Wright After Wright

We are having a resurgence of Wright designed homes and buildings not actually built in his lifetime being built after his death.  We have several here in Buffalo; the Blue Sky Mausoleum, Fontana Boathouse, and the Gas station in the Pierce Arrow Museum.  The linked video and the photo above details an FLW design actually being built ten years ago on the exact location it was originally designed for. Joseph Massaro is a contractor who made his money selling out his business  and deciding to spend it recreating this house as it was designed to be built.  It is interesting in that it is right here in New York State and a very clear example of Wright's natural architecture philosophy.  I recall reading somewhere that it was on the market a year or so ago for 20 million , but do not know if it actually sold.  Imagine owning your own island and your own Frank Llloyd Wright house.

The house was originally designed in 1949 by Wright for A.K. Chahroudi.  Allegedly at a luncheon between Chahroudi, Wright, and Edgar Kaufmann, owner of Fallingwater, Wright told Kaufmann "When I finish the house on the island, it will surpass your Fallingwater."  Wright spent three months working on the design, but the house was never built because Chahroudi was not able to afford the then estimated $50,000. to build the place.  (Good thing because as we all know about Wright's initial estimate, the cost was likely to be more like $150,000. by the time he was done.)

There is argument as to whether this is a true FLW house as Massaro only had five original Wright drawings to work from including a floor plan with ideas for built in and stand alone furniture.  Because Massaro hired a different architectural firm to oversee the project instead of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, there is controversy as to how much of an FLW design the house actually is.  The Foundation wanted almost a half million dollars to render working drawings and supervise construction of the house.  Massaro felt this to be extravagant and declined.  The Foundation than sued Massaro which ended in a settlement that Massaro could only refer to the house as being FLW "inspired" as opposed to "designed."  Massaro did attempt to follow FLW designs as closely as possible although purists have cited a half dozen design changes that were not FLW originals, but then Frank himself often changed his design as a building was going up, so who knows whether he would not have endorsed the changes that were made, several of which had to be made to meet current building codes.  As referenced in the video, Walter Conkrite who was a friend of  FLW's visited the house and was reported to say, "I feel Frank in this house."  If it was good enough for Conkrite, it is definitely good enough for me.  Besides, look at that picture above and tell me this could be anything but an FLW house.

Massaro House

Jens Jensen: Landscape Architect

Jens Jensen: Landscape Architect

Jens Jensen 9/13/1860-10/1/1951 was a Danish-American landscape architect. He worked with many famed architects such as Howard Van Doren Shaw, Louis Kahn, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and George Maher.

He immigrated from Slesvig to America in 1885 and was known for his early work in park system of Chicago, IL. His design work that received international recognition for design can be seen at Union Park, Lincoln Park, Douglas Park and Columbus Park. At Union Park in 1888 is where he transplanted wildflowers of America creating what became the American Garden in 1888. From 1936-39 Jensen designed and planted the Lincoln Memorial Park in Springfield, IL.

He retired from the park system  in 1920, and started his own practice and worked on many private mid-western estates such as Eleanor and Edsel Ford in four of their residences plus Frank Lloyd Wright’s  the Avery Coonley House and Willits Houses  of Chicago, IL.

Jensen’s landscape elements were a diversity of tree, plant and animal life and combined aesthetics history and nature as noted in www.havenhillproject.org suggests.

Jensen employed his ”delayed view” approach in designing the arrival at the residence of Clara and Henry Ford at Fair Lane, in Dearborn MI.  There is no straight drive to the house, but one must proceed through dense woodland areas, bends in the drive with curves arc and large trees giving a feel of a natural reason for the turn and obscuring the long view.

You are then propelled out and see the residence in fully view. Meadows and gardens make the landscape with masses of flowers surrounding the house.

The Great Meadow at Fair Lane leads out from the terrace with a slight bend in its length.  At the far end of the meadow is a small pond with a cluster of white birches on the edge of the woods.  During the summer the early morning sun softly highlights these trees while the evening sun sets at the end of the path to the setting sun.

It is written that “Path of the Setting Sun” is aligned so that on the summer solstice the setting sun glows through a precise parting of the trees at meadow’s end. The house and its landscape are preserved as a historic landscape and a museum with a National Historic Landmark. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/detroit/d36.htm   http://library.umd.umich.edu/archon/?p=creators/creator&id=59

http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/pic/2007/07_oct.asp 

In 1935 Jensen moved from IL to Ellison Bay, Wisconsin and established  “The Clearing”, which he called, “the school  of the soil” to train future landscape architects. www.theclearing.org

 He summed up his philosophy by saying: ”Every Plant has fitness and must be placed in its proper surroundings so as to bring out its full beauty. Therein lies the art of landscaping.”

Diane Schrenk, President

Wright as Artist

                                
                                                             

Graycliff volunteer Judi LaFlmame forwarded the linked article below touting Wright and his talents as more than an architect.  Considering he designed furniture and proposed tableware and silverware to be used in some of his homes as well as designing a dress for at least one home owner, this should not really be a surprise.  He was a man of many talents.

Wright as Artist/

DDM House Skylight Window

For those of you who have missed following it in the news, a skylight window from the DDM House was recently and accidentally discovered by noted local antiques dealer Kelly Schultz mounted in an interior wall in a local home.

 It was auctioned yesterday in his antiques auction in Clarence.  There were six bidders and as always it winnows down to one remaining bidder who purchased it for $80,000.  It is reputed to be a private collector and has remained unidentified.  The DDM House for some reason is hoping it will be donated back to them (The buyer's agent says little chance of that.) while at the same time saying that they really had no interest in bidding on the window because reproductions can be less expensively produced, although they stated they had put in an offer to buy it from the owner prior to the auction, which was turned down.

 It is sad to see a piece of our significant FLW history leave the area but highlights the argument over original vs. reproduction  in restorations especially considering that whether either is used, it is still FLW designed only and not actually built or touched in any way by the renowned architect.  It is an argument over how our restoration dollars can best be used.  And no, just in case you are wondering, I did not bid on the window and win it, but now if it was a Graycliff artifact, well another story.....

http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130803/CITYANDREGION/130809734#

Busman's Holiday

                                                                             


As a docent I spent my Sunday doing a tour at Forest Lawn Cemetery.  My wife and I did the trolley tour which we have talked about doing for years and just never got to.  First, the place is beautiful and loaded with more significant historical and cultural significance than you can believe.  For $25. each it was well worth the time and money.  It started with a short presentation in the chapel, a 120 year old or so building designed by EB Green.  Then you board the trolley, yes, an actual trolley, the same one used for the All Day All Wright tours.  You spend about 2 hours cruising the cemetery with a docent with a microphone in the front of the trolley pointing out significant points of interest.  Periodically, costumed actors, posing as various deceased individuals of note buried there get on board and tell you about themselves.  For our tour it was Dorothy Berlin, Irving's first wife, Millard Fillmore, George Pierce (of Pierce Arrow fame,)  and Sara Hinson, the Buffalo school marm who initiated Flag Day as a national holiday.

I have visited the cemetery numerous times over the years, always found myself getting lost if driving and driving in circles for awhile to find my bearings.  I was pleased to note that both the trolley driver and the docent got equally lost for a couple minutes.  It helped validate my own lack of direction.

Eventually you are returned to the chapel and your car in the parking lot there to find your way back out of the cemetery.

I was surprised little was said about FLW's Blue Sky Mausoleum or the Martins.  They are both buried somewhere in the cemetery but their grave was not referenced.  John Larkin is likewise resting there, but was not referenced.  The docent did mention there was a specific tour for the FLW connections and I am sure she meant the All Wright All Day tour.  They have a number of other specialty tours.  You can visit their website which I have linked below if you want to check them out.  Or, if computers still scare you (they do me!) you can call at 885-1600.  The tours book up early and you likely will not be able to call today and get on a tour this Sunday; we had to schedule 3 weeks in advance.  And yes, most of the tours are just on Sundays. So, if you are looking for something different and interesting to do, check it out.  Oh, and remember to bring a pillow to sit on.  After 2 hours those hard wooden seats on the trolley are painful.

www.forest-lawn.com

                                         

FLW's Imperial Hotel, Japan

Since this wonderful building showing both strong FLW design characteristics, as well as Japanese cultural influence, was destroyed in 1962, there is little about it.  However, the first link is to a pre 1962 video of the Hotel and its lobby.  The second link is to a museum in Japan where the portal and lobby of the building was reconstructed and still stands today due to the hue and cry in the 60's about demolishing an FLW creation.  Both videos provide rare views of this building.  Besides, it is nice to see something that we basically exported to Japan, instead of the other way around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9QUz_zIJqB8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8zAwTFchoA&feature=player_embedded

FLW Video

I found the following video which seems to purport to be an American Experience documentary, but plays out more like a college student's attempt to profile FLW. In the process it includes a lot of information on FLW and pictures of more of his houses than I have seen in one spot to include many interior shots of his houses.  The narration is amateurish and tedious but the photos and info contained are worth the viewing.  Graycliff is not included, but a number of shots of the DDM house are.  It runs for about 40 minutes; hope you enjoy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eBKIq8DrvE