Issue 118 October 10th 2018

The Headlines

E. Fay Jones Kiosk Unveiled To The Public

"A House of the Ozarks" is an interdisciplinary project led by Greg Herman and David Fredrick, professors at the University of Arkansas, which is designed to bring the residential designs of organic architect and Arkansas native, E. Fay Jones, to a wider public audience.

One component of this project is the development of a prototype touch-based kiosk, which will be unveiled for a trial run on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Fayetteville Farmers' Market on the downtown square in Fayetteville. The kiosk will be located on the southwest corner of the square, adjacent to the Fayetteville Visitors Bureau. Find out more here.

Frank Lloyd Wright Home In N.J. Slashes Price

One of only three homes in New Jersey designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright went back on the market over the weekend for $1.45 million, according its Trulia listing. At around 2,700 square feet, it is the largest of the three Wright-designed homes in the state.

Known as the James Christie House and designed in 1940, the Bernardsville home is located on more than 7 acres and has been on-and-off the market since June 2016, when it was first listed for $2.2 million. The one-story, flat-roofed home is a Usonian-style home, a design Wright explored in the latter part of his renowned career that blends a home with its landscape. Made of cypress, brick and glass, the home has three-bedrooms and three-and-a-half-bathrooms.

Besides the distinctive architecture, the home also has a great master suite and two fireplaces. Since the current owners bought the home in 2015 for $1.7 million, they have made a variety of updates, including replacing the roof and electrical upgrades. See it here.

Inside A 1970s Gem By Robert Green

Curbed Atlanta tells us that midcentury modern enthusiasts Simon and Anna Tabke are the latest owners of what they consider a stylistic survivor of decades past—and an invaluable asset for Atlanta’s architectural history. The couple closed Wednesday on a 1972 property designed by the late Robert Green, a revered—if unsung—local architect who was among Frank Lloyd Wright’s last disciples at Taliesin West in the late 1950s. The Tabke’s recent purchase near the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Springs reflects Green’s affinity for stonework, rounded walls, impressive room proportions, and sunken stone bars—and the organicism emphasized by his iconic instructor. See the photos here.

Wright's Brief Foray Into Kit Homes

In the early 1900s, many Americans were ordering homes from catalogs and then assembling the lumber, windows, and doors on site from a building plan. This provided a more affordable way to become homeowners. But it wasn't just companies like Sears and Montgomery Ward that were hawking "kit homes" according to an article in realtor.com.

In 1915, world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright also got in on the action. His goal: to give average American families the opportunity to own a beautiful, midpriced residence that featured many of his signature design ideas. His kit homes were designed to promote harmony, connecting family members to one another through shared spaces such as central fireplaces.

The models in his American System-Built Homes ranged from two-bedroom cottages to larger, five-bedroom houses, says Mike Lilek. He is curator of Frank Lloyd Wright Burnham Block, a collection of six of the architect's kit houses in Milwaukee. The modern homes featured hallmarks of Wright's designs, such as light-filled spaces and kitchens that were meant to be used by families rather than servants. Read more.

New Wright Product Poll: Which Coaster Design Do You Prefer?

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation licensing team is looking for your feedback. As the FLWF licensing department works to develop new products to further the Foundation’s mission to make Wright’s work accessible to the public worldwide, they invite you to share your thoughts. Let them know which color scheme of the Oak Park Home and Studio art glass windows coasters you like best. Take the poll here.

Hillside Theater At Taliesin To Be Restored

A $320,000 Save America's Treasures grant from the National Park Service, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Taliesin Preservation will be funding the restoration of the 120-year-old Hillside Theatre, The Wisconsin State Journal reported. The theater at Frank Lloyd Wright's 800-acre Taliesin estate in Wisconsin will undergo an $867,000, two-year restoration.

"There's all kinds of uses for that theater. It's just elemental to our living," said Minerva Montooth, a longtime resident at Taliesin and the director of social events. Public performances are held at the theater from May through early October.

The project will address storm water runoff issues that have compromised the building's foundation and exterior sandstone walls. It will also upgrade the building's heating and electrical systems, the entry foyer, the audience space and the performance area. A green room, bathrooms and storage space will be added to the basement.

The restoration work will maintain the footprint and cane marks Wright left in the grout at the entryway to the foyer. More here.

Appropriating Back An Architectural Icon

Nobody ever finished Hollyhock House like they were supposed to. Originally, Frank Lloyd Wright’s unique architectural wonder was going to be an expansive cultural complex including multiple buildings, gardens, and even an avant-garde theater.

Only the main residence and two apartments were completed, though. And even before they were, Wright was fired and replaced. Still, the famed Hollyhock House goes down in history as one of his most interesting and influential accomplishments, ushering in an age of Mayan Revival Architecture that Wright spread across the globe.

The tall, inclined upper walls, with their expansive ornamentation, and large entryways and windows were built to resemble pre-Columbian Mayan temples from the seventh century. It was the first of many Mayan Revival houses and structures that Wright built around Los Angeles and the world, and it is the subject of artist Clarissa Tossin’s Ch’u Mayaa, a 19-minute video that depicts traditional Mayan dancing in conjunction with Wright’s famous foray into Mayan culture, and was first commissioned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

To Tossin, the Mayan origins and inspirations for the building are often overlooked, ignored, or misinterpreted. “The idea was to make work that appropriates the building back and asks that this work of architecture be discussed in the context of a lineage of Mayan language.” Read more.

Applicants Sought For 2019 Visser Historical Preservation Award

March 15, 2019 is the deadline for applications for the 2019 Kristin Visser Historical Preservation Award.

The award, given by the directors of the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy, is presented every other year to an individual or organization in recognition of past work in historical preservation of a Frank Lloyd Wright or Prairie School building in Wisconsin or a contiguous state. In general, buildings constructed between 1900 and 1925 are given preference, and the restoration work shall have been substantially completed within the two calendar years previous to the year of application. The 2019 award will be given for work done during 2017 and 2018. The award is in the amount of $5,000.

Applicants are asked to support their applications with a statement fully describing the restoration project, including its state of completion, a supporting statement from the building contractor and/or architect, a letter or letters of support from scholars and/or working professionals familiar with the project, photographic evidence of work completed, and any other supporting materials. Applications will be judged by a panel of members of the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy, along with several outside experts/scholars.

The award recipient will be announced on April 15, 2019 and the award presented at the Seth Peterson Cottage on June 10, 2019.

The award is named in honor of Kristin Visser, who was instrumental in the restoration of the Seth Peterson Cottage and a tireless worker in its behalf. She is the author of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School in Wisconsin, and, with John Eifler, A.I.A., Frank Lloyd Wright’s Seth Peterson Cottage: Rescuing a Lost Masterwork. Visser, who was a planner for the Wisconsin State Department of Natural Resources, died in 1998 at the age of 48.

The Seth Peterson Cottage, located in Mirror Lake State Park, near Wisconsin Dells, is Frank Lloyd Wright’s final Wisconsin commission (1958) and, at only 880 square feet, one of his smallest. It was rescued from ruin by the concerted efforts of a local group of lakeshore property owners, spearheaded by Audrey Laatsch, and restored through a public/private partnership effort. Dedicated in 1992, it serves today as a unique rental cottage, managed by the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy.

The inaugural award was given in 2007 to Steve Sikora and Lynette Erickson-Sikora, for their work in restoring the Willey House, in Minneapolis. The 2009 award was granted to Paul A. Harding and Cheryl Harding, for their work in restoring the Davenport House, in River Forest, Illinois. The 2011 award was presented to Mary Arnold and Henry St. Maurice for their work on the E. Clarke Arnold Residence in Columbus, Wisconsin. The 2013 award was presented to Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin for the restoration of the B-1 ASBH in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the 2015 award was given to John Eifler and Bonnie Phoenix for the restoration of the Ross house in Glencoe, Illinois and the 2017 award was given to Gene Szymczak posthumously for his restoration of the Thomas P. Hardy House in Racine, Wisconsin.

Applications should be sent to award committee chairman Jerry Minnich, 821 Prospect Place, Madison, WI 53703. Questions may be submitted by e-mail: jminnich7@att.net. Learn more about the Seth Peterson Cottage here.

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