Wright in Chicagoland

Kankakee house walk to include Bradley House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

2011-11-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

Kankakee will be having its Holidays in Historic Riverview Christmas House Walk on December 4, 2011, its an opportunity to tour five classic Riverview homes decorated for the holiday season. Included in this years walk is the B. Harley Bradley House designed by architect frank Lloyd Wright.

The hours are 11am to 5pm. Tickets are $15.00 in advance, $18.00 the day of the walk. for more information go to Riverview Historic District

Kenneth Laurent House up for auction

2011-11-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

The Kenneth Laurent House in Rockford, Illinois is going up for auction on December 15, 2011. It has been listed with the MLS since January for $875,000, now reportedly the minimum bid will be set below $500,000.

The house is built of tidewater cypress and common brick. The Laurent House is a example of Frank Lloyd Wright's solar hemicycle homes. This Usonian home was built in 1952 as a single story, its a three bedroom home with approximately 2,600 square feet of GLA, and the only handicapped accessible house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Kenneth Laurent House at www.appraisercitywide.com

View the listing at Estately

Maywood Historic Home House Walk

2010-07-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

The North Maywood Community Organization will be hosting it's 5th annual Historic Home House Walk next Sunday July 11 2010. New on the walk this year is the George Stahmer House, built in 1913 and shown in the photo. The Stahmer House is a Prairie School design by architect William Drummond. Maywood has 17 houses on the National Register of Historic Places with more eligible, some of which will be open for interior viewing. The starting point for the tour will be 1st Congregational Church at 400 N. 5th (corner of 5th and Erie), time will be 1-5PM and cost $15. This should again be an exciting year for those interested in historic homes and architecture and a great opportunity to view an often overlooked community.

Waukegan House Walk - July 12, 2009

2009-07-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

The Waukegan Historical Society will have five vintage homes open for touring on Sunday July 12th between 1-5pm. Tickets are $14.00, $12.00 in advance.

www.waukeganhistorical.org

Maywood Historic House Walk - July 12, 2009

2009-07-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

The North Maywood Community Organization (NoMCO) is having their Historic House Walk and Trolley Tour on Sunday July 12, 2009.

This is a great opportunity to see some of the historic homes in Maywood, Illinois 60153

Tickets are $15.00 per person and the tour meets at the First Congregational Church located at the Northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Erie starting at 1:00pm and ending at 5:00pm.

NoMCO www.nomco.org

Tour la Minatura - January 26, 2008

2008-01-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

Friends of the Gamble House are hosting a tour of La Minatura in Pasadena on Saturday, January 26, 2008, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Here is an extraordinary opportunity to tour Wright’s unique textile-block commission, La Miniatura (1923), originally envisioned as a Mayan ruin set in a jungle ravine. Rarely open to the public, this spectacular private home is a restoration in progress.

Tour the main house, a mysterious and exotic blend of wood, stone and ironwork, and Lloyd Wright’s studio building, added in 1926.

Lunch, available for purchase, will be served in the gardens in the shadow of La Miniatura.

Frank Lloyd Wright said of this commission, “I would rather have built this little house than St. Peter’s in Rome”

Frank Lloyd Wright tour Jan. 26, $50 and $30 for students and FOGH members; lunch $20

The William Boswell House is on the market

2008-01-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

The William Boswell House a 5,500 square toot Usonian-style ranch has been listed with an asking price of $3.4 million.

The Cincinnati area home is often called the "lost house" of Frank Lloyd Wright.

For information: Carol Harris and Sheila Miller, Comey & Shepherd Realtors, 513-561-5800.

Take the Robie House Geek Tour

2008-01-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

A specialty tour of the Robie House on January 26th and also February 26th gives visitors a look at how Wright was ahead of his time . The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) tour, allows the visitor to analyze historic plans and construction photographs, assess building and design technologies of 1910 and see them in contrast to current technologies.

Explore how Wright?s revolutionary concepts were translated through innovative use of materials and construction. Geek's Guide to Wright's Robie House

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 12

2007-12-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

The Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio was started in 1889. The house was modified with the addition of a playroom in 1893 and the adjacent studio in 1898.

Merry Christmas to all!

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 11

2007-12-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Eve here is the William E. Martin House built in Oak Park, Illinois in 1903.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 10

2007-12-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Harry S. Adams House was built in 1913. This was the last Frank Lloyd Wright house built in Oak Park, Illinois.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 9

2007-12-22T14:52:00.000-08:00

Wright designed this Prairie Style house for Oscar Balch in 1911. Its located on Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 8

2007-12-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

This Prairie Style house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1909. The J. Kibben Ingalls House is located in River Forest, Illinois.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 7

2007-12-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

All decked out for the holidays is the Chauncey Williams House located in River Forest, Illinois.

This house was built in 1895 at a time when Frank Lloyd Wright was experimenting with new ideas.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 6

2007-12-19T12:13:00.000-08:00

Located across the street from the Heurtley House on Forest Avenue is the Hills-DeCaro House. This is a remodeling job done by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1906 and has many Prairie Style traits, stucco exterior, horizontal banding and

large overhanging eaves. The Japanese influenced roof line was popular with Wright at the time.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 5

2007-12-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

The Arthur Heurtley House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1902. The home is located on Forest Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois just down the block from Wright's home & studio.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 4

2007-12-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

The George W. Smith house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in Oak Park, Illinois in 1898.

Not a Prairie Style home it does show some of the influences with the large overhanging eaves. It has a shingle exterior and a Japanese influenced roof line.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 3

2007-12-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

The Laura R. Gale house was built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1909. Located in Oak Park, Illinois.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas - Day 2

2007-12-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Day 2 brings us the Joseph Jacob Walser, Jr. house built in 1903. This house is located in Chicago's Austin neighborhood and shows many traits of the mature Prairie Style.

Twelve days of Wright for Christmas

2007-12-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

Just for fun I have been taking some photo's of Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes after the recent snow.

For day #1 here is the William Winslow House located in River Forest, Illinois. The house was designed by Wright and built in 1893 and shows some early traits of the Prairie Style.

FLW in Japan

2006-02-25T06:37:00.000-08:00

Frank Lloyd Wright became obsessed with Japanese prints in the late 1880s, praising their design and composition, and in particular their "elimination of the insignificant." While designing 12 projects in Japan and overseeing the construction of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Wright found time to explore this magical country, always searching for hidden treasures.

You can take a 12-day exploration sponsored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust to see how Japan influenced the master during the formative years of his career. Tour three of Wright's remaining Japanese buildings and stay at the Imperial Hotel. For more information: www.wrightplus.org.

Create a house with Frank Lloyd Wright

2006-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

One of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust's most popular programs is the Youth Architecture Workshop, held every summer in the drafting room of Wright's first studio in Oak Park, Illinois. Young people in grades 7 through 12 learn architectural and design principles as they create their own buildings and get acquainted with the ideas of one of the world's most influential architects. With Architect Studio 3D, the Preservation Trust brings to young architects everywhere the exciting process of designing a home — hands-on. Starting as real architects do, with a client who has lifestyle preferences and a site that has its own environmental considerations, you will use your imagination to design your own architectural solutions.

Check out the Architect Studio 3D from The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust

Frank's Home to open at the Goodman Theatre

2006-02-20T07:45:00.000-08:00

Frank's Home will be presented first at The Goodman in November-December 2006, followed by Playwrights Horizons in early 2007

According to Goodman and PH, "It is summer, 1923, and architect Frank Lloyd Wright has recently left Chicago for California — the edge of the continent — determined to embrace Hollywood's youthful zest, mend broken relationships with his adult children and revive his career. He has recently enjoyed the successful completion of his latest 'wonder of the world' —Tokyo's Imperial Hotel — and is now poised to settle down and embrace his new home. But splintered family still has deep-seeded resentments.

Then news arrives of an earthquake in Japan that has crumbled his prized hotel to the ground. Or has it?

A stunning new play from one of America's best contemporary playwrights, Frank's Home is a lyrical, heartbreaking story about one of our greatest, if less than perfect, visionaries — a man who created a new architectural vocabulary, but couldn't create a home for himself and his family."

Read the entire article at Playbill

New York Approves Renewal Project in Buffalo

2006-01-25T07:58:00.000-08:00

The State Assembly has also committed $1 million each towards the new Frank Lloyd Wright Rowing Boathouse, and Frank Lloyd Wright Filling Station at the Buffalo Transportation/Pierce-Arrow Museum, both previously unbuilt Wright designs. The boathouse will provide a home for the West Side Rowing Club, the nation’s largest rowing club. Wright’s design for the boathouse was originally included in his Wasmuth Portfolio series of distinctive Prairie Style lithograph designs. The winged Tydol Filling Station will be constructed on the campus of the Buffalo Transportation/Pierce-Arrow Museum.

Read the entire article at Interior Design

The owner wants to rebuild Wynant House

2006-01-20T07:26:00.000-08:00

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Wynant House was a derelict, weather-beaten mess that had been quietly rotting away in a Gary neighborhood awash in poverty. Then it burned to a husk.

Now owner David Muhammad, a construction executive, says he wants to rebuild it.

Read the entire Chicago Tribune article.

Another Part of the Legacy Gone

2006-01-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

I drove out to Gary this afternoon to see what remains of the Wynant House. Fire has gutted the entire structure. It would be nice to believe that it could still be saved, but I think its a total loss.

Preservation Online noted that the two-story stucco house was one of only 11 of Wright's American System-Built houses, an affordable modular line the architect produced with the Wisconsin-based Richards Co. The Wynant House was the last model of its kind.

Read the entire Margaret Foster article at Preservation Online

2006-01-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

Wynant House Destroyed

Wilburt Wynant House destroyed by fire

2006-01-17T14:39:00.000-08:00

One of the last remaining examples of Frank Lloyd Wright's venture into precut homes was destroyed by fire January 9, 2006. The Wilburt Wynant House at 600 Fillmore in Gary, Indiana was an example of a American System Built Home. At the time of the fire the Wynant House was in the process of restoration by a nonpofit group.

The City of Buffalo and Frank Lloyd Wright Tourism

2006-01-16T01:07:00.000-08:00

Buffalo is hoping that their association with the works of FLW will mean increased tourism. As the home to the demolished Larkin Building, Martin House and the new Blue Sky Mausoleum, the city gets its fair share of FLW fans as tourists. But what about the general public? Will FLW be a tourism draw?

"There is a large collection of Frank Lloyd Wright followers who will find out what's going on in Buffalo on their own," said Ron Scherubel, executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in Forest Park, Ill. "What you want to attract are the people who don't follow Wright as closely."

Read the entire article in the Buffalo News

Frank Lloyd Wright house sale on hold

2006-01-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

Okemos owner aims to reschedule auction in future

The planned auction of the Frank Lloyd Wright home at 1155 Wrightwind Drive never happened.

The auction was first scheduled for Nov. 30, then rescheduled to Dec. 15 after news stories generated more interest in the 3,800-square-foot home.

"The auctioneer from Chicago got snowed in and couldn't make it up," owner Don Schaberg said.

Read the entire article in the Lansing State Journal

2005-12-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

The Nathan Grier Moore House, Oak Park, Illinois

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #12

2005-12-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

The Nathan Grier Moore House is located at 333 Forest Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. Wright built this modified Tudor Style house in 1895. Wright disliked the Tudor Style and only designed this house because he needed the money. He was able to give the house some Prairie features when he rebuilt the house after a fire in 1922.

2005-12-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

The Oscar B. Balch House, Oak Park, Illinois

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #11

2005-12-24T06:06:00.000-08:00

The Oscar B. Balch House is located at 611 N. Kenilworth in Oak Park, Illinois. This wood and plaster Prairie Style home was built in 1911

2005-12-23T08:10:00.000-08:00

The William Winslow House, River Forest, Illinois

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #10

2005-12-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

The William Winslow House is located at 515 Auvergne Place in River Forest, Illinois. Built in 1893 on a private street on the Edward Waller estate. The Winslow House was Wright's first important independent commission and his first attempt at reinventing the traditional house.

2005-12-22T08:18:00.000-08:00

Edmund F. Brigham House Glencoe, Illinois

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #9

2005-12-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

The Edmund F. Brigham House is located at 790 Sheridan Road in Glencoe, Illinois. Wright designed this house in 1908, it was built in 1915, This was Wright's only Prairie House that was built of poured concrete. The walls are 22" thick.

2005-12-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Isabel Roberts House, River Forest, Illinois

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #8

2005-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

The Isabel Roberts House is located at 603 Edgewood Place in River Forest, Illinois. Wright built this house for his secretary in 1908. The original exterior was of wood covered with plaster. It was remodeled by Wright in 1955. An English Oak tree grows thru the roof on the south porch.

2005-12-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

J. Kibben Ingalls House built 1909

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #7

2005-12-20T07:40:00.000-08:00

The J. Kibben Ingalls House is located at 562 Keystone Avenue, River Forest, Illinois. This house was built in 1909.

2005-12-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

Charles E. Roberts Stable remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #6

2005-12-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

The Charles E. Roberts Stable 317 N. Euclid Oak Park, Illinois was remodeled in 1896 by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Roberts House at 321 was also remodeled by Wright.

2005-12-18T08:20:00.000-08:00

Arthur Heurtley House built in 1902

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #5

2005-12-18T08:06:00.000-08:00

The Arthur Heurtley House is located at 318 Forest Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. Built in 1902 this house is currently offered for sale at $5,750.000.

2005-12-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

Ward Willits House designed in 1901

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #4

2005-12-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

The Ward Willits House is located at 1445 Sheridan Road in Highland Park, Illinois. This is considered to be the first "Prairie Style" house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was not built until later so it does not have the honor of being the first one built.

2005-12-16T06:15:00.000-08:00

W.E. Martin House, Oak Park, Illinois

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #3

2005-12-16T06:06:00.000-08:00

Wright designed this three story Prairie House for W.E. Martin in 1902. The house was completed in 1903. His success with this house brought Wright eight other commissions including the E-Z Polish factory, the Larkin building and the Darwin Martin house.

2005-12-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

H.P. Young House, Oak Park, Illinois

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #2

2005-12-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

The H.P. Young house is located at 334 North Kenilworth, Oak Park, Illinois. This was a remodeling job done by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1895. The house is in the Tudor Revival style.

2005-12-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

The Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio

Twelve Days of Wright for Christmas- Day #1

2005-12-14T15:47:00.000-08:00

Its not often that you see photographs of Wright designed homes in winter. For the next twelve days we will feature a Wright home in a winter setting.

Day #1 the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio is all decked out for the Holidays. Wreaths and garland decorate the outside and the playroom has a Christmas tree in the style of the last year Wright lived in this house, 1909.

2005-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

Wright-Bock Plaza Fountain Oak Park, Illinois

Wright-Bock Plaza Fountain

2005-12-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Located in Scoville Park at the corner of Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue is the Wrigh-Bock Plaza Fountain. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and Richard Bock, it was erected in 1909 by the Oak Park Horse Show Association. The fountain was moved and restored in 1969. More Photo's

2005-11-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

Thomas Gale House Oak Park, Illinois

The Thomas Gale House on the Market for $1,275,000.00

2005-11-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

The newly restored Thomas Gale House is listed on the market for sale. This was one of Wright's original "Bootleg Houses" that were built while he worked at Adler & Sullivan.

A new addition has been put on containing a new kitchen and master bathroom. Those interested can contact Todd Young the listing agent at Town Square Properties 708-366-0400

2005-11-22T21:19:00.000-08:00

Charnley Cottage

FEMA TO BULLDOZE THEM BY YEAR-END IF BUYER IS NOT FOUND

2005-11-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

URGENT HELP IS NEEDED TO RESCUE THESE SULLIVAN/WRIGHT COTTAGES FROM THE DUMPSTER!

Time is running out for these historic beach front cottages in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Designed by what is widely considered to have been the collaborative efforts of Louis Sullivan and his then chief draftsman, Frank Lloyd Wright in 1890, these cottages have withstood hurricanes, fires and a succession of owners for 115 years. It took the ravages of Hurricane Katrina to bring the four remaining of the several original structures to their knees. Some stables and other outbuildings had previously been demolished.

The "paradise, the poem of spring, Louis' other self," as Sullivan referred to his gulf coast getaway of nearly 20 years, was totally blown to bits by the storm surge that came ashore in the early morning hours of August 29, 2005.

Broken bits and pieces of the cottage are scattered over hundreds of feet of rear yard and heaped in piles at the tree line which filtered them out of the 30 foot wave.

Thanks to somewhat stouter construction and a slightly more protective topography, the cottage originally designed for Sullivan's friend and client James Charnley, was lifted off of its foundation by the rapidly rising water and accordioned-in upon its rear service wing, causing the eastern bedroom wing to collapse, while leaving much of the main structure largely intact, though severely damaged. The octagonal guest cottage with later additions suffered a similar fate.

If you or anyone you know has any interest or ideas of how these early and important works of the minds and hands of Sullivan and Wright can be saved, please contact the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy immediately at 312-663-5500 or preservation@savewright.org .

We are in constant touch with the owners and local preservation groups and are willing to convey any meaningful offers or broker any deal that will have a reasonable chance of success.

2005-10-30T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Arthur Heurtley House

The Arthur Heurtley House for only $5,750,000.00

2005-10-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

The Arthur Heurtley House in Oak Park is on the market with an asking price of $5,750,000.00.

Described as a Once-in-a-Lifetime opportunity to own the finest restored Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie Residence. The listing states the the "Restoration not only included a return to Wright's original artistic vision for the home, but also the accurate reporduction of furnishings (included) and a complete retrofit of the homes mechanical systems".

The house has been listed on the market for 53 days. Any interested buyers can call the listing agents Marcee Gavula or Carol Olsen at Baird & Warner 708 697-5900

2005-10-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

Price Tower

Skyscraper' exhibit opens

2005-10-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

Described by its creator as ”The Tree that Escaped the Crowded Forest,“ the Price Tower was visionary in its time - and remains relevant today - as Frank Lloyd Wright's only skyscraper.

First imagined in the 1920s for a New York site, St. Mark's-in-the-Bouwerie, then redesigned and built on the Oklahoma prairie for the H.C. Price Company, the Price Tower realized one of Wright's cherished ideals: Integrating office, commercial and residential space within a tall, richly decorative structure whose cantilevered floors ”broke the box“ of conventional construction.

Since completion in early 1956, the Price Tower has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, praised by architect Tadao Ando as ”one of the most important buildings of the 20th century“ and transformed into the home of Price Tower Arts Center as the centerpiece of the museum's permanent collection.

Now, to mark the building's 50th anniversary, the Arts Center will present a major exhibition, ”Prairie Skyscraper: Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower.“ With an installation designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, the exhibition will be on view at the Arts Center from Oct. 14 to Jan. 15, followed by a two-city tour.

Read the entire article at Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise

Katrina Guts Historic Homes

2005-09-13T01:25:00.000-07:00

Louis Sullivan's Ocean City home is destroyed by Hurricane Katrina reports the Chicago Tribune.

Sullivan's summer home was part of a four bubgalow compound partly designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Read the article at the Chicago Tribune

Creative thinking needed on Coonley quandary

2005-09-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

Judy Barr Topinka offers some advice on the roofing problem at the Coonley Estate. A reverse mortgage might do the trick. Read the article in the Riverside/Brookfield Landmark

Riverside commission’s right to table Coonley roof

2005-09-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

It all sounded so reasonable. Cook County Public Guardian Robert Harris asked the Riverside Preservation Commission to either accept or deny his office’s request for a certificate of appropriateness in order to re-roof the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Coonley Coach House in asphalt shingles.

Read the entire Darcy Lewis article in the Riverside Brookfield Landmark

Frank Lloyd Wright home faces costly repairs

2005-07-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

Associated Press

RIVERSIDE, Ill. - A half century ago, Carolyn Howlett and her husband saved a dilapidated Frank Lloyd Wright carriage house from demolition, filled it with their own paintings and photographs and restored it with loving care.

Preservationists say the home in this village just west of Chicago likely would be long gone were it not for Howlett - now a 91-year-old widow suffering from Alzheimer's disease. But now the structure's hallmark clay tile roof needs to be replaced, and Howlett does not have the nearly quarter-million dollars needed to restore it.

The public guardian with legal authority over her estate has proposed a solution that local preservation societies say would mar the structure's historic integrity: a $14,000 asphalt roof.

The situation has put preservationists in an awkward spot. They want to keep the home's design, but they don't want to displace Howlett.

"Everybody would much rather ... see the right kind of roof on a Frank Lloyd Wright house," said David Bahlman, president of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. "(But) it's hard to tell her ... that she's going to have to sell the house to someone who can afford to put the right roof on. You can't do that either."

It is the first case in which a Wright-designed home in need of restoration is under the financial control of a public guardian, according to Audra Dye, program director for the Wright Conservancy. The nonprofit organization works to preserve Wright-designed buildings.

Typically, when the owner of a Wright home cannot afford expensive restoration work, the residence is sold to a nonprofit landmark group, which has a better shot at getting grant money from preservation societies.

But Howlett's closest living relative, nephew Norm Sobol, said he does not plan to sell the house, which is part of a large estate built by Avery Coonley, heir to an industrial fortune.

Public Guardian Robert Harris earlier this month petitioned the Riverside Preservation Commission to put on the asphalt roof. The commission, which must approve major changes because of the home's landmark status, has yet to decide the issue.

Three local preservation groups say they hope to present Harris with alternatives to the asphalt fix.

"We'll talk about creative ways to solve the problem," said John Thorpe, a board member of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. "Nobody's got a quarter-million dollars sitting around."

2005-07-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

The Gordon House a Usonian house by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Gordon House at Oregon Garden

2005-07-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Gordon House is the only Wright-designed building in Oregon and the only one in the Pacific Northwest that is open to the public.

The house was designed to follow Wright's “Usonian” model, a design concept that changed the course of small house construction. His innovations included an open floor plan, gravity floor heat, carports, cantilevered roofs with broad overhangs and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Wright designed the home in 1957 for Conrad and Evelyn Gordon for their farm on the south side of the Willamette River in Wilsonville. The house was completed in 1964, and the Gordons lived there for over thirty years.

Descendants of the Gordons sold the property in 2000. The new owners agreed to donate the property to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy with a requirement that the house be moved off the property. In January, 2001, The Oregon Garden agreed to move the house by a March 15 deadline. The house was moved 24 miles south to The Oregon Garden where it was restored and dedicated as a public museum in March 2002.

Guided tours of the house are $5 and begin on the top of the hour. Those purchasing a $2 tram shuttle ticket in The Oregon Garden also receive a narrated introduction and self-guided preview tour of the main floor. Preview tours begin every 20 min.

Oregon Gardens

FLW Foundatation receives large donation.

2005-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

T. Denny Sanford gave the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation 425 thousand dollars, and this money will free up another 425 thousand in a matching grant. The 850 thousand dollars is the largest cas donatiion the foundation has ever received and wiil go for much needed repairs at Taliesin, Wright's home in Spring Green.

The money from Sanford's gift and matching grant will go to immediate roof repairs and start work on the repair plan.

Sanford is chairman of First Premier Bank, Premier Bankcard and First Premier Capital in South Dakota.

POPULAR SUMMER TOURS OFFERED AT TALIESIN WEST

2005-07-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Internationally renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright came to Scottsdale in 1937 to build his winter camp, Taliesin West.

Creating a new form of desert architecture, Wright established a legacy that is seen throughout Scottsdale. His influence is still on display throughout the city’s resorts and spas, churches and homes.

This summer, Taliesin West will host some of their more popular tours for visitors including Night Lights on the Desert, which treats visitors to the magical view of Wright's desert masterpiece lit from within. The effect rendered is the transformation of the buildings into oversized sculptures framed by dramatic views of the city shimmering below. Night Lights is offered Friday evenings at 6:30, 7:00 and 7:30 p.m.

And don’t think architecture can only be admired by adults. Through the summer months, children can learn about Frank Lloyd Wright as part of the Architecture Discovery Tours. Tailored to children, this tour provides an overview of the importance of architecture in daily life; the role of an architect; and how math, science, and shapes, colors and patterns of nature were used by Wright.

The tour is offered weekdays at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.franklloydwright.org or call (480) 860-2700.

FLW Building Conservancy Annual Conference

2005-07-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Annual ConferenceHistoric Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California, October 19 – 23, 2005

WRIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD:FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND HIS LOS ANGELES PROGENY, 1917-1941

During the years between the two World Wars, Frank Lloyd Wright and some of his most innovative followers found Los Angeles to be a place of special promise, as did many in the arts. Wright’s strong ties with the city began, in fact, in 1917, with his commissions from Aline Barnsdall for a series of buildings that would have transformed her beloved Olive Hill. Only Hollyhock house and two related residences were realized, but Wright’s sweeping vision for the site embodied a new, more urban sense of scale that presaged much of his later work. Sensing opportunities that the rapidly expanding city would provide, Wright even opened an office in Los Angeles following his return from Japan in 1922, briefly entering into partnership with his son, Lloyd Wright. During the years that followed, stimulated by new clients and new terrain, he developed architectural prototypes of far-reaching consequence. Exploring advanced building technologies and untried geometric patterns, he addressed a broad range of issues affecting the city, most critically suburban development and vehicular traffic. In his experiments with custom-designed concrete blocks, he sought an expressive, yet affordable building system of masonry units. Four realized houses of 1923-24 (Millard, Storer, Freeman, and Ennis) suggest the greater potentials of his unrealized schemes, most notably the Doheny Ranch development (1923) for what is now part of Beverly Hills.

Wright soon closed his Los Angeles office and returned to Taliesin, but Lloyd Wright remained, producing pioneering work of his own and establishing strong ties with the Hollywood community. Among Wright’s other Los Angeles progeny, two who apprenticed with him in the 1920s—Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra—pushed further in defining a new architecture for the area. Their continued explorations of new building technologies, and their perceptive responses to a suburbanizing, automobile-oriented city, distinguish the period. Before its close, Wright himself received new commissions within the region. As the Sturges house (1939) shows, he had begun to explore a new vocabulary. To supervise its construction he sent a young apprentice: John Lautner, one of a new generation of followers who would help shape Los Angeles in the post-War period. The careers of these younger architects, together with later Los Angeles work by Wright and his older progeny, will be the subject of a future Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy conference.

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Wright architecture school put on notice

2005-06-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Chicago group that accredits the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture sanctioned the school Wednesday, its namesake's 138th birthday.

The school will keep its accreditation, but it has been ordered to improve in five areas: administration, finances, enrollment policy, academics and its plans for carrying on Wright's heritage.

Read the story by Kate Nolan in The Arizona Republic

2005-06-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mr. Wright

"Profile America" feature for June 8 from the U.S. Census Bureau:

2005-06-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

Profile America Wednesday, June 8th. Some houses simply sit on the land others look as if they are part of the land and belong there. That was the philosophy of one of America's most influential architects Frank Lloyd Wright whose birthday is noted today.

His style, radical for the time, was based on natural form and featured open rooms, skylights and large windows. Some famous examples of his work are the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and the renowned summer home called "Fallingwater," built over a stream in Pennsylvania.

Wright continued to work until his death, at the age of 91, and his ideas still impact the work of the nation's 180-thousand architects, more than one-fifth of them women. Once can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at http://www.census.gov.

Painted Ladies Competition

2005-06-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

Registration is under way for the "Chicago's Finest Painted Ladies" competition. The 19th annual home beauty contest presented by the Chicago Paint & Coatings Association, is for colorfully painted homes and commercial properties within a 50 mile radius of Chicago. Houses and commercial property need not be of Victorian style.

The entry deadline is September 5th, www.chicagopaint.org

2005-06-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

Winner of the 1997 Chicago Painted Lady Contest

Restoration in progress

2005-05-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Those that toured the Harry C. Goodrich House during the Wright Plus 2005 house walk had a rare opportunity to se a restoration in progress. The walls were stripped down to bare plaster and the origional paint colors were revealed. The owners plan to restore the interor paint to Wright's origional scheme.

Its interesting to note that the owners are in residence while this work is being done. When you own a FLW home being in the middle of a restoration project must be the norm.

2005-05-16T06:33:00.000-07:00

Harry C. Goodrich House

The Harry C. Goodrich House

2005-05-16T06:29:00.000-07:00

The Goodrich House will be one of four private residences designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that will be open to the public as part of the Wright Plus 2005 housewalk this Saturday, May 21, 2005 in Oak Park, Illinois.

For information and photographs of other Wright Plus homes go to Citywide Services

2005-05-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Unitarian Meeting House

Ceremony for Wright Wisconsin buildings named National Historic Landmarks

2005-05-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Three buildings designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the Madison area will be honored today as National Historic Landmarks.

The First Unitarian Society Meeting House in Shorewood Hills will be the site of a plaque giving ceremony for that building and two others built from the 1930s to the 50s.

The U-S Department of the Interior named the buildings as landmarks in the last two years but the owners never received their plaques.

In a ceremony this afternoon at the Meeting House, that will finally happen.

The celebration will include a Welsh hymn with recorded words by Wright.

Read more at ABC7Chicago.Com

2005-05-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Burton F. Hales House

2005-05-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

The Hales House will be one of five private residences designed by one of Wright's contemporaries that will be open to the public as part of the Wright Plus 2005 housewalk May 21, 2005 in Oak Park, Illinois. The architect of the Hales House was Henry Fiddleke.

For information and photographs of other Wright Plus homes go to Citywide Services

2005-05-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

The William G. Fricke House, built 1901-1902

The William G. Fricke House

2005-05-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

The Fricke House will be one of four private residences designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that will be open to the public as part of the Wright Plus 2005 housewalk May 21, 2005 in Oak Park, Illinois.

For information and photographs of other Wright Plus homes go to Citywide Services

Wright Plus 2005 Saturday May 21, 2005

2005-04-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Michaels Guide to attending the housewalk.

The Wright Plus Housewalk is the main fundraising event for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. In the past 30 years some 60,000 people have attended the event.

Its a good idea to purchase your tickets in advance. Tickets cost $70.00 for a Preservation Trust member and $85.00 for non-members. You can purchase tickets on-line at www.wrightplus.org or at the Ginkgo Tree Bookshop at 951 Chicago Avenue next to the FLW home and studio in Oak Park.

This will be a very busy day so start early. Parking is free in the Holley Court Parking Garage. You can walk from there or take the complimentary shuttle. The tour buildings will be open from 9am to 5pm. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for a lot of standing. The lines will be the longest at the FLW houses and I always plan at being at the most popular house waiting before 9am.

Three public buildings by Wright are part of the walk. These include the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, the Unity Temple and the Frederick C. Robie House in Chicago. With you Wright Plus ticket you can visit these any time during 2005 so its not a good idea to fight the lines and see them on Saturday.

There are four private residences by FLW that are open. These include the George W. Furbeck House, the Rollin Furbeck House, the Harry C. Goodrich House and the William G. Fricke House.

Another four houses are included in the walk by architects Henry Fiddelke, Tallmadge & Watson, and George Maher.

Check out photographs of the tour homes at Citywide Services and enjoy the housewalk

A Night for Wright

2005-04-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust - A Night for Wright Friday, April 29, 2005 5:30-8 pm At the Chicago Antiques Fair, Chicago's Merchandise Mart $25 (includes general show admission). Buy tickets online.

Start the weekend festivities with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a live auction celebrating the great American architect and his renowned Chicago masterpiece, the Frederick C. Robie House. The evening benefits the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust and its historic restoration of Wright's Robie House. View one of Wright's magnificent art glass windows from the Robie House in a pre-restoration display.

Paradise Valley parcels set for auction

2005-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

A 20-acre mountaintop parcel once planned for a Paradise Valley home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is on the auction block.

For more than 50 years, the property has been owned by the Donahoe family, which hired Wright to design a luxury home for the site. Wright delivered the plans for the residence to the family in 1959, but he died two days later, and the home never was built, according to a statement from the auction company.

Read the entire article at The Business Journal

2005-04-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

The Russell and Ruth Kraus House

2005-04-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park

Set on 10 acres in the Sugar Creek area of Kirkwood, Missouri, is a unique and significant residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This 1,900 square foot residence, built for Russell and Ruth Kraus, was the architect's first building in the St. Louis area, and is one of only five Wright designs in Missouri. It is an excellent example of Wright's democratic vision, intended to provide middle class Americans with beautiful architecture at an affordable cost. The home is notable not only for its architectural integrity, but for retaining all of its original Wright-designed furnishings and fabrics. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its significance in American architecture.

Check out the WEB Site

2005-04-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hanna House

Building Silicon Valley

2005-04-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hanna House, nestled on a hill on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto. Built in 1936 as a “modest residence” for a Stanford professor and his family (although Wright’s estimated budget ballooned from $15,000 to $37,000), it is a series of hexagon shapes clustered around a central fireplace. The hexagons repeat as a leitmotif in carpet and bathroom tiles, prompting the nickname “Honeycomb House.”

Noted by the American Institute of Architects as one of 17 landmarks that represent Wright’s significant contribution to American society, the Hanna House was really the first “outside the box” design for Wright, who craved to free himself from traditional rectangular structures.

Greatly damaged by 1989’s earthquake, it took nearly 10 years and $2 million to complete a seismic retrofit, but the house has been re-opened for public tours by reservation.

Read the entire article in The Wave

Let Taliesin stream line management structure

2005-04-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

Taliesin, the former home of architect- icon Frank Lloyd Wright, is a valuable historical and economic asset to Wisconsin. But if the buildings and grounds near Spring Green are to make it to Taliesin's 100th anniversary in 2011, significant reform must occur within the organizations in charge of Taliesin and its larger companion campus, Taliesin West in Arizona.

The top reform priority is the Taliesin Fellowship, a group of architects and apprentices who carry on Wright's philosophies, living communally and working at Taliesin West and Taliesin.

Read more at the Wisconsin State Journal

2005-04-20T04:25:00.000-07:00

Taliesin

Wright Foundation could be in trouble

2005-04-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

Taliesin and Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Ariz., draw more than 150,000 visitors a year. Both are national historic landmarks.

But, The Arizona Republic recently ran a two-part series that detailed the difficulties of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the group that governs and runs both facilities.

The newspaper reported the foundation needs $100 million and has started an emergency fund-raising effort, even though it has managed to raise only $2 million in the last two years.

In addition to the financial woes, the foundation has been racked by legal and organizational wrangling. The Republic quoted foundation vice-president Beverly Hart as saying, "We are an organization in chaos."

Read the entire story at On Milwaukee.com

Park Inn plan draws raves from Mason City Council

2005-04-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

MASON CITY — A citizens group hoping to restore the Park Inn hotel got enthusiastic support from the City Council Tuesday night.The city owns the hotel and is looking for interested parties to take it over and restore it.

Last month, the council voted to advertise the property on eBay and also asked interested citizens to come forward with plans within 30 days.

A group calling itself Wright on the Park Inc. came forward Tuesday night sporting articles of incorporation, bylaws and a PowerPoint presentation."I've never seen this much enthusiasm for a restoration project," said Peggy Bang, one of the presenters, who is former chairwoman of the Mason City Historic Preservation Commission. "We have the expertise and passion to get this done."

Read the entire article in Globegazette

2005-04-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

Park Inn, Mason City, Iowa

The Park Inn is offered on eBay

2005-04-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

Offered for sale on eBay, Mason City's Park Inn Hotel (1909-1910) is the only hotel still in existence of the six Wright built. As the only remaining Wright-designed hotel, the Park Inn is internationally significant both architecturally and historically. The Park Inn is a prototype for Wright's world famous Imperial Hotel in Tokyo (1914-1922) and, in its massing, a forerunner of his Midway Gardens in Chicago (1914).

Check out the eBay listing for photographs of this project. Whoever buys this better be ready for a big time commitment of cash. The restoration of the hotel, is projected to cost $10 Million, of which the first $1.3 Million has been spent on stabilization of the roof, restoration of the external facades and replacement of 72 stained glass windows, lost through the years, with accurate reproductions.

The offering on eBay is controversial, who could be the buyer?, what will they do with the property. The Park Inn is on the National Register so there is protection there.

What would FLW think of the eBay offering? He was always at the forefront of modern things and he liked controversy.