Issue 80 January 17th 2018

The Headlines

Historic Frank Lloyd Wright Building in Montana Demolished

If you haven't heard yet—the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy reports that terrible news that in the dark cover of night on January 10, 2018, the demolition of the Lockridge Medical Clinic Building in Whitefish, Montana has become the first Wright-designed building to be demolished in decades. Even though valiant efforts were made to negotiate for the building's preservation, the owner, Mick Ruis, was unmoved by the offers and proceeded to quickly tear the structure down. What a terrible waste and what a short-sighted loss for Montana. Read more.

Lloyd Wright's Novarro House For Sale

Lloyd Wright's 1928 Samuel Novarro House is on the market in Los Feliz, California for $4,295,000. Home to silent film legend and "Ben Hur" star Ramon Novarro. The iconic house has been meticulously restored keeping the architect's vision intact, with Lloyd Wright signatures throughout, including oxidized copper accents on the front exterior. With a perfect indoor-outdoor flow, this home exemplifies the Southern California lifestyle with swimmers pool, professionally landscaped gardens and terraces. Read more

Kier House Sells at Discount

The Frank Lloyd Wright designed William F. Kier House was built as part of a subdivision commissioned by Wright's attorney, Sherman Booth. The three-bedroom house has a classic Prairie exterior, white stucco and bands of wood trim with a broad roof overhang. Inside is more wood banding in the main rooms, and, characteristic of Wright's designs, a large fireplace trimmed in slim horizontal Roman brick. A family room addition blends "seamlessly" with the original house, according to the listing.

The house sold swiftly. It came on the market in early September at $799,000, took a price cut to $779,000 in late October, and went under contract to the buyer in mid-November. It was on the market 74 days, or less than half the 150 days that homes have been taking to sell, on average, in Glencoe in 2017 through the end of November, according to data from the Chicago Association of Realtors.

"It was well-priced," listing agent Elise Rinaldi said. Many sellers of Wright homes set their asking prices high, a prime factor in those homes' tendency to sit on the market a long time in recent years. Read more.

Bach House Ushers in 2018 With Special Pricing

The Emil Bach House, Chicago's only Frank Lloyd Wright private vacation home and venue rental, is kicking off 2018 with special rates. The promotional rates include $495 per night for four guests or $595 per night for six guests, a savings of $1,000 per night.

Overlooking a long stretch of Chicago's famous Sheridan Road, the Emil Bach House, located at 7415 North Sheridan Road, offers an enviable setting. Built in 1915 for Emil Bach, president of Chicago's Bach Brothers Brick Co., the first floor includes a large gathering space with an impressive fireplace, kitchen, screened in porch, dining room and lounge area. The second floor features a study and two guest room, each with a full-sized hall bathroom. The downstairs boasts a sauna for relaxing. Guests can also take advantage of the Home's beautiful outdoor spaces, which include the Japanese Tea House and Gardens, and porch. Read more.

Oak Park Author Offers a Peek 'Inside Great Chicago Buildings' at Nineteenth Century Club

In partnership with photographer James Caulfield, author Pat Cannon has written five books, including, "Hometown Architect: The Complete Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois," and "Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple: A Good Time Place." He has said that he feels that Unity Temple is "by far the greatest and most important building in Oak Park".

In his latest work, "The Space Within: Inside Great Chicago Buildings," Cannon decided to go inside "great" spaces, because other books did not focus on interiors. Cannon's upcoming event, "The Space Within: Inside Great Chicago Buildings," will be held from 1:15-3pm January 22, 2018 at the Nineteenth Century Club (178 Forest Ave. Oak Park, Illinois). Cannon will discuss some of the 45 Chicago buildings featured in his latest book, sharing some striking interior features with a slideshow of photos. A $10 donation is suggested to help cover program costs. Read more.

Desert EDGE Pondered at Taliesin West While Signature Effort Gains Support

Desert EDGE (previously called the Desert Discovery Center or DDC) was originally proposed as a desert-appreciation center in the city’s beloved McDowell Sonoran Preserve, some 30,000 acres that voters taxed themselves to acquire over the past 23 years. Talk of a center to educate and help visitors enjoy the desert has been kicked around for years. A proposal unveiled this summer calls for a $61.2 million center near the preserve’s Gateway Trailhead. But a new narrative is emerging: the prospect of a notable location outside of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona is widely regarded as an architectural masterpiece, a training ground for up-and-coming architects and a tourist attraction already seeing more than 100,000 visitors a year. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation continues to work with the city of Scottsdale in an effort to better facilitate preservation efforts at Taliesin West as current and future renovation plans must pass through city guidelines to maintain historical significance.

But zero details of how this idea of a Desert EDGE on property owned by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation could come to fruition is available at this time, Scottsdale and Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation officials agree. “While it has been brought up in conversations as one of many options, and, per the council direction, we are in discussions with the city evaluating feasibility, there is nothing to discuss at this time,” said Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Marketing and Communication Director Jeff Goodman in a January 9, 2018 statement to the Scottsdale Independent. Read more

Some Flowers for Architect Frank Lloyd Wright: Wright and Music

The Whirling Arrow recently featured an interview between Aris Georges (architectural artist and designer), Effi Casey (Taliesin director of music, fine violinist, and artist), and Tim Wright (filmmaker, thinker, faculty at the School of Architecture at Taliesin, and a grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright) that took place during the recent celebration of Wright’s 150th birthday in June at Taliesin in Wisconsin.

"The musical offerings in the life at Taliesin resemble the offering of flowers as symbols of love and appreciation. This inspired me to ask Effi and Tim about their experience of music and architecture. The result yielded deep insight into Wright’s understanding of music and how this shaped his life, and is offered here as a gesture of appreciation of the 150th anniversary." Read more.

Alan Hess Presentation on Frank Lloyd Wright at Modernism Week

Modernism Week is coming February 15-25, 2018. The mission of Modernism Week is to celebrate and foster appreciation of midcentury architecture and design, as well as contemporary thinking in these fields, by encouraging education, preservation and sustainable modern living as represented in the greater Palm Springs, California area.

One event sure to appeal to Frank Lloyd Wright fans is the Alan Hess presentation on Frank Lloyd Wright February 18, 2018 from 9-10am, at the Palm Springs Art Museum Annenberg Theater, 101 N Museum Drive, Palm Springs, California. Hess will present a lecture on Wright’s influence on architecture in Southern California and the region’s influence on Wright’s approach to indoor-outdoor living and design.

Hess is an architect, an architectural critic since 1986 for the San Jose Mercury News, historian, educator, preservationist, and author of several books on Wright and other Modern architects. Tickets are $12. Read more.

SAMARA: A Happy Collaboration at Modernism Week

In keeping with the Modernism Week theme, here is an event you might want to put on your calendar, Frank Lloyd Wright’s SAMARA: A Happy Collaboration, February 20, 2018 from 2-3pm. Tickets are $12. At the Palm Springs Art Museum Annenberg Theater, 101 N Museum Drive Palm Springs, California.

Marsh Davis, President of Indiana Landmarks, tells us the presentation will focus on that relationship between architect and clients. In 1950, John Christian and his wife, Catherine, decided they wanted to live in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, they picked up the telephone and called Taliesin, not expecting the master himself to answer the call. But he did, and with that began an endearing nine-year relationship between Wright and his clients and the genesis of one of the most fully realized Usonian Houses. The difference between Mr. Wright and the Christians could hardly be more pronounced. A disciplined, serious scientist and professor, John Christian was a true gentleman, understated in lifestyle but with a dedication to hosting his students at Purdue University where he was professor of Bionucleonics. Mrs. Christian maintained formalities that elicited spirited correspondence with Wright and some reasonable design solutions.

Over the course of time, Dr. Christian fully realized all of Wright’s innumerable specifications for the house, which Frank Lloyd Wright named SAMARA, meaning winged seed. Because of its extraordinary level of integrity and completeness, SAMARA was named a National Historic Landmark in 2015, the year of Dr. Christian’s death at age 98. Read more.

Irish Artist's Rochester Wright Paintings Part of New Exhibition

A career retrospective of work by Irish artist Eamon O'Kane, including new paintings of Rochester homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, will open January 18, 2018 at the Rochester Art Center and includes a reception and gallery talk by the artist. The exhibition, "Intimate Expansive," displays O'Kane's paintings, drawings, animations and installations with a focus on his interest in the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. O'Kane has created new paintings of three Rochester homes designed by Wright. Tours of the homes will be offered in April. O'Kane will give an artist talk from 6-7pm Friday, January 19, 2018 followed by the opening reception from 7-10pm at the Rochester Art Center, 40 Civic Center Dr SE, Rochester, Minnesota. The exhibition continues through May 27, 2018. Read more.

Willey House Super Bowl of Preservation Tour and Lunch

Learn about this 1934 modernist gem in Minneapolis, Minnesota that helped define mid-century domestic architecture on a special tour taking place Saturday, February 3, 2018 Noon – 2:30pm. The tour discussion consists of 3 interwoven storylines: the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, original owners, Malcolm and Nancy Willey and the rescue and restoration of the house.

Refreshments and a light lunch will be served fireside at the conclusion of the tour. This intimate event is offered by reservation only. $75 per person, tax included. Checks and credit cards are accepted. By attending this event you are directly contributing to the ongoing preservation of the Willey House.

Limited to 16 people, a minimum of 12 will be required to confirm the event. Registration and payment in full are required by Friday, January 27, 2018. Sign up for this event at Reservations@thewilleyhouse.com.

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