On a small lot surrounded by fraternity houses and single-family homes typical of the 1920s, Ran Oliver lives in a work of art.

Oliver, economics senior, lives in the H.E. Ledbetter House, which was designed by world-famous architect and former OU architecture professor Bruce Goff. Oliver moved into the house on Oct. 18 upon completion of the home's restoration to its original state in 1947.

"This place was really special then," Oliver said. "We were really excited to bring it back."

Original glory

Arn Henderson, OU professor emeritus of architecture, said Goff designed the house for Norman resident H.E. Ledbetter shortly after Goff arrived at OU in January 1947. The Norman community was invited to view the finished product located at 701 Brooks St. during a two-day open house in May 1948, according to "The Architecture of Bruce Goff" by Jeffrey Cook. Attracting 14,500 people, the open house was the largest non-athletic event at that point in Norman's history.

The two-bedroom, two-bath Ledbetter House is a rectangular, split-level structure. The bedrooms and a bath are on the upper level, the living, dining and kitchen areas are on the middle level and the den and a bathroom are on the lower level, which is underground.

Henderson said that one does not have to be an expert in architecture to enjoy the design of the Ledbetter House. "That's a building that one can appreciate on a visual and emotional level without really knowing anything about architecture."

Henderson said Goff placed emphasis on the natural world when designing the Ledbetter House. This is evident in the meandering sandstone wall on the backside of the house.

"It has an eroded quality to it like it may have looked in its natural state," Henderson said.

Goff also incorporated water into the design of the home. He created a waterfall that flows from the sandstone wall into a lily pool in the home's foyer, which is on the middle level.

Contrasting with the elements of nature are very "mechanistic" elements, Henderson said. These include a suspended disc-shaped carport in front of the house and garden shelter on the side.

"There's kind of a suggestion that architecture is an element of the natural world and the man-made world," Henderson said.

Also interesting to the design of the house are the series of angled panes of glass, Henderson said. Goff angled the panes because he didn't want people to see the reflection of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity house across the street. However, Goff did want to utilize the reflection of the sun and moon. He studded the pieces of cedar that separate the panes of glass with dime store ashtrays in order to create a sparkling effect.

"(Goff) had an amazing capacity to recognize common objects that might be used in architecture," Henderson said.

The creator

According to the Great Buildings Online Web site, Goff was born in Alton, Kan., in 1904. He began an apprenticeship at an architecture firm in Tulsa at the age of 12. Although he did not receive a college education, Goff became a professor of architecture at OU in January 1947.

Goff is most known for the homes he designed while at OU in the 1950s, according to the Architecture Week Web site. Henderson said much of Goff's work was influenced by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, with whom Goff was close friends.

Goff died in 1982 in Tyler, Texas. Architecture Week stated on its Web site that the Chicago Art Institute now houses Goff's drawings and personal effects along with a center for the study of Bruce Goff.

History of the Ledbetter House

According to records from the Cleveland County clerk's office, the Ledbetter family owned the house until 1956, when Joe and Elsie Rapier Taylor purchased the property. The Oklahoma Historical Society Web site identifies Joe Taylor as the former head of the sculpture department at OU. Although Joe Taylor died in 2000, the Taylor family owned the home until Norman resident Roy Oliver purchased it in April. The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May.

Re-capturing the original glory

Last spring, Roy Oliver's son, Ran Oliver, was preparing to return to OU after a year of studying abroad in Spain. Ran Oliver said he asked his father to look for "someplace cool, someplace different" for him to live that was close to campus.

Roy Oliver said the Ledbetter House went up for auction during his search. With its creative design, the house matched his son's request. After purchasing the home in April, the Olivers began refurbishing the home.

"It's nice to be able to preserve that piece of art," Roy Oliver said.

The refurbishing began last summer under the direction of Ross and Carson See. Ross See is an interior design student at the Harrington Institute of Interior Design in Chicago while his father, Carson See, is the owner of Sees Design in Oklahoma City.

Carson See said the team's vision for the house was to get it back as close as possible to its original state and update its functionality.

"That's the worth of the house -- to keep it the way it was," See said. "If we had changed it, it wouldn't be a Bruce Goff home anymore."

See said the design team tried to re-create the outside of the house exactly as it was in 1947. The team used the original landscaping plans as a guide. Many of the original plant species are again growing at 701 Brooks St. However, some of the original plants can no longer grow in Norman due to a change in climate.

The roof was also restored after there were leaks, See said. New skylights were custom built to fit in the exact locations of the originals.

Inside the house, the goal was the same, See said. "The vision was to get it back as close to the original as possible with the exception of functional new areas such as bathrooms and the kitchen. Structurally, color wise, everything else -- we tried to get everything back."

The design team used furniture designed from 1947 to 1952 that is still being produced today, See said. In the living area, there is a coffee table by 1950s designer Isamu Noguchi that has a plate-glass top and two curved, solid walnut legs that interlock. Also in the living area are a fox fur footrest, egg-shaped chair and soft lime and blue chairs. See described the curvy shape of the furniture as "sculptural."

"All I wanted was the forms of the chairs to be obvious, not the color," See said. "All the furniture was kept as quiet as possible to let the architecture exist."

Along with choosing furniture that would have been found in the Ledbetter House in 1947, the design team also used the original colors, See said. From the neutral color of the walls to the dark-colored wooden ramp leading from the middle to upper level, the colors have not been changed.

In the kitchen and bathrooms, the design team used modern features, including new fixtures and a round refrigerator. See said that although these items are recent designs, they are "of the essence of the original."

Parts of the Ledbetter House's refurbishing were filmed by a German film crew, See said. The crew was working on a book of Goff's works.

Life in the Ledbetter House

In his newly-refurbished home, Ran Oliver mingles with some bare-footed friends in the kitchen.

Tanner Condley, Ran's friend, said the Ledbetter House is one of the nicer places in which he's been.

"It's kind of different to have to take my shoes off when I come in here," Condley said.

Oliver said that along with asking guests to the Ledbetter House to take off their shoes, he and his roommate also make a special effort to keep the house clean. "We try to be very domestic around here."

Oliver said he greatly respects the Ledbetter House and is pleased with its restoration. "I think we've done justice to what the architect would have wanted it to be like."
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