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.
# posted by Unknown : 3:11 PM
