Issue Nov 1st 2023  November 1st 2023

Tour Wright's Westcott House In Springfield, Ohio

In 1926, Burton Westcott died in his home—the most famous residence in Springfield, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright from 1906 to 1908. After Westcott’s death, the house changed hands, including an owner who divided the structure into six apartments in the 1940s. For half a century, the home operated as an apartment complex, concealing much of its architectural greatness. Over time, most people forgot about its former grandeur and provenance.

By the late 1990s, the building’s owner was struggling to maintain safe living conditions. The unstable structure suffered water and termite damage. Once treasured by all of Springfield, the home was falling apart. Local preservationists dreamed of restoring the home, but only a few historical photos survived. Then, in the early 2000s, the original drawings of the house turned up in Wright’s archives, and for the first time, a restoration project began to feel possible.

Partnering with a Chicago nonprofit, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the Westcott House Foundation began restoring the home in 2001. The daunting project took more than four years to complete and cost nearly $6 million. Today, roughly 45 docents give tours of the gorgeous Westcott House, which charges $20 admission for adults and $17 for seniors, students, military service members, Clark County residents and groups of eight or more. Visitors are advised to book reservations in advance. (The house is also available to rent for private events.)

During a tour of the home—Wright’s only Prairie-style house in Ohio—Westcott House executive director and curator Marta Wojcik references Wright’s first trip to Japan in 1906. “This house is so influenced by Japanese aesthetics,” she says. “If you pull the cream shade [over the windows], it almost looks like a shoji screen. The windows and the roofline look just like a Japanese temple.”

Click for more details: columbusmonthly.com  

Bruce Goff: Beyond Architecture Lecture

Join The the Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma for a Goff Lecture hosted by Alison Fisher and Craig Lee, curators of Architecture and design at the Art Institute of Chicago. Fisher & Lee are organizing a major retrospective of Bruce Goff for late 2025. In this lecture, they will share a preview of some key themes and objects driving the exhibition project, in particular their research around the full, rich creative practice of Goff that encompassed architecture, music, painting, and his personal collections. The lecture will take place Tuesday, Nov. 7 from 4:30-5:45 p.m. in Nielsen Hall, rm. 170. For more information, contact Angela Person (a@ou.edu) or Emily Warner (eswarner@ou.edu).

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Seeds Of Hope Celebration At Taliesin

Food, Faith and Farming Network will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its Seed Money Initiative and the first in-person event since the pandemic at the annual “Seeds of Hope Celebration” from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, Taliesin, 5607 Highway C, Spring Green.

The event features this year’s Southwestern Wisconsin Seed Money recipients and includes a locally-sourced meal prepared by Community Kitchen Co-op. Taliesin is offering a free tour of the property, gathering at 10:15 a.m. for a limited number of people. Registration for the event and optional tour is required. To register contact Linda Sheridan, lsheridanfffn@gmail.com, 608-513-8505. Suggested donation for the meal is $20.

The Seed Money Initiative offers small grants to a range of projects that work to build healthy, vibrant, sustainable communities by linking people and the land, producers and consumers, urban and rural.

Click for more details: wiscnews.com