The Prairie House, an innovation of architectural creativity, is now the focus of an ambitious restoration effort to preserve its place on the Oklahoma prairie.
Found just outside of Norman, the Prairie House was designed by architect and former OU professor Herb Greene and completed in 1961. The house has since been a landmark of creative inspiration and organic architecture, and now, a community of architects and preservationists are trying to save it.
“He built a house that was a poem to the prairie,” said Lila Cohen — manager of Herb Greene’s legacy of work, board member of the Prairie House Preservation Society and Greene’s great-niece. “Because of that motivation that comes from imagination and open creativity, he created something that had never been seen before, and that was because it wasn’t from any other place but from Oklahoma.”
In the post-World War II era, home architecture leaned toward uniformity with neat suburban houses dropped along the landscape. While most architecture schools in America were teaching the international style, Greene and his mentor — former OU professor Bruce Goff — taught that architecture should be more personal. This ideology didn’t always resonate with people who encountered the Prairie House.
“It did get mixed reviews because it’s a building that doesn’t look like a traditional house by any stretch of the imagination,” Cohen said. “It’s all about imagination, and so sometimes, when we don’t understand something, we categorize it in a negative way simply because we don’t understand it.”
Greene and his wife, Mary, both had a deep love for the open prairie, which Greene wanted to capture in his home’s design. The house can resemble a creature on the prairie, like a bird or buffalo, but it also features futuristic elements uncommon for the time, including an aluminum carport that sweeps up and over the house. Cohen said the work was the experiment of an artist because of the mix of elements.
After years of private ownership, the Prairie House fell into disrepair. In 2022, the Prairie House Preservation Society was formed to combat its decay.
“The house desperately is needing restoration,” Cohen said. “The building is very unique, and it’s a complex process to restore any building, let alone something that’s so historic and a work of art.”
The first step in restoration was creating a historic structure report to assess the building’s condition, funded through several Oklahoma Historical Society grants. The report found that while much of the structure remained in good condition, some parts, like the wood shingling on the exterior, had begun to disintegrate.
This led to an ambitious preservation project: mapping and scanning every exterior shingle, creating a detailed model to guide reconstruction and producing drawings for a contractor to recreate.
“That was a huge milestone, completing that cladding survey,” Cohen said.
Arguably, the most important step will be developing the master plan. Once completed in mid-November, it will determine the property’s ultimate purpose, whether as a museum, a place to hold various workshops or something entirely different.
“Ultimately, we’re not trying to rebuild it as a sculpture, as a static object,” Cohen said. “This needs to continue to live and breathe through the interaction that people have with it.”
The Prairie House in Norman on Oct. 29.
To that end, the preservation society regularly hosts public tours, which will reopen after necessary repairs are completed. Private tours are still available upon request. Special events are held throughout the year, and the group is hoping to host a string music concert this winter to coincide with the launch of a new capital campaign.
“We’re really expecting to ramp up programming at the house and invite the public to come and see what we’re trying to save and see why they might want to get involved,” Cohen said.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places at the end of 2024. While this status recognizes the home’s historic significance, it also places responsibility on the community to help preserve it.
It was also recently added to Oklahoma’s Most Endangered Places list for 2025. While the listing highlights the need for preservation efforts, it also acknowledges the home’s vulnerability.
“It’s a very bittersweet thing to be put on that list because it means the house is in an endangered state,” Cohen said. “It means that it’s at risk of disappearing, at risk of becoming something that we lose.”
The preservation society has operated entirely through volunteer efforts, unable to afford a paid staff.
“Working with an all volunteer board makes it quite challenging, but it’s also very inspirational and moving to see people who want to come on board and contribute their time,” Cohen said. “We have such a passionate board of people who deeply care about trying to save the building, and we know that there’s a community — statewide, nationally and even internationally — that don’t want to see this building disappear.”
One of these volunteers is Cayla Lewis, former executive director of Preservation Oklahoma and a newer board member of the Prairie House Preservation Society. She said when she saw that board members were needed, she said yes to the opportunity.
“I definitely want to be involved,” Lewis said. “I can be back involved in the historic preservation world and go from there.”
Lewis said she was glad to find a role that fits her background.
“My background is more in nonprofits, and there are a lot of people on the board that have architecture experience and construction and banking and that kind of thing,” Lewis said. “That is not in my wheelhouse, so I am just like, ‘Yes, I will help get your bylaws in order.’”
The Prairie House Preservation Society currently receives funding from multiple sources, including yearly online memberships, one-time donations and grants and partners. These grants include the Oklahoma Heritage Preservation Grant and the Lynn Rothschild National Register Nomination Grant. The organization has also added a corporate support option for businesses to donate to the cause.
Once the preservation society begins its capital campaign, it will launch into larger funding opportunities.
Ultimately, the Prairie House needs community support, people to celebrate the building and donate to the cause.
“The more awareness, the more love it can be shown,” Lewis said. “The more success will come with it too.”
The Prairie House is located at 510 NE 48th Ave. Information on complimentary tours is available online.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Avery Avery and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
