A soaring 225-foot tower defines Tulsa's Art Deco church

In the heart of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Boston Avenue Methodist Church stands as a stunning monument to the Art Deco era. The design of the $1.25 million edifice is a collaborative effort credited to Adah Robinson and Bruce Goff, as well as the architecture firm Rush, Endacott and Rush. There is still some debate over who was more responsible for the building; the church credits Robinson with the design, while Goff experts maintain it is clearly his.

The original building consisted of a semicircular auditorium, a soaring 225-foot tower, and a wing containing classrooms. The tower's straight lines provide a visual and philosophical linkage to the Gothic Cathedrals of past ages while allowing the designers to indulge in the Art Deco celebration of the vertical. Like many other Art Deco buildings, the church revels in the use of various materials, including metal, glass, terra cotta, Indiana limestone, and Minnesota granite.

The exterior is decorated with numerous terra cotta sculptures by the Denver sculptor, Robert Garrison, who had been a student of Adah Robinson's. These sculptures include several groups of people at prayer representing Spiritual life, Religious Education, and Worship. At the top of the tower and other high points, stylized sculptures represent two hands raised upward in prayer, a motif that can be traced back to Robinson's early drawings.

Above the south entrance are the equestrian Circuit Riders, statues of the early Methodists engaged in spreading the Good Word. Two of the three riders represent historic individuals, Bishop Francis Asbury and Bishop William McKendree, while the third figure is symbolic of all the other men of God who did His bidding from horseback. The face on this center rider was created by Garrison using the church minister's father-in-law, the Rev. T.L. Darnell, as his model. Over the north entrance, idealized statues of John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and Susanna Wesley can be found.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons