adaptation of earlier, unrealized plans, has faced a tumultuous history of ownership and financial challenges, culminating in a recent sale for a remarkably low price.

## Detailed Analysis

Frank Lloyd Wright, renowned for iconic structures like the Guggenheim Museum, completed only one skyscraper in his career: the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. This 19-story building, finished in 1956 for H.C. Price, an oil pipeline constructor, was an adaptation of Wright's earlier, unrealized New York City plans from the 1920s, which were shelved due to the Great Depression. The Price Tower featured a unique non-rectangular design with triangular and acute angles, including custom-designed furniture, and served as a mixed-use space with offices and duplex apartments. After the Price Company moved its headquarters to Dallas in 1981, Phillips Petroleum acquired the tower, primarily using it for storage for nearly two decades due to an oil crisis. Around the turn of the millennium, the Price Tower Arts Center, a non-profit organization, convinced Phillips to renovate the building for $4 million and then donated it to them. The Arts Center transformed the tower into a cultural hub, housing a restaurant, museum, art gallery, and a boutique hotel. However, the non-profit soon faced severe financial difficulties, with declining donations, rising maintenance costs (especially for HVAC), and even bounced paychecks for employees, accumulating significant debt. In 2023, the non-profit sold the entire building for just $10 to Copper Tree Inc., a group of private investors led by Cynthia Blanchard. Copper Tree Inc. had ambitious plans to convert the tower into a tech hub, but their promised $10 million in preservation funds, largely dependent on loans and state tax credits that never materialized, left the building in worse condition. Debts ballooned to $2 million, and Copper Tree Inc. illegally sold some of Wright's custom furniture, which was protected by a preservation easement held by the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy. This led to lawsuits, and in May 2024, a judge ordered Copper Tree Inc. to sell the Price Tower to McFarlin Building Company for $1.4 million, with the proceeds going to the court to settle debts and restore the building's utilities and furniture. Copper Tree Inc. subsequently declared bankruptcy, leaving the future of the Price Tower in the hands of its new owners, McFarlin Building Company.

### Frank Lloyd Wright's Skyscraper Ambitions

- Wright designed many iconic buildings but only completed one skyscraper, the Price Tower, located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma
- His earlier skyscraper plans for New York City and Chicago in the 1920s were scrapped due to financial crises like the Great Depression.

### Price Tower's Unique Design and Construction

- H.C. Price, an oil pipeline constructor, commissioned Wright in the 1950s for a new headquarters in Bartlesville
- Wright, known for his strong negotiation skills, convinced Price to build a 19-story tower, significantly larger than the initially proposed 3-story building
- The design was a single-tower adaptation of his earlier New York plans, featuring non-rectangular rooms, acute angles, and custom-designed furniture.

### Shifting Ownership and Decline

- The Price Company occupied the tower until 1981, then sold it to Phillips Petroleum Company
- Due to an oil crisis in 1984, Phillips primarily used the tower for storage for about 15 years, leading to its deterioration.

### Non-Profit Revival and Financial Collapse

- Around 2000, the Price Tower Arts Center (a non-profit) convinced Phillips to renovate the building for $4 million and then donated it to them
- The Arts Center opened a restaurant, museum, art gallery, and a boutique hotel, but struggled with maintenance costs, declining donations, and accumulating debt, losing almost $400,000 in 2019 alone.

### The $10 Sale and Subsequent Troubles

- In 2023, the financially distressed Arts Center sold the Price Tower for $10 to Copper Tree Inc., a private investment group led by Cynthia Blanchard
- Copper Tree Inc. planned to turn it into a tech hub and promised $10 million for renovations, but these funds, largely dependent on loans and tax credits, never materialized
- The building's debts ballooned to $2 million, and Copper Tree Inc. illegally sold protected custom furniture, leading to lawsuits.

### Legal Battles and New Ownership

- The Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy sued Copper Tree Inc. for selling the protected furniture
- In May 2024, a judge ordered Copper Tree Inc. to sell the Price Tower to McFarlin Building Company for $1.4 million, with the funds managed by the court to pay off debts and restore the building
- Copper Tree Inc. subsequently declared bankruptcy.

### The Future of Price Tower

- The Price Tower's future now rests with McFarlin Building Company, a firm specializing in restoring old buildings, with hopes that they can successfully preserve this unique architectural landmark.

### Narrator's Attempted Purchase

- The video's narrator humorously reveals he attempted to buy the Price Tower for $10 in 2023 but couldn't even scrape together that amount.

![Screenshot at 00:10: Guggenheim Museum exterior](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-00-10.png)
![Screenshot at 00:25: Price Tower Bartlesville Oklahoma](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-00-25.png)
![Screenshot at 00:37: Price Tower sold for $10](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-00-37.png)
![Screenshot at 01:12: Empty wallet with scrapped plans](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-01-12.png)
![Screenshot at 02:15: Frank Lloyd Wright with 19-story building](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-02-15.png)
![Screenshot at 02:58: Price Tower interior living space](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-02-58.png)
![Screenshot at 03:15: Phillips Headquarters and Price Tower](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-03-15.png)
![Screenshot at 04:08: Newspaper article showing financial losses](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-04-08.png)
![Screenshot at 04:22: Cynthia Blanchard and Price Tower $10](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-04-22.png)
![Screenshot at 05:44: Frank Lloyd Wright custom furniture](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/NcftbR5rlfY/00-05-44.png)