Weekly Note
The Thanksgiving feast is done and now starts the count down 'til Christmas! In all the holiday hustle-bustle, you may need a little respite. Enjoy this week's Wright Society Newsletter as a way to escape the mall madness. This issue brings you stories of a new architecture exhibit in Tuscaloosa; an update on Unity Temple's restoration; news of a Wright house sale; and a way for you to help preserve an important part of Taliesin West.
Enjoy the issue and let us know if you have any Wright-related news to share.
Happy Holidays and as always: Stay Calm and Wright On!
The Headlines
The Modernization of Tuscaloosa's Built Environment
An new exhibit at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum in Tuscaloosa, AL explores how the city was transformed by the architecture and vision of Taliesin-trained architect, Don Buel Schuyler. Follow the link to learn more about the exhibit. Read more.
Unity Temple Restoration Update
The Chicago Tribune reports that the extensive restoration being undertaken at Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple is expected to be complete in March 2017. It's a little later than anticipated...but better late than never! Read more on this once-in-a-lifetime restoration effort by following the link. Read more.
Wright's Cooke House Sells for $2.2 Million
The Virginian-Pilot reports that the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Cooke House in Virginia Beach, VA recently sold for $2.2 million to a local businessman who had wanted the home for more than 30 years. Find out more by following the link. Read more.
Help Preserve The Whitman Square at Taliesin West
Do the Wright thing and help The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation preserve the iconic Whitman Square at Taliesin West.
Frank Lloyd Wright took such inspiration from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass that he inscribed a passage, the 4th stanza from "Song of the Universal", at the entrance of Taliesin West, an area known as Whitman Square. Wright even adapted the text to fully demonstrate his Whitmanian approach to the architecture of Taliesin West.
In the 1950s, it is believed a truck drove across the slab, causing large cracks that still remain. Further, the paint has cracked and peeled, making it visually unappealing and the words illegible.
Restoring Whitman Square will help welcome visitors to Taliesin West, beginning the immersive experience of Wright’s desert camp & winter laboratory. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has developed a plan to clean, stabilize, and repaint Whitman Square to improve its visual appearance, including a long-term strategy for ongoing maintenance to keep it looking great into the future.
Thanks to a generous donation from Barrett-Jackson, The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is halfway to the goal. They need to raise another $10,000 to begin the restoration. Your support will help repair the monument so it can continue, in Whitman’s words, “embracing, carrying, welcoming all.”
Support the restoration of Whitman Square today by following the link. Read more.
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