Area 1 acre (0.40 ha) Architect Goff, Bruce | Built 1950 Architectural style Organic, Other | |
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Location 5801 NW 178th St., Edmond, Oklahoma MPS Bruce Goff Designed Resources in Oklahoma MPS | ||
The Hopewell Baptist Church in northwestern Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, also known as the Church of Edmond and as Tepee Church, was designed by architect Bruce Goff. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
Contents
The teepee-shaped building was constructed by members of the church, who worked on evenings and weekends from 1947 to 1951 to build it. The peak, which is about 80 feet high, is an open metal bellfry containing no bell and 12 triangular windows. The base was finished with native rock and sheet metal.
The nave of the church was arranged in the round. The lower level held classrooms.
The exterior support structure features 12 exposed tapered trusses made of welded steel drill-stem pipes and painted russet color and secured by a compression ring. The 12 supports were nicknamed after the Twelve Apostles.
The building cost $20,000, and Goff reduced his fee for the design and for supervising the construction to $1,200. The design was intended to be imaginative on a frugal budget, using surplus pipe and corrugated aluminum from oil fields, volunteer labor to weld the pipes and build the church, and local supplies like rock from quarries in nearby Calumet, Oklahoma.
Closure
In 1989, the building was closed due to water leaks, which developed after asbestos insulation had been removed, and due to the high cost of heating and cooling a building with no insulation.
Restoration
Asbestos was removed in 1999. The Hopewell Heritage Foundation was formed in 2005 to raise $1.25 million to restore the church, plus money to pay for maintenance. The restoration effort is being led by Elliott and Associates Architects of Oklahoma.
The roof was replaced in late 2013 by Jenco Roofing Company to prevent further decay.