Issue 168 September 25th 2019

The Headlines

Frank Lloyd Wright’s 5 Key Works

Arguably the most well-known and revered American architect of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright, conceived of more than 1,000 designs and executed almost half of them over his nearly 70-year career. He had a sweeping vision, spanning places of worship; private homes and hotels; and museums, schools, and office spaces. Underpinning Wright’s designs was his belief that Nature—with a capital “N”—was sacred. His design philosophy of “organic architecture” proposed that built environments should accommodate the natural world in service of a greater whole. This year, eight of his buildings earned UNESCO status for their pivotal role in the development of modern architectural design.

Artsy is sharing five key works from the celebrated architect. View them here.

Group Fights To Save Century II In Wichita From Demolition

A group of people are fighting to protect Century II, a building designed by John Hickman, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, from what they fear is an effort to tear down the iconic building in downtown Wichita, Kansas. One of the organizers of the meeting, which was attended by about 100 people, said he believes an international consulting group plans to demolish the 50-year-old convention and performing arts center along the Arkansas River. The Historic Preservation Alliance is advocating for remodeling the structure instead.

Susie Santo is CEO and president of Visit Wichita, one of many organizations in the coalition of local government plus private and quasi-public organizations involved in the $700,000 Riverfront Legacy Master Plan. The group has hired Populous, a global architecture firm with a Kansas City office, to study the area along the river and form recommendations based in part on public feedback.

The timeline calls for the planners to present their findings in October, followed by a November presentation of various recommendations. Santo said she expects there to be about three different designs for the entire area, and while one plan may call for tearing down Century II, another may call for renovation. Read more here.

A Map Of Frank Lloyd Wright Homes In (Nearly) Every State

HomeAdvisor created a list of the 37 states that have a residential property built from Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs. To do so, they pulled information about the architect’s works from a wide variety of sources. The list included properties that have since been demolished, destroyed, damaged, renovated and restored, as well as those built since Wright’s death in 1959. To create a final map, they selected the most historically or architecturally significant homes from each state.

Technically the house in Hawaii was not built during Wright's life time, so it would not be seen as an actual "Frank Lloyd Wright" House. See the map here.

Lykes House For Sale By No-Reserve Auction

Just before his death in 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright initiated the design of the Norman Lykes House in Arizona. Apprentice John Rattenbury was appointed the architect for the home following Wright’s passing, and the project was built in 1967. The home was once listed for sale at $2,650,000, but will now be sold by Heritage Auctions in a no-reserve auction, with no minimum starting bid, on October 16, 2019. The Phoenix home is built into the side of the mountain, offering breathtaking views of the city. Wright designed the home specifically for the rocky, uneven site.

“This circular home with rounded windows and walls, custom built in furniture, and a crescent shaped pool is perched on a mountain overlooking Phoenix with a 180 degree view from the living room. Spectacular inside and out, yet noticeably calming, its curves follow the mountain backdrop.” – Anne Stupp, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Board of Trustees

See the photos here.

Riverside House Tour Features Designs By The Greats

After a five-year hiatus, the Frederick Law Olmsted Society of Riverside is hosting a housewalk – but not just another tour of fancy homes. This year's theme is Masterworks, and the Sept. 28 walk will cover six homes that span generations and were designed by architectural giants such as Frank Lloyd Wright, William LeBaron Jenney, William Drummond, Louis Guenzel, John Vinci, and Lawrence Kenney.

Included in this housewalk will be four parts of the original Avery Coonley Estate. The Coonley Bedroom Wing, designed in 1907 by Frank Lloyd Wright, was purchased by its current owners about five years ago. "When they bought it, it was in dreadful shape," organizer and Olmsted Society board member Mike Maloney said. "They've done an outstanding job restoring it. It's stunning."

Tickets for the housewalk are $45 each. They can be purchased individually or in conjunction with the Olmsted Society's HopStop craft beer festival, which is also being held that afternoon, following the housewalk. More information here.

Wright's Kalil House Goes On The Market For The First Time

One of the only two houses that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in New Hampshire will go on the market next month for the first time. The house has been in the family of Toufic H. Kalil since it was built in the mid-1950s.

The Kalil house is one of only seven built according to Wright’s Usonian Automatic design. Its exterior is made of colored concrete blocks that Wright expected the owner would pour himself. The house was built by Toufic and Mildred Kalil. A Lebanese immigrant, Toufic was a family doctor who went on to found Elliot Hospital’s radiology department.

Located at 117 Heather St., Manchester, the house officially goes up for sale on Oct. 9, priced at $850,000. Many of the original features — furniture, including stiff but comfortable cushions, a counter-top charcoal grill with fan, and a high-fidelity, vacuum-tube radio — remain with the house and are part of the sale. The house sits on a three-quarter acre lot which has mature white pines, oaks and other trees. See it here.

Lloyd Wright’s Calori House Seeking $1.7M

Glendale, California's bucolic Chevy Chase Canyon is graced with several homes designed by the gifted Lloyd Wright between 1925 and 1926. Along with the Pre-Columbian and Islamic-style Derby House, you’ll find the early-modern E.R. Lewis House, and the Expressionist and Spanish Colonial Revival Calori House, which is now on the market.

Listed on Glendale’s Historic Register, the two-story residence was commissioned by Dr. E.E. Calori, who only lived in the home for about two years before selling it. It got bounced around between various owners in subsequent decades, descending into an advanced state of dilapidation before getting rescued and restored in 2016.

Sited on a .28-acre lot, the updated home contains two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms within 2,190 square feet. Features include box-stepped doorway surrounds, groin vaults, barrel ceilings, wrought iron light fixtures and railings, two fireplaces, hardwood floors, a magnesite staircase, and French doors.

Per the listing, “in keeping with Wright’s organic roots, every room except the baths open to the out of doors.” Exterior spaces include a flat, grassy yard, a spacious dining patio, and a private deck off the master bedroom.

Curbed Los Angeles says the property is listed with Crosby Doe of Crosby Doe Associates at an asking price of $1.695 million. See it here.

Why You Should Love Kaden Tower

Kaden Tower, an office building in Louisville, Kentucky, is a multi-story structure decorated with floral-pattern terra cotta tiles from the Midland Terra Cotta Co. of Chicago. Kaden Tower was designed by Wright’s son-in-law and protégé, William Wesley Peters, who worked with Wright on such masterpieces as the famous Fallingwater house in Pennsylvania. Upon Wright’s death in 1959, Peters took over Wright’s firm, Taliesin Associated Architects, which is the firm of record for the tower.

“It’s a bold building,” says local architect Scott Kremer—people love it or hate it. "It was bold in thinking, bold in siting and bold in execution.” Read more here.

Robie House After-Hours Events Return This Fall

This fall, you and your friends have a chance to explore the Frederick C. Robie House after the sun goes down thanks to special after-hours programming at the famous Hyde Park residence turned museum.

Hosted by the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, the late-night series will provide guests a chance to tour the 1910 home at their leisure while enjoying live music, regional wines, seasonal beers, and presentations from historic interpreters and local craftspeople.

It is offered on Fridays starting October 4 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets run $40 (or $35 for Trust members). The last Friday after-hours event is scheduled for November 22. Get info and tickets here.

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