Issue 185 January 22nd 2020

The Headlines

Help Bring Two Frank Lloyd Wright-Designed Tables Home To Hollyhock House

As Frank Lloyd Wright said in his autobiography, the furniture at Hollyhock House “was made part of the house-design itself.” And it is essential to his total design of the house, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Hollyhock House, in partnership with Project Restore, has a ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO BRING TWO ORIGINAL TABLES HOME. The site needs your help to raise $25,000, which will ensure that these rare tables remain at Hollyhock House forever.

Wright designed the custom tables for the living room–Hollyhock House’s most dramatic space and the centerpiece of Barnsdall’s planned arts complex. They are the only known components of the monumental fixed living room furniture to survive. Originally extending from the end of each sofa unit, the tables provide crucial construction information to guide future restoration efforts.

PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION OF $25, $50, OR MORE. For more information and to give, visit here.

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Unveils UNESCO Plaque At Taliesin West

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation unveiled a new plaque at Taliesin West to commemorate the site’s official inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Taliesin West was one of eight major Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings inscribed on the list in July 2019 by The World Heritage Committee as The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Taliesin West is the first and only cultural World Heritage Site in Arizona (The Grand Canyon is a natural UNESCO site) and the collection as a whole represents the first modern architecture designation in the United States. More here.

Taliesin West Outlines Early Events For 2020

When Frank Lloyd Wright established Taliesin West in 1938, the Scottsdale edifice was both his desert laboratory and a place of community, innovation, design, art, and performance. In keeping with that legacy, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is unveiling a lineup of community events in 2020 that focuses on dance, discovery, music and exploring Mr. Wright’s winter home in a whole new way.

Taliesin West will play host to monthly events in which the public, and Frank Lloyd Wright members, will experience performances, lectures, concerts and private tours, according to a press release. New this year, is the ability for guests to drink beer and wine during the Night Lights Tour. Read about all of the offerings for 2020 here.

Why Is It So Hard To Sell A Wright House In Chicagoland?

You would think that owning a home designed by arguably the most iconic American architect of all time would increase its value. But in the Chicagoland residential real estate market, you would be wrong. Several recent sales of Wright homes in the Chicago area have been selling for less than comparable homes on the market, according to a recent Crain’s analysis. The Henderson House in Elmhurst, was relisted Jan. 10 for $850,000, about the same price the half-acre lot the house is sitting on is worth. The price tag is also 20 percent lower than the average price of comparable homes in the area, according to the report. The Sherman Booth House in Glencoe sold for 52 percent below the price of others in its range. So what's going on? Read more here.

The Westcott House Foundation Awarded Grant

The National Endowment for the Arts announced that The Westcott House Foundation, located in Springfield, OH received an Arts Works grant totaling $20,000. The Westcott House is a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Prairie Style house in Springfield that was built in 1908 for Burton Westcott and his family and is the only Prairie-style home designed by Wright in the state. Art Works grants, which are given in a variety of arts disciplines, “support artistically excellent projects that celebrate creativity and cultural heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values and enrich humanity,” according to a release from the National Endowment for the Arts. More here.

Fate of Wes Peters's St. Mary Catholic Church Still Undecided

More than two years after St. Mary Catholic Church in Alma, MI was closed and the congregation merged with the Mount St. Joseph Parish where services are now held, officials at the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw haven't yet made a decision regarding what to do with the unique building. The church, located in the 200 block of West Downie Street, was designed by architect William Wesley Peters and the Taliesin Associated Architects and opened in 1970. Many church members and historic preservationists would like to see the building restored. However, the reason given for its closing was the significant cost of needed repairs and upgrades. Read more here.

Desert Camp Memoir: George Kastner and Frank Lloyd Wright

The newest issue of the Journal of Organic Architecture + Design is now available for order from the OA+D Archives website. "Desert Camp Memoir: George Kastner and Frank Lloyd Wright" presents the fascinating story of Wright's earliest designs for the southwestern United States, including Ocotillo and the Chandler Heights Citrus Tract Camp. The George Kastner Collection is the foundation of this issue. Kastner was one of Wright's draftsman during the late 1920s. The collection was obtained by Wright scholar Brian A. Spencer, curator of the landmark Prairie School Tradition exhibit and catalogue. Chock-full of several never-before-published images and new essay by author and architect Randolph C. Henning, it's not to be missed by anyone interested in Wright's architecture. Follow the link to order your copy or consider becoming a subscriber to not miss any issues! Order here.

About

This weekly Wright Society update is brought to you by Eric O'Malley with Bryan and Lisa Kelly from PrairieMod. If you enjoy these free, curated updates—please forward our sign-up page and/or share on Social Media.

If you’d like to submit content to be featured here, please reach out by emailing us at mail[at]wrightsociety.com.