Issue 359 May 24th 2023

The Headlines

2023 Auldbrass Tour Tickets

The Open Land Trust's 2023 Auldbrass Tours will be held Thursday, November 2, Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4. Daily tours to run from 8:30 am - 5:30 pm.

NEW THIS YEAR! On Saturday, November 4 only from 6-9 pm, a special ticket for "Auldbrass After Dark" will be offered. This is a special cocktail party plus a tour. Tickets are limited and inlcude food, beverage, live entertaiment and tours of the grounds and main house after dark.

For the daytime tours, there will be Morning and Afternoon Tickets. The division of tickets is to assist with the flow of the MAIN HOUSE portion of the tour.

A buyer of a MORNING ticket has the ability to tour the MAIN HOUSE from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. You may stay on property longer but your ticket restricts you to the MAIN HOUSE portion of the tour to the morning session.

A buyer of an AFTERNOON ticket has the ability to tour the MAIN HOUSE from 12:31 PM - 5:30 PM. You may come earlier or stay on property longer but your ticket restricts you to the MAIN HOUSE portion of the tour to the afternoon session. The only exception is on Saturday Afternoon! Saturday Afternoon tickets will end at 4:00 pm.

ALL TICKETS ARE PERMITTED TO 1 TOUR THROUGH THE MAIN HOUSE! All other areas of the property are open and may be toured at your leisure.

Wade House's 'FLW: A Wisconsin Original' Exhibit

Wade House, a Wisconsin Historical Society site, is excited to announce a May 27 opening of the regular season as well as a robust calendar of upcoming events. The expansive, 240-acre site includes an 1850s stagecoach inn that once served travelers of the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac plank road, an active blacksmith shop, a working water-powered sawmill with a rare up-and-down Muley saw, and a vast collection of impeccably preserved carriages on display in the Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum. Visitors to Wade House experience aspects of everyday life in 19th century Wisconsin before railroads and automobiles transformed the landscape.

“A special feature is the opportunity to take a horse-drawn vehicle ride from the visitor center to the historic area, immersing guests in the site’s major theme of the horse-powered economy of the 19th century,” said Wade House Site Director Bridgitt Zielke. “Guests can also view the exhibit ‘Frank Lloyd Wright: A Wisconsin Original,’ which features a display of horse-drawn carriages once owned and used by famed architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as rare photographs of the original Taliesin.”

"Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin" Offers Guide To Architect's Work

Milwaukee author Kristine Hansen has new book, Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin: How America's Most Famous Architect Found Inspiration in His Home State, due to hit the shelves June 1.

Fans of "America's most famous architect" will find a lot to love about this multifaceted book according to Keith Uhlig of the Wausau Daily Herald. It's part guidebook, part biography and part coffee-table photo book. Hansen takes readers on a tour of nearly 40 individual Frank Lloyd Wright creations throughout Wisconsin, including some that have been demolished, and some that were designed by designers who learned directly from Wright and followed in his aesthetic footsteps.

The Wright sites are organized by region and Hansen offers up detailed profiles of each site, and notes whether Wright fans can visit, tour or stay overnight in building. There are many indoor and outdoor photos for each site as well, many of which feature the deep reds that come from natural wood and brick. Hansen interviews current residents, caretakers and managers of the Wright sites as well, offering readers insight into what it's like to live and work in them.

Wright In Kankakee To Partake In Museum Assessment Program

The American Alliance of Museums, the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, recently selected a new cohort of museums to participate in its 2023 Museum Assessment Program, including Wright In Kankakee — the Frank Lloyd Wright/B. Harley Bradley House.

Since its inception in 1981, the Museum Assessment Program has helped more than 5,000 small and mid-sized museums of all types strengthen operations, plan for the future and meet standards. With five types of assessments available, over 60% of AAM-accredited museums have participated in the program.

To participate in the Museum Assessment Program, museums choose from one of five institutional assessment types: Organizational, Collections Stewardship, Education & Interpretation, Community & Audience Engagement, or Board Leadership.

All five assessment types are grounded in AAM’s Core Standards; are inclusive of Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion issues as they relate to the assessment focus; help museums look at both functional and strategic aspects of their operations, and present focused learning modules and action plans for the museum to progress through; and include a peer-reviewed site visit.

Over one-third of participating museums found the experience so valuable that they returned to participate another time in the Museum Assessment Program.

“Wright In Kankakee is pleased to participate in the Museum Assessment Program,” Robert Bohlmann, executive director of Wright in Kankakee, said in a news release. “The process will guide the preservation, planning and promotion of the B. Harley Bradley House as it continues to be a cultural asset to and support of the community.”

The benefits of participating in MAP are clear. Museums often gain clarity on an institutional roadmap or strategic plan, see positive impacts to their visitor experience or community response to their museum, grow in their ability to identify their strengths and challenges, or gain valuable assistance with updating museum policy, successes in fundraising and more.

Scottsdale, AZ Joins World Heritage Cities Organization

The Organization of World Heritage Cities recently granted the city of Scottsdale membership among an elite group of more than 200 cities from around the world home to UNESCO World Heritage sites.

With this acceptance, the organization recognizes Scottsdale as the location of Frank Lloyd Wright’s desert home and laboratory, Taliesin West, and welcomes the city as an active participant in international efforts to protect and preserve the heritage of mankind.

“Scottsdale is proud to join the Organization of World Heritage Cities in solidarity with communities from around the world,” Mayor David Ortega said in a prepared statement. “Taliesin West truly exemplifies where exceptional design intersects with our Sonoran Desert environment, here in Scottsdale.”

Established in 1937, Mr. Wright’s winter home in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains was forged from the natural elements of the desert, with most of the labor done by the architect and his apprentices, making it one of his most personal works and a premier example of organic architecture.

Taliesin West was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, alongside seven other Frank Lloyd Wright sites, in 2019. The list recognizes natural and cultural sites that demonstrate significance and influence on a global scale.