Issue 77 December 27th 2017

The Headlines

Wright's Lykes House For Sale Soon

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation's blog The Whirling Arrow tells us that the Wright-designed Norman Lykes House in Phoenix is set to hit the market early 2018. Just before his death in 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright sketched-out the Norman Lykes House. Apprentice John Rattenbury was appointed the architect for the home following Wright’s passing, and the project was built in 1967.

"The Phoenix home is built into the side of the mountain, offering breathtaking views of the city. Wright designed the home specifically for the rocky, uneven site. “This circular home with rounded windows and walls, custom built-in furniture, and a crescent shaped pool is perched on a mountain overlooking Phoenix with a 180 degree view from the living room. Spectacular inside and out, yet noticeably calming, its curves follow the mountain backdrop.” – Anne Stupp, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Board of Trustees. Read more.

Telling Hanna House's Story

The Hanna House was designed in the mid-1930s after Paul Hanna, a professor in the School of Education at Stanford University and his wife, Jean, asked Wright to develop plans for an inexpensive campus residence for their family of five. The house, nestled into a hill of faculty housing on Stanford’s Frenchman’s Lane, is a hexagonal hive of redwood and glass that has come to be known as "The Honeycomb House." Read more.

Iconic Lost 20th Century Buildings

Architectural Digest has compiled a list of notable buildings from the 20th Century that have been razed (and one that’s about to be). Many buildings that reached iconic status in the last century because of their impact on aesthetics, pop culture, and daily life, still met their untimely demolition—usually in favor of a more modern and (arguably) less-inspiring structure.

The list includes Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, the Imperial Hotel. Though it famously survived the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 virtually unscathed, the iconic structure did not survive the desire for a newer contemporary replacement. It was demolished in 1967 to make way for the high-rise third iteration of the hotel. Read more.

Take A Hike To See Cedar Rock

Guided hikes will be offered in 26 Iowa state parks on New Year’s Day as part of America’s First Day Hikes initiative. Hikers can expect fresh air, wildlife sightings, scenic views, beautiful settings and the cultural treasures offered by Iowa’s state parks, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The Cedar Rock hike will take visitors on a trail along a restored prairie and backwaters before they get to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home and boathouse. At the end of the hikes, friends of the parks will be offering refreshments such as hot chocolate, hot cider and, at Cedar Rock, s’mores. Read more.

Amherst's Newest Landmark

Amherst, New York's newest landmark, The Stimm House, was an early design by Sebastian Tauriello, who opened his practice in 1943. Tauriello was apparently so inspired by Fallingwater, Wright's masterpiece over Bear Run in Pennsylvania, that he tried to emulate his architectural idol in his own work. He also went so far as to purchase the Darwin D. Martin House from the City of Buffalo for back taxes in 1955 and based his architecture practice there. He is widely credited with saving it from the wrecking ball. Read more.

The "Taliesin Smell" of Winter

The Whirling Arrow recently featured an excerpt titled “Sniff Taliesin,” that was taken from the fifth section of Frank Lloyd Wright’s “An Autobiography.” Mr. Wright pens :

"Independently of wide-open windows seldom shut, letting in the varying smells of the four seasons, Taliesin is pervaded by its own very especial smell. The visitor on coming in for the first time will sniff and remark upon it, ask what the fragrance is."

"...A few of the many fireplaces smoke just a little enough to contribute the fumes of the burning oak when the evenings are chill in Autumn or Winter, and Taliesin is covered with its thick protecting blanket of snow, thin white wood-smoke going straight up toward the evening star. So it is in Winter especially that Taliesin is most itself and smells best." Read more.

Eppstein House Restoration Complete

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy informs us that the new owners of the Eppstein House (1948) in Galesburg, Michigan, Marika Broere and Tony Hillebrandt, completed the extensive restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian design. They tracked their progress and addressed challenges, unexpected issues, sourcing materials, etc. in their Project Eppstein blog. The entire three-bedroom house is available for overnight stays. Read more.

Alvin Lustig's Taliesin Connection

For three months at the end of 1935, Alvin Lustig studied at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin near Spring Green, Wisconsin. Disillusioned by the atmosphere at Taliesin and unable to assimilate, Lustig soon left. However, he never lost his admiration for Wright and Lustig's career as a trailblazing modern graphic designer was very much influenced by his mentor. Sadly, Lustig died very young at the age of 45 in the mid-1950s. If you're intrigued by this tragic story, then check out the recent December 2017 issue of the "Journal of Organic Architecture + Design" which explores Alvin Lustig's relationship with Wright and features a selection of the designer's early graphic work created during the first period of his short but distinguished career. Read more.

A Renovated Usonian Gem Shines Again

Dwell recently featured the efforts of Bedford, New York-based architect and designer Carol Kurth who was hired to take a sensitive approach to renovating the David Henken-designed Masson House, located in the "Usonia" community of Pleasantville, New York. The home had been "remuddled" over the years and strayed far away from its original organic architectural design. As stated in the article, Kurth worked within many restrictions, but was able to mimic the home’s original triangular blueprint, which in turn provided more spacious bedrooms, an expanded master bathroom, and introduced skylights for gorgeous natural lighting. Read more.

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