Lortondale on the web

When you're talking about the historic preservation of buildings, the standard for "historic" is 50 years. That's the minimum standard for consideration for inclusion on the National Register for Historic Places.

The Lortondale neighborhood, east of Yale between 26th & 28th Streets, has attained the necessary age. In the early '50s, the homes represented a dramatic departure from traditional homes, with their low-pitched roofs, glass walls, and bright colors. (The neighborhood was developed on part of a farm that had belonged to the Lorton family of Tulsa Whirled fame, thus the name. The brick gate posts for the farm still stand along Yale.)

Several Lortondale residents with an interest in mid-century architecture discovered each other on Internet forums devoted to the topic, and now they've set up their own website at www.lortondale.com, which features the history of the neighborhood and photos of some of the homes.

Don't be too surprised to see this neighborhood seek historic status sometime in the future -- an entire neighborhood of architect-designed homes in a unique style is a rare thing.