Issue 63 September 20th 2017

Announcements

Free Registration Now Open For 2017 Wright Society Virtual Summit

Today is the day! Free registration has opened and your fellow Wright enthusiasts are signing up already. Here's a quick look at this year's line up...

THE 2017 SUMMIT OFFICIALLY BEGINS OCTOBER 20, 2017

SESSION 1: Kathryn Smith, Wright on Exhibit - Kathryn Smith, historian and author, reveals enlightening research into Wright's exhibits and how they spread his architectural ideas.

SESSION 2: Roland Riesley, Life in Usonia - Original Wright homeowner Roland Riesley shares his earliest memories of joining the Usonian cooperative in Pleasantville, New York.

SESSION 3: Sarah (Muirhead) and Mike Petersdorf, Restoring the Muirhead Farmhouse - The story of three generations of family members living in Wright's Usonian Muirhead Farmhouse.

SESSION 4: Rob Barros, John H. Howe: The Poet in Stone - Rob Barros, documentary filmmaker and producer, discusses Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice John (Jack) Howe.

 SESSION 5: William Blair Scott, Jr., William Wesley Peters: Taliesin's First Fellow - Architectural historian William Blair Scott, Jr. shares insights into Wright apprentice William Wesley Peters.

Get all the 2017 Wright Society Virtual Summit details here.

You can even view the FAQ section if you've not previously experienced or heard about our annual virtual event. We think you'll be interested in attending for free—so be sure to sign-up!

The Headlines

Don't Miss Designing With Light Symposium

Don't forget to register for the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust's FREE "Designing with Light" symposium on October 1, 2017 as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Following an illustrated presentation by the three experts—French designer Hervé Descottes, Author and photographer Mark Hertzberg, and Thai architect Kulapat Yantrasast—Trust Curator David Bagnall will moderate a panel discussion and audience questions. Read more.

Developer Buys Chicago's Sullivan Center

"The Sullivan Center" (aka Louis Sullivan's Schlesinger & Mayer department store; aka Carson Pirie Scott & Co. department store) marks the latest high-profile purchase by 601W, which is best known locally for its ongoing $500 million rehab of the Old Main Post Office and its ownership of the 83-story Aon Center in the East Loop. The Sullivan Center was the latest iteration of the building that once housed Carson Pirie Scott until 2007, when it was overhauled by developer Joseph Freed & Associates. Read more.

A Closer Look at the Guaranty Building

A new book on the career of renowned architect Louis Sullivan by Doreen Boyer DeBoth has been released and it is titled A Closer Look at the Guaranty Building. Sullivan has long been considered one of the originators of the modern American skyscraper, and the Guaranty Building can be viewed as a Louis Sullivan masterpiece. “This new release book encompasses Sullivan’s career, his artistic development, sources, and his system of ornament,” said Boyer DeBoth. Contact the Artsphere Studio to get your copy. Read more.

David Wright Guest House Restoration Underway in Arizona

Built in 1954, two years after the completion of the circular David and Gladys Wright House in Phoenix, Arizona, the 260 square foot guesthouse was a type of accessory dwelling unit. The undersized guesthouse has always stood in the shadow of the main home, but as it cleans up and comes into focus due to a $100,000 renovation set to finish next month, a new appreciation takes root of this undersized gem. Read more.

A Rare Look Inside Wright’s "Crimson Beech"

Jeanne and Frank Cretellas feel they were destined to be the gatekeepers of Frank Lloyd Wright's "Crimson Beech," a designated landmark home in Staten Island’s Lighthouse Hill neighborhood. The 1959-built prefabricated structure was purchased in 2004 for well under $1 million, and has been a sentimental spot to raise the owners daughter, all while honoring the home's architectural legacy. Read more.

Frank Lloyd Wright's 1953 Letter to Eric Lloyd Wright

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation's Whirling Arrow has a transcript of a letter Frank Lloyd Wright wrote to his grandson Eric on September 14, 1953, discussing leadership and the principles of Taliesin. With the prophetic statement: "If the Individual is too personal—throws away his natural advantages and wants to dot the i either prematurely or pretentiously Democracy has a liability not an asset in that person." Read more.

Never Built New York's Wright Connection

A new exhibit at the Queens Museum in Flushing, New York, Never Built New York, curated by Sam Lubell and Greg Coldin and designed by Christian Wassmann, has just opened, and features over 150 years-worth of drawings and models of New York City’s boldest, weirdest, long-forgotten building projects. Many of the abandoned ideas are referred to as “ghosts," and one is Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1959 idea for remaking Ellis Island into “a city within a city,” with residential towers arranged like spokes on a wheel and glass domes that would contain parks and other shared spaces. Read more.

Wright Conference Attendees Visit Historic Ridgewood Home

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy's annual conference visited the James Rose Center for Landscape Architectural Research in New Jersey, whose structure was built in 1953 by landscape architect James Rose to serve as his family's home. Michael Duncan, a conservancy member, said the Rose center "follows the teachings of Frank Lloyd Wright," but is unique in its openness: Whereas Wright built around trees or other natural forms that already existed on a site, Rose allowed the home's open space to "continue out into nature," limiting that division even further. Read more.

Wright the Roof Gala

In celebration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th birthday, the First Unitarian Society will host a “Wright” the Roof Gala. It will be an evening celebrating FLLW’s 150th birthday and raising funds to repair and restore his iconic Meeting House, one of only 17 buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright recognized by the American Institute of Architects as important examples of his contribution to American culture.

John O. “Jack” Holzhueter, imminent historian will be the Keynote Speaker; Bob Lindmeier, of WKOW, will be the emcee. The evening will include live entertainment, dinner, cash bar and a live auction. Black tie optional; $150 per person, sponsorship levels are available. Follow the link for more information and to purchase tickets. Read more.

About

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