The Prairie House - which stands a few miles outside of Norman, OK - was the creation of architect Herb Greene and completed in 1961.
It's been variously likened to a bird, a bison, a steeple, a shed, a boat, a haystack, among other things. It's also been hailed as “an excellent example of organic architecture”, an embodiment of the American School of Architecture, and a masterpiece.
It's been in private hands and largely hidden for many years, but now it's in the process of being restored. How Curious host Rachel Hopkin went to find out more.
Read/download the episode transcript here.
The images of the Prairie House below were taken in April 2025. The building is currently in a fragile state and in critical need of renovation. The Prairie House Preservation Society was formed to oversee this project as well as organise the structure's future as a museum/creative incubator. To find out more, please visit https://www.prairiehousepreservation.org.
You can find out more about the work of Herb Greene at herbgreene.org.
Architect Lila Cohen is the great niece of Herb Greene and is currently working on a documentary about him and the organic architecture movement. More on that at https://herbgreenefilm.com.
Michael Hoffner is an Oklahoma City based architect. He wrote the successful National Register of Historic Places nomination document for the Prairie House. Michael was also the curator of the University of Oklahoma's Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art's 2020 exhibition titled "Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture." The exhibition can still be accessed in online form.
Beau Jennings is the Interim Executive Director of the Prairie House Preservation Society. He is also a musician and kindly allowed KGOU to use a piece he created with his band, The Tigers, in the episode; it's called Sooner Superette. For more on Beau, see https://beaujennings.com.
Many thanks to voice artist Nicole Poole for reading the Mary Greene letter excerpt in the podcast episode. Nicole is the founder of SPARK! Creative Lab and Ditty Bops: The Art of Listening project: an NEA-funded initiative using rhythm and Morse code to help Veterans express themselves through art and story. More at http://www.sparklahoma.org.
