peterbeers.net Blog

Burton and Orpha Westcott House (1906-8)

2007-11-25T23:34:59Z

We finally had the opportunity to tour the Westcott House after the restoration was completed. What a great house! I can’t believe how wonderful it looks. We got to tour it early in the restoration process and the difference is night and day.

One thing that we noticed was that Springfield, Ohio is a town that needs some love. There are certainly some beautiful homes there, but it is really obvious that the economy is not doing so well in that area. It was an industrial powerhouse of a town in the 1800s and grew quickly and continually through much of the 1900s. At one point there were 10 different car manufacturers with factories in Springfield. The depression hit Springfield hard, as it did all of the country. These days the manufacturing and industry don’t seem to be booming.

The parts that we drove through looked pretty depressed. I’m sure there are good sides of town that we did not see. I don’t mean to talk down Springfield. It is a very cool town with plenty of wonderful architecture.

If you live in Springfield, please post up about your town and where I should visit the next time we come through.

You can see the most recent photos HERE.

You can see the restoration photos HERE.

Don’t miss the Wright Panorama Exhibit if you get there before January 6, 2008.

I had a blog entry about experiences that people had with tours of Wright-designed homes. This tour was very nicely conducted by the Westcott House docent (Nancy). She had a rough group. There were two “know-it-alls” that talked throughout the entire tour, opened every door and had their hands on pretty much everything. They didn’t stay with the group… walking ahead or lagging behind. They pretty much made it very difficult for the rest of us to enjoy the tour.

The one thing that the docent did not do was rope these two in. I think she was fairly new and did a good job of not letting them bother her. They were basically the perfect example of how people on a tour can ruin it for everyone else.

We enjoyed the tour and will go back again when things are in bloom.

Thanks!

Pete

New Westcott Web Site

2007-10-30T00:03:41Z

Hey folks.

Mark, a reader of my web site, has done some travels of his own. The Westcott House in Springfield, Ohio was his most recent destination. He corrected my information on my web site as well as letting me know the link to his own. (Design started in 1904, not building… and the first design was actually tossed. The Westcott House was built in 1907-8.)

Please enjoy his web site HERE. He’s done an awesome job with it.

It is great to see people making trips to Wright buildings! I’ll do my best to keep up with your trips.

Please share your experiences with the Westcott House here. I’m hoping to go visit it again at Thanksgiving.

Best wishes,

Pete

2007 Auldbrass Plantation Tour next weekend.

2007-10-29T23:53:45Z

Hey folks.

I heard from my friend Greg that the 2007 Auldbrass Plantation tour is happening this weekend (November 3 and 4) in Beaufort, SC. I attended the tour in 2003 and it was amazing.

If you make it to Beaufort this weekend for the tour, please post up your impressions of the tour. How was the event run? What did you think of the plantation? What renovation/preservation work has been done lately? Is the table made out of the bottom half of a Zebra still on display? What exotic animals did you get to see? What was your favorite part of the tour? What would you like to have seen improved?

Thanks!

Pete

Lakeland “Water Dome” Comes to Life after 70 Years

2007-10-27T11:13:00Z

Greetings! I know… Long time no post. I’ve been working way too much. I was getting ready for work (at 5am on a Saturday) and saw this in Yahoo News. It is probably old news to you Wright-heads, but it inspired me to post, so it can’t be all that bad.

From the Associated Press: Wright-designed fountain works — finally.

By JESSICA GRESKO, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 26, 10:48 AM ET

LAKELAND, Fla. – The giant water fountain Frank Lloyd Wright designed here is no longer the unworkable dud it was for decades.

Thanks to computers and extensive restoration, the “Water Dome” finally produces the three-story dome of water Wright envisioned 70 years ago as the centerpiece of his architectural design for Florida Southern College’s campus.

“He was very far ahead of his time, and sometimes materials are just catching up with him,” said New York-based architect Jeff Baker, who heads preservation work at the college where 12 structures make up the largest collection of Wright’s works on a single site.

More than 1,000 people cheered the fountain’s opening Thursday, when the school celebrated Wright’s vision if not his engineering ability. Spectators ringed the fountain more than 10 deep in places, and some had black and white pictures taken with a cutout of Wright.

Construction of the fountain took place between 1941 and 1958, and Wright himself visited the campus during construction. Florida Southern students today attend class in Wright-designed rooms and walk under his covered esplanades. The school, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, also holds services in the architect’s chapels.

Until now, his Water Dome though was a disappointment. Its pool was completed in 1948, and contemporary newspapers said the fountain’s opening was imminent. That never happened. Low water pressure, or low funds, may have been the cause. In the late 1960s, the school covered much of the pool with cement, creating three smaller ponds.

A $1 million restoration started a year ago. Preservationists visited Wright’s archives in Spring Green, Wis., to research early plans and letters between engineers. Paint analysis recreated the original bright aqua of the fountain’s basin, and a Wright-designed pump house was reclaimed.

Other features, however, Wright might not recognize: Computers control the water streaming from the 74 nozzles; public water rather than a well fills the basin, which is a few inches shallower because of new building codes. Architects also added underwater lighting.

There’s even a modern solution for a problem rumored in Wright’s time: that wind blew the water around, drenching students. A wind meter on top of a nearby building can now help adjust the water height if winds get too high.

That feature had been turned off Thursday night, however, so the dome would stay at its maximum, 45-foot height. And mist swept off the fountain, cutting short a performance by a band under its path. Most students didn’t seem to mind, however, taking pictures with cameras before heading to the library or dorms.

Freshman Shannon Ryan, 18, rode a Ferris wheel the school had set up for an overhead view. How would Wright feel about finally seeing his fountain on? Ryan thought she knew: “Um, hello, it took you long enough.”

Tour and Docent Experiences?

2007-06-12T14:14:20Z

Eeeeeeeeeek! Two posts in one day?? What is happening???

Sorry about that. I even shocked myself with this post.

I was e-mailing with someone that has toured many of Wright’s homes and he made some comments about a recent trip to western Pennsylvania. He went up to tour Kentuck Knob and was not really impressed with either the person that helped him with buying the tour ticket or the person who gave the tour.

He went on to tour Fallingwater later in the day and that tour completely saved his trip. He hadn’t planned on taking the tour at FW, but decided to after the experience at Kentuck Knob.

That brought up the topic of docents in my mind. I’ve had fabulous tours at both Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob. I’ve had a few bad tours at different historic homes over the years. Most often I’d chalk them up to the tour guide being new or just having a bad day.

I thought it might be interesting to share some experiences with different docents at Wright homes. I’d like this not to be a slam-fest. We all have bad days, and we’ve all been new and uncomfortable in a situation before. That said, I’d love to hear some of the good, bad and weird experiences that people have had touring Wright homes — or other historic buildings in general.

I’ll start off… I’ve taken HUNDREDS of historic home tours over the years. I always try and read up on the place that I’m touring so I have some context. I find that I enjoy the tours a lot more. This is especially true with Wright homes.

I learned a long time ago that it is good to keep this information to myself. The tours that I’ve liked the least are the ones that have “know-it-all” people on them that feel like they have to comment on things. I’ve never really been that kind of person, but I’ve learned to avoid even the appearance of that.

One of the common questions from a docent at a Wright home is, “How many Wright buildings have you visited?”. I NEVER answer that question with a number. I might say “many”, but I’m more likely to say “a few”. I find that with some docents it is distracting to have someone in the group that they think might be a “know-it-all”. It makes both the docent and me uncomfortable.

I’ve often struck up a conversation with the tour guide after the tour and told them of my travels at that time if it fits into the conversation. Those have been fun and interesting exchanges.

I have the highest admiration for anyone who gives tours at historic sites and Wright homes in particular. I don’t think I’ve got the social skills to do it well.

If you’re bored and have some good, bad or interesting experiences with tours and the people that give them, please post up.

Thanks!

Pete

A friend’s FLW Road Trip — and my aimless post. :D

2007-06-12T13:49:34Z

Greetings.

As you can tell by the dates that I’ve posted lately, I haven’t had much spare time to work on the web site or blog. My solution is to live vicariously through others’ road trips.

This post is kind of an odd one. I don’t really have a point to make or something to say. I just enjoyed an e-mail from a friend and thought I’d share it.

I’ve been corresponding with a friend about Wright stuff this week and he was telling me about a trip he did. Here’s the e-mail:

Hey Pete,

Good to hear back from you. For this particular trip, I started from St. Louis then drove east towards Ohio. After visiting Dayton, Springfieild and Oberline OH, I then drove northwest to Ann Arbor, Okemos, Galesburg (even the GPS system could not find the place, an old lady from their library came to our rescue), and Kalamazoo MI, and finally made it to South Bend IN before heading back to Iowa (almost like a big ten campus tour .

I skip places you mentioned that would be hard to see from the street (such as the one at Indian Hill and Amberly Village OH). The only houses that I planed to but could not see were the Kraus House at St. Louis (tour and front gate closed due to memorial day. I thought it has became a city park and should open to the pubic, at least for the ground) and the Winn House at Kalamazoo (I only made it to the driveway before the turn, as you did in your road trip photos).

Cheers

Bryan

That is a great example of a Wright road trip. It is cool to see that people are making them.

Thanks for being respectful to private property on the trip. I’ve had e-mails from owners saying that they really appreciate people taking photos only from the street and not tresspassing. I’ve also had e-mails from people saying “STAY AWAY”… even though I’ve stayed on the street. Just keep that in mind as you travel.

I’ve had a bunch of experiences like yours with the Kraus house. Since many of my trips are not planned around time schedules, I’ve arrived at Wright homes that are normally open to the public only to find that they’re closed that day. That is the price that I pay for spur of the moment trips that were unplanned.

Kraus is worth the visit. Head back when you can take the tour.

I drastically need to do a summer tour through Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. I’m hoping to do so later this summer when work lets up a little. August might be nice.

I know this post was somewhat aimless, but I liked Brian’s e-mail, so I asked him if I could make a blog entry out of it.

Pete

Bradley House (S.052) in Kankakee, Illinois burned?

2007-02-15T12:05:41Z

Stacey just posted this in another thread and I thought it deserved a thread of its own:

“i see you are interested in FLW homes and featured two from Kankakee IL on your site. My in-laws live right down the street from both of these houses. Sadly I have to report the B. Harley Bradley Residence suffered extensive damage from a fire not long ago. The law office sold this house to a private owner last year who was in the middle of renovating the stables and the home. They are currently rebuilding both.”

This is what the Bradley House looked like when I was there in 2003.

Pete

Pope House on Ebay?

2007-01-30T11:59:46Z

Well that got your attention. Actually the Pope house isn’t on Ebay. My friend Rich allerted me to an auction for a book about the Pope house that appeared on ebay. It is titled “Historic Preservation. Special Issue on Pope-Leighey House: A Property of the National Trust”.

Historic Preservation Volume 21, Numbers 2-3 – April-Sept 1969

Volume 21, Numbers 2-3 – April-Sept 1969Special Issue On Pope-Leighey House

Softcover, 120 pages. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs. Cover edgewear, one tear on the front cover and a number is written on the front cover. Pages are clean and binding is tight.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chronology

Documents

Frank Lloyd Wright: His Concepts and Career

Twenty-Five Years Later: Still a Love Affair

A Testimony to Beauty

The Challenge of Being a Taliesin Fellow

The Challenge of Constructing a Wright House

Siting and Landscaping

Furniture and Decoration

The Threat, Rescue and Move

The Usonian Pope-Leighey House

Rich didn’t win the auction. He did go to the library and check it out. He said it was an amazing source of information and expressed wonder that it had not been reprinted.

Thanks for reading. If you’re curious, you can find the Ebay auction at the link below:

Historic Preservation – Frank Lloyd Wright Pope-Leighey House

As always, Thanks for reading.

Pete

Frank Lloyd Wright home in Staten Island. (S.409.2)

2007-01-29T22:00:08Z

Greetings. I got an e-mail from Brian who found what is identified as a Wright home in the Lighthouse Hill neighborhood of Staten Island.

PLEASE CLICK HERE to see the web site where Brian found it. It is about half way down the page on the left side.

I didn’t think that I had any of my Wright resources with me, but I totally forgot that I carry Storrer’s companion on CDRom in my laptop bag when I travel.

That appears to be the Cass Residence in Richmond, New York. It is an Erdman Prefab built in 1959. According to the web site, Mrs. Cass passed away in 2004.

This is some of what Storer has to say about it:

“The Cass house was shown at open houses for Macy’s, which furnished the home to Wright’s specifications. Its name, the Crimson Beech, refers to a centuries-old Copper Beech tree around which the house was situated; it has since been destroyed by lightning. ”

One of the photos in Storer’s book shows a lighthouse in the background. That makes me think that the home is located at the beach. Yahoo maps puts the house roughly 1.5 miles from the shore. Google maps actually shows a lot more detail with the satellite photos. There is, indeed a lighthouse in the lot next door. Strange but true.

Thanks for reading.

Pete

Yahoo’s Question of the day for Tuesday 1/9/07

2007-01-10T22:42:40Z

Greetings.

Joan, one of the folks that reads this blog and contributes, noticed that Yahoo’s question of the day for yesterday had to do with Frank Lloyd Wright.

HERE is the link.

Please discuss…

That link will probably go south someday, so here’s the text of the question and answer:

Dear Yahoo!:

How many buildings did Frank Lloyd Wright design?

Fall N. Water

Dear Fall N. Water:

According to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the architect designed 1,141 works — “including houses, offices, churches, schools, libraries, bridges, museums, and many other building types.” Of that number, he completed 532 works. Wright’s career spanned over 70 years (he lived for 91 years), so averaged about 16 designed projects per year.

Frank Lloyd Wright strove to create organic designs that represented the unique American personality. He preferred using native materials and was greatly influenced by nature. Often considered the greatest architect of the 20th century, Wright even designed things for his homes’ interiors, including furniture, lamps, linens, dinnerware, art glass, and graphic arts.

The inspirational architect’s work inspired many, including his sons, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr., and John Lloyd Wright. Both went on to become architects. John was also the inventor of Lincoln Logs, a favorite toy for generations of children (not to mention aspiring architects).