Sunday, October 31, 2004
Wright Plus Housewalk 2005
Each year the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust does a fundraiser in Oak Park, Illinois called Wright Plus. The 31st annual Wright Plus benefit housewalk, will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2005.
In adition to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio, and the Frederick Robie house in Chicago, another 4 private, homes by Wright will be open to the public. In addition to this there are 6 other homes of similar vintage that were designed by Wright’s contemporaries. All of these homes are staffed with volunteers that give interpretive information about the architect, history of the house and people for whom the home was built.
Proceeds from Wright Plus support the restoration, preservation and education programs of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. Tickets go on sale March 1, 2005. Ticket prices were not available on their web site. To receive more information regarding the 2005 Wright Plus Housewalk, please provide your name and address to info@wrightplus.org
In adition to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio, and the Frederick Robie house in Chicago, another 4 private, homes by Wright will be open to the public. In addition to this there are 6 other homes of similar vintage that were designed by Wright’s contemporaries. All of these homes are staffed with volunteers that give interpretive information about the architect, history of the house and people for whom the home was built.
Proceeds from Wright Plus support the restoration, preservation and education programs of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. Tickets go on sale March 1, 2005. Ticket prices were not available on their web site. To receive more information regarding the 2005 Wright Plus Housewalk, please provide your name and address to info@wrightplus.org
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Darwin Martin's mausoleum unveiled
An open-air mausoleum by Frank Lloyd Wright was unveiled in Buffalo Thursday, more than seven decades after the famed architect first designed it. Completed by Anthony Puttnam, a former Wright apprentice, the Blue Sky Mausoleum opened in the city's Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Twenty-four crypts, each with room for two caskets, are available for sale to the public at prices which are expected to rise as the mausoleum fills. A published report had one crypt selling for $300,000.
But the $1.2 million mausoleum is meant to be more than a final resting place for Wright aficionados. Tourism officials hope it will give architecture buffs even more reason to visit a city which prides itself on works by Wright, Louis Sullivan and Henry Hobson Richardson.
The mausoleum, is just one of three never-built Wright buildings going up in the city. A gas station and boathouse are still under construction, timed to complement the ongoing restoration of the architect's Darwin Martin House and Graycliff Mansion.
In 1928, Wright completed the design for the innovative burial chamber, commissioned by his longtime supporter Darwin Martin as a place to bury his entire family together. However, Martin lost his fortune following the 1929 stock market crash and the design was left on the drawing board.
Twenty-four crypts, each with room for two caskets, are available for sale to the public at prices which are expected to rise as the mausoleum fills. A published report had one crypt selling for $300,000.
But the $1.2 million mausoleum is meant to be more than a final resting place for Wright aficionados. Tourism officials hope it will give architecture buffs even more reason to visit a city which prides itself on works by Wright, Louis Sullivan and Henry Hobson Richardson.
The mausoleum, is just one of three never-built Wright buildings going up in the city. A gas station and boathouse are still under construction, timed to complement the ongoing restoration of the architect's Darwin Martin House and Graycliff Mansion.
In 1928, Wright completed the design for the innovative burial chamber, commissioned by his longtime supporter Darwin Martin as a place to bury his entire family together. However, Martin lost his fortune following the 1929 stock market crash and the design was left on the drawing board.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
The Thomas H. Gale House
Walking in Oak Park Sunday afternoon I came across the restoration & addition of the Gale House in progress.
The Gale house was built in 1892 while Wright was working at the firm of Adler & Sullivan. He was moonlighting and this design became known as one of the "Bootlegged Houses"
The house was sold on February 17, 2004 in "As Is" condition in the need of "Extensive Renovations" for $575,000. It was back on the market in July of this year being sold "As Is in Mid-Restoration".
I guess that someone got started on this project and then tired as all their money was sucked into this old woodwork. Welcome to owning a Frank Lloyd Wright home!
The Gale house was built in 1892 while Wright was working at the firm of Adler & Sullivan. He was moonlighting and this design became known as one of the "Bootlegged Houses"
The house was sold on February 17, 2004 in "As Is" condition in the need of "Extensive Renovations" for $575,000. It was back on the market in July of this year being sold "As Is in Mid-Restoration".
I guess that someone got started on this project and then tired as all their money was sucked into this old woodwork. Welcome to owning a Frank Lloyd Wright home!
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Allen Friedman House
This could be Wright's last !
This 3800 square foot Y shaped Usonian ranch may be Frank Lloyd Wright's final design. The plans reached Allen Friedman just days before Wright died in 1959. The house was completed in 1960 and construction was supervised by Wright's apprentice Cary Caraway.
The Chicago Tribune, interviewed Friedman, who was then 84. He recalled his experience with Wright following his discovery of the architect’s work through House Beautiful magazine. After an extended period of correspondence he met with the architect at Taliesin in Spring Green.
"He pulled up in a red Mercedes-Benz and he was wearing a cape, pork-pie hat and string tie. He bowed to me and said, ‘Mr. Friedland, what do you do?’ He mispronounced my name, but I let it go by." On learning that Friedman was a regional sales manager for a steel company, Wright said, "Oh, an enlightened businessman." "That I had come to him to design my home, in his mind, made me enlightened," said Fiedman.
The Friedman House escaped demolition in 2001. The house sits on 4 acres and was looked at as a prime candidate for redevelopment. After considerable local and national media exposure the house was placed back on the market and sold to a new owner interested in preservation.
This 3800 square foot Y shaped Usonian ranch may be Frank Lloyd Wright's final design. The plans reached Allen Friedman just days before Wright died in 1959. The house was completed in 1960 and construction was supervised by Wright's apprentice Cary Caraway.
The Chicago Tribune, interviewed Friedman, who was then 84. He recalled his experience with Wright following his discovery of the architect’s work through House Beautiful magazine. After an extended period of correspondence he met with the architect at Taliesin in Spring Green.
"He pulled up in a red Mercedes-Benz and he was wearing a cape, pork-pie hat and string tie. He bowed to me and said, ‘Mr. Friedland, what do you do?’ He mispronounced my name, but I let it go by." On learning that Friedman was a regional sales manager for a steel company, Wright said, "Oh, an enlightened businessman." "That I had come to him to design my home, in his mind, made me enlightened," said Fiedman.
The Friedman House escaped demolition in 2001. The house sits on 4 acres and was looked at as a prime candidate for redevelopment. After considerable local and national media exposure the house was placed back on the market and sold to a new owner interested in preservation.
