Issue 101 June 13th 2018

The Headlines

Pre-Order Your Copy Of William Wesley Peters: The Evolution of a Creative Force

To know William Wesley Peters was to enjoy him, and one could not overlook the abundance of his enjoyment of life and his enthusiasm for it in every direction. All of this was manifest in his architectural works. The “Box Projects” which he executed with no restrictions on his creativity are infused with all of these manifestations of his enthusiasm and his search for beauty in everything — much of it as a tribute to the enormous effectiveness of his extremely close association with Frank Lloyd Wright.

Just in time for Wes's birthday on June 12, The Organic Architecture + Design Archives announced that they will be releasing a very special limited edition, large format art book titled William Wesley Peters: The Evolution of a Creative Force that will reproduce for the first time Wes's Box Projects in full color and with accompanying contextual essays by the people who knew and worked closely with him. Designed by Taliesin Apprentice, John C. Amarantides, the book is a visually stunning, heartfelt tribute to a giant of a man and icon of Taliesin.

Be sure to pre-order your copy of this limited edition hardcover book, which is scheduled to be available by the end of June. More details here.

Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan Presentation In Mason City Iowa

Professor Kevin Nute will speak on “FLLW and Japan” on Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at 7pm in the Robert E. McCoy Architectural Interpretive Center in Mason City, IA. Professor Nute is the award-winning author of Frank Lloyd Wright and Japan: The Role of Traditional Japanese Art and Architecture in the Work of Frank Lloyd Wright, and he will speak to this topic. Kevin Nute is a Professor of Architecture at University of Oregon, a Wright scholar, and has lived and worked in Japan for four years. The lecture is sponsored by River City Society for Historic Preservation and a generous donation from Nancy and Chuck Sweetman. This presentation is free and open to the public. More info here.

Note: If you are coming to Mason City to hear Professor Nute’s lecture, you might also plan to stay at the Wright designed Historic Park Inn Hotel, and include take a tour of the Stockman House in the morning.

The Common Pattern Concerts: Glory in the Glore House

The next event in the School of Architecture at Taliesin's 2018 concert series, The Common Pattern, played inside some of the most exquisite Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the Chicago area will be taking place on June 24 at Wright's Glore House. In 1952, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a Usonian house in Lake Forest. Though he envisioned these intersections of brick and glass as model homes for American democracy, the Glore House is surprisingly grand. Featuring a two-story living room and finished with Honduran mahogany and salmon-colored concrete block, the house has no right angles, but instead spins out into the landscape with sharp angles. Enjoy as The Amabile Trio play all those angles in what is still a home for the future. More info on getting tickets and the future concerts here.

Taliesin West Celebrates Wright’s Legacy With Special Tour Opportunities

From June through the end of August, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West is offering the following specials on Insights Tours:

• Arizona residents will receive 50 percent off.

• Students ages 13 through college- level will receive $10 off Monday through Thursday.

• “Beat the Heat” special with tickets priced at $28 (or $14 with the Arizona resident discount) for the first tour of the day at 8:45 a.m.

As an institution that values the importance of education, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation would like to show its appreciation for teachers by offering free Insights Tours with proof of identification from July 16 through Aug. 12. Read more.

St. Louis Proud: Restoring Sullivan's Union Trust Building

Restoration St. Louis is restoring the Union Trust Building along Olive Street downtown. Built in 1892, the building is one of two still standing in St. Louis designed by world-renowned architect Louis Sullivan, and this restoration means bringing back all of the original details of his work and more.

“Louis Sullivan originally had a rooftop garden up here. We are creating a restaurant up here. This will be all glass so you can have panoramic views,” said Amrit Gill of Restoration St. Louis.

There will also be a bar and a rooftop pool. The top floors will house new apartments with hotel rooms below. Restored skylights that have been sealed up for decades will bring light back to the lobby. More here.

Preservation Expert to Visit Price Tower

The first step in assessing and protecting against threats to the long-term conservation of the Price Tower Arts Center will be taken with a site visit by preservation expert Gunny Harboe. The Chicago architect will lead a comprehensive conservation management plan for the Frank Lloyd Wright building. The assessment is funded in part by a recent Getty Foundation grant, under their "Keeping It Modern Initiative," granting $75,000 to the Price Tower Arts Center for this project.

“The Price Tower is a beautiful, architectural masterpiece designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who the American Institute of Architects called the greatest American architect of all time,” said Price Tower Executive Director Scott Ambler. “Our mission is to preserve this Oklahoma jewel for our visitors to enjoy every day, just as Mr. Wright intended. But to ensure the tower remains standing long after we are gone, we must pull back the curtain to expose what is not so attractive. During this process, we will assess the damages caused by Oklahoma’s harsh environment and the passage of time, and make plans to properly preserve our treasure for generations to come.” Read more.

A Field Guide To Beverly: American System-Built Homes

Chicago magazine maps out the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago, featuring the Frank Lloyd Wright's Howard Hyde House. Only 15 of these American System-Built Homes— Wright’s take on affordable housing—still exist in the United States. Two of them, including this one, are in Beverly. Read more.

Milton Stricker-Designed Home On The Hood Canal Listed for $619K

Curbed Seattle informs us that the Puget Sound may not have as many Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes as other areas, but he still had a huge influence on their local architecture through a disciple far more prolific in that area: Milton Stricker. The architect joined Wright’s fellowship in 1951, and spent the next four decades or so designing more than 130 projects—largely modern homes with a careful eye for the Pacific Northwest nature around many of them.

"If you get a gorgeous, waterfront home by Stricker, you don’t let it go. Maybe that’s why this Kingston home along the Hood Canal, built in 1978, is still with a grandchild of the original owners. But it’s time to let someone else have a chance with the two-bedroom, two-bathroom home on three quarters of an acre." See it here.

At 151, Architect Still has the Wright Stuff

Joy Wallace Dickinson of the Orlando Sentinel writes about Frank Lloyd Wright and his work in the state of Florida, including Spring House and the campus at Florida Southern College in Lakeland.

She also noted that earlier this spring, Wright expert Tim Totten drew full houses to talks at Winter Park’s Casa Feliz about Wright’s legacy in Florida; audience members traded stories about visits to Wright sites, especially Fallingwater in western Pennsylvania — named by Smithsonian Magazine as one of the globe’s must-see spots, right up there with the Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Canyon. Read more.

FLWBC 2018 Conference: Preserving Wright’s Legacy in Wisconsin

Registration is now open for the Frank Lloyd wright Building Conservancy Conference in Madison, Oct. 10-14, 2018. The theme of the conference this year is Preserving Wright’s Legacy in Wisconsin and it's the Conservancy’s first Madison conference in 14 years. The event will explore the multidimensional nature of Wright’s close, lifelong relationship to his home state, and efforts to safeguard his work there. Some 15 Wright-designed buildings will be toured, and evening events provide an opportunity to connect with friends new and old. Register online now.

The FLWBC is also accepting applications for the John Thorpe Fellowship for architecture/historic preservation graduate students and young professionals in the first five years of their career. Get info here.

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