News about Graycliff China & Lecture This Week!

Two News Items:

Opening the Envelope: Porches, Porticos and Terraces 

The second in Graycliff's 2013 lecture series, Opening the Envelope: Porches, Porticos and Terraces is coming up this Wednesday, October 2^nd, at 7:00 pm at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center.  The illustrated talk  will be presented by Dale Gyure, Ph.D.  Next week, on October 9th, also at 7:00 om at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, restoration specialist Kieran Murphy will speak.  Hope to see you at both lectures!

A noted Frank Lloyd Wright scholar, Dr. Gyure will speak on Nature, Landscape, and Architecture in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Design.  In this talk, Gyure will discuss Frank Lloyd Wright’s unique approach to architectural design derived from his complex understanding of nature. This lecture will explain how Wright’s theory of nature was manifested in actual landscapes and buildings through architectural elements such as porches, porticoes, terraces, windows, materials, and plantings, focusing on numerous examples from his long career, including Graycliff, Taliesin, and Florida Southern College.

Dale Gyure, Ph.D., is the author of the books  Frank Lloyd Wright’s Florida Southern College and  A History of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Affleck House.   He is the author of numerous articles and chapters relating to Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects, and has lectured widely on these topics.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the Michigan Modern Advisory Board, the Minoru Yamasaki Advisory Board and a consultant to the City of Birmingham, MI.  Dr. Gyure is an Associate Professor of Architecture at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI, while also serving as an Adjunct Associate Professor and Thesis Director at Goucher College in Towson, MD, as well as Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture at Wayne State University in Detroit.  He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Virginia in American and Modern architecture; his J.D. from Indiana University; and his B.A. from Ball State University.

Graycliff China--Limited Availability

With the demise of Niagara Ceramics, Graycliff's China will never again be produced by what was once Buffalo China, an off shoot of the Larkin Soap Company.  It's possible, but not guaranteed, that we will find another supplier within the US.  Even if Graycliff does manage to work with another producer, the quality and/or types of pieces may change.

So, Ryan has asked that  Graycliff volunteers be alerted that supplies are running low, and that volunteers deserve to "have the first shot at it" in his own words.

The prices are as follows:

Signature Mug: $18

            Volunteer Discount: $16.20

Dinner Plate: $24

           Volunteer Discount: $21.60

Salad Plate: $16

           Volunteer Discount: $14.40

Soup Bowl: $18

           Volunteer Discount: $16.20

Serving Dish: $30

           Volunteer Discount: $27

Set of Four Signature Mugs: $72

           Volunteer Discount: $64.80

Single Place Setting: $68

Four Place Settings: $270

There is no volunteer discount on a single setting or four place settings as the price is discounted more than 10% and is a better deal. 

Restoration Update for Week of September 30, 2013

Restoration of the living room floor will be VERY active this coming week.  At times the living room will not be accessible, and docents will have to lead tours into the front entry, the Fern Room and the Sun Porch, then exit and walk around to see the kitchen and pantry.  Thank you for your creativity and flexibility during this exciting time.

Our contractors hope that after this week there may very well be a walkable surface on the entire living room...we'll keep you posted!

Graycliff Restoration Update for Friday, September 27, 2013

Restoration of the living room floor is starting.  There are two holes...look for one near the fireplace to show visitors.  Work will be taking place in the basement today, with duct work being removed...this may create some loud banging sounds.  The duct work will be removed in sections, so all tours should be able to walk around it without difficulty.  The full first floor will be accessible today.

Also...we were just informed that all water will be turned off throughout the estate by the Town of Evans from 9 am to 2 pm, due to work the Town is doing in the neighborhood.  Thus, there will be no bathrooms available during that time....so plan accordingly before you arrive!

First photos:

Posting The Colors

When I left on vacation a week ago Reine asked me if I was going to be visiting any FLW houses and I told her not likely because I was cruising the Caribean.  Yet here I am in Belize (formerly British Honduras) at Altun Ha in front of one of Frank's textile block houses.  The first pic is of me  posting our colors in my Graycliff shirt in front of the temple of the Sun God and the second shows me still having enough stamina to make it to the top of one of the other temples (yes, that is me with my arms and my stomach outstretched.)  Of course, they are not really FLW constructions, but Mayan buildings of the type from which Frank was said to have been inspired to design his textile block houses.  They date to around 500 BC and it has always been on my bucket list to visit Mayan ruins.  These did not disappoint and it was truly special to be there.

However, it presents an opportunity to talk about his textile block buildings.  He designed five houses, all in California, between 1917-1924.  He used the cheapest form of construction material, the precast concrete block, to challenge himself to design something magnificent out of something so common.  He cast the blocks with designs, sometimes on both sides, and often with glass inserts right inside the block.  He stacked them together and reinforced them with iron rebar to create his houses.  None of them have held up well to weather in general or earthquakes in particular and all have had to be rebuilt at least once.  They also have suffered from one shortfall of most FLW buildings; they leaked, especially since most had flat roof designs.  Yet, the design innovation of the building material is still considered a major design development in American architecture and all the buildings still stand.  I will include a list of them below as well as a couple photos of each .

The first was the Hollyhock House built in 1920 in Hollywood, probably his best known house in this design and most fans' favorite.  It was built for Alice Barnsdall.  It was kind of the precurser to the others.


                              

La Minitura was built in Pasadena in 1923 for Alice Millard, a rare book dealer who had previously commissioned Wright to design a home for her in Highland Park in Illinois in 1906.

   


The Storer House was built in Hollywood Hills in 1923 for  Dr. John Storer.

 


The Freeman House was built in 1924 for Samuel and Harriet Freeman in Hollywood Hills.

   


The Ennis House, probably the house most frequently referenced, was also built in 1924 in Los Angeles for Charles and Mabel Ennis.

   

The form of textile block construction has been referred to as Mayan Revival Architecture so you can see how I can get away with cheating by including my photo in front of a set of Mayan ruins, and yes there were some examples of textile blocks in those ruins. You just never know where you find something of FLW, even if it is only his inspiration.   He also used the process in the design of several of his commercial structures, but it is most often touted in this grouping of residences.



 

Graycliff in the News!

Graycliff formally unveiled its new landscape restoration project, with many elected officials and funders in attendance.  President Diane Schrenk spoke very graciously, then invited Senator Mark Grisanti to say a few words.

Please see Graycliff's Facebook page for photos of those in attendance.  And when you see our elected officials, please thank them for their help.

Press covered the story extensively, with coverage from:

The Buffalo News

Business First

YNN Cable News

And a wonderful story on WGRZ TV 2, with terrific video and even more terrific commentary from anchor Maryalice Demler and weatherman Kevin O'Connell during the 6 pm broadcast, extolling the virtues of visiting Graycliff.  (Unfortunately not posted on-line.)

Graycliff Restoration Update: Floors Part I

Graycliff Living Room Floor and Fire Suppression Update September 23, 2013

Work is scheduled to start tomorrow, Monday September 23, 2013, and although we do not have formal information from the contractors,we understand that initial work will begin in the basement.

Docents: there may be loud banging sounds emanating from this area, so if necessary, please spend more time out of doors...fortunately, the weather will be cooperating this week.

Also, Graycliff's Annual Members meeting will take place this coming Wednesday, September 25th at 6:00 pm at the Fontana Boat House (although this meeting is usually held at Graycliff, the location has been changed due to restoration.)   If you are a member of Graycliff (as well as a volunteer)  please do come...simply RSVP to Graycliff at 947-9217 or RSVP for Annual Meeting  This annual meeting for members is  required by Graycliff's By-Laws....so if you are a volunteer, but not a member, we appreciate your forbearance regarding your status.

ONLY ONE SET OF SHAW FESTIVAL TICKETS LEFT!

One of the Two Sets of Tickets to the Shaw Festival Was Claimed.

Are YOU the Lucky Winner of the Last Set?

In recognition of your wonderful volunteer efforts, Board member Sharon Metz has donated two pairs of tickets to the Shaw Festival, in Niagara on the Lake, to two volunteers.  There are two options:  Guys and Dolls is a much beloved musical, and this Festival Theater production has gotten rave reviews; or alternatively, see the charming confection, Enchanted April.

Yet its simply impossible to chose from among you.  So earlier this week, each name was put into a hat, and names drawn from among those of each fantastic Graycliff volunteer.

George Struebel claimed his tickets. Are YOU the winner below?

THE WINNER IS:

Nina Smeltz

Winners:  Congratulations!  To claim your tickets, please post a comment in the comment section of this blog post, saying that you'll accept.  If you have not posted by this Wednesday, September 18th  at 9:00 am, we will assume you do not wish to accept, and the next runners up will be posted.

Thank you to Sharon Metz for her generosity!

The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture

The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture is striving to preserve an 80-year tradition of training architects in the vision of its legendary founder as it comes under pressure to meet changing education standards.

Read all about the changes here, and there's a video, too: Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin

No One Claimed the Golden Tickets!

Graycliff volunteers are the greatest. 

 Each of you is dedicated, hard working, and enthusiastic.  
But Apparently, Some Aren't reading This Blog!

In recognition of your wonderful volunteer efforts, Board member Sharon Metz has donated two pairs of tickets to the Shaw Festival, in Niagara on the Lake, to two volunteers.  There are two options:  Guys and Dolls is a much beloved musical, and this Festival Theater production has gotten rave reviews; or alternatively, see the charming confection, Enchanted April.

Yet its simply impossible to chose from among you.  So earlier this week, each name was put into a hat, and names drawn from among those of each fantastic Graycliff volunteer.

The first winners didn't claim their tickets in time.  So we have two new names:

THE WINNERS ARE:

1) George Struebel
2) Elaine Hunter



Winners:  Congratulations!  To claim your tickets, please post a comment in the comment section of this blog post, saying that you'll accept.  If you have not posted by this Monday, September 16th  at 9:00 am, we will assume you do not wish to accept, and the next runners up will be posted.

Thank you to Sharon Metz for her generosity!

Frank Lloyd Wright in Puerto Rico?

                                                  

About a week ago I lead a tour that included an elderly couple who were very enthusiastic about Graycliff.  After the tour they informed me that they lived in a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Puerto Rico for ten years.  That amazed me because I knew of no FLW houses in Puerto Rico, although FLW and his wife travelled to PR in 1927 while he was designing Graycliff. 

So I searched a little more and found that there was an architect who worked in PR who emulated FLW's style very closely.  He was actually accused of taking and retracing FLW designs  from the Wasmuth Portfolio and putting his name on them .  The house pictured above is one of his designs.  It is Casa Roig built in 1920 for Antonio Roig.  It is actually FLW's Westcott house in Springfield which  Antonn Nechodoma copied from the Wasmuth Portfolio.  Some of his designs are outright copies of FLW and others seem to be copies only of FLW style.  The above house was saved by the University of Puerto Rico in 1984 and restored and is currently open as a museum in Humacao. If you are interested in checking how closely this architect copied/emulated FLW there is a great photo source of some of his other  buildings at  Nechodoma.tripod.com/  . Check out how closely his interiors copied Wright.   So FLW in Puerto Rico, not exactly, but they do claim that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  I wonder if FLW thought so.  Nechodoma died in a car accident a year after Frank and Olgivanna visited the island for about a two month stay.  I am sure that staying that length of time and Nechodoma being well established at that point, that FLW must have known something about him during that visit.  So, the next time you are visiting Puerto Rico, there are still some remaining FLW wannabe's  standing if you care to check them out.

So I really am happy I did not know all this when the couple lovingly told me of living in their Puerto Rican FLW house.  Their eyes grew large and they became very animated describing how wonderful it was to live in a house designed by the master.  Glad I didn't know the truth at the time.  Some bubbles are better left unburst.     

George                          

Are YOU the WINNER?????

            

Graycliff volunteers are the greatest. 

 Each of you is dedicated, hard working, and enthusiastic.  

Of course, Docents and Special Events volunteers receive the most kudos from the public, because they have direct contact with visitors.  But all Graycliff volunteers are wonderful--those who work behind the scenes (yes, Housekeeping Team, and Green Team, this does mean you...) and those on the front lines.

In recognition of your efforts, Board member Sharon Metz has donated two pairs of tickets to the Shaw Festival, in Niagara on the Lake, to two volunteers.  There are two options:  Guys and Dolls is a much beloved musical, and this Festival Theater production has gotten rave reviews; or alternatively, see the charming confection, Enchanted April.

Yet its simply impossible to chose from among you.  So this afternoon, each name has been put into a hat, and names drawn from among those of each fantastic Graycliff volunteer.

THE WINNERS ARE:

1) Carol and Jerry Wahlenmayer
2) Gail and Dave Solowski



Winners:  Congratulations!  To claim your tickets, please post a comment in the comment section of this blog post, saying that you'll accept.  If you have not posted by this Friday, September 13th (whoo whooo, Friday the 13th)  at 9:00 am, we will assume you do not wish to accept, and the next runner up will be posted.

Thank you to Sharon Metz for her generosity!

From our friend, photographer Mark Hertzberg, comes this article about the newly restored Hardy House in Racine, WI.





You can read the article here:  Frank Lloyd Wright's Hardy House

Selling a Frank Lloyd Wright Home

No, Graycliff isn't for sale...nor will it be...but there's an interesting story from the Gannett TV affiliate in Chicago on two Wright houses for sale.

See the video here: Selling a Frank Lloyd Wright Home for a peek inside two private Wright residences (and check out the non-Wright wallpaper in that one bedroom!) as well as some video of the exterior of the Guggenheim and Fallingwater.

or here's the text of the story:

CHICAGO, IL (CBS) -- A good example of the healthier housing market this summer: the sale of previously occupied or "existing" homes. They've sold at an annual pace of more than five million homes in the last three months, a first since 2007.

But one unique group of homeowners face a challenge when it comes to the market because of who designed their homes.

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of America's most famous architects. A dozen of his buildings, like the Guggenheim Museum in New York, are considered among the nation's most important modern structures. Then there are his homes. Around 280 designed by Wright are still standing. Many are house museums like the famous "Fallingwater," built on top of a waterfall, in Pennsylvania or the Robie house, a century-old example of his "prairie style," in Chicago.

Less well known are the Wright homes that are still lived in. About 20 are on the market across the country.

Juan and Claire Montenegro have lived in this Wright home in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park for the past 20 years. Their two boys are grown now, and it's time for Juan and Claire to move on.

This is the third summer they've tried to sell; original floors, original colors, wide open spaces, lots of natural light, and signature windows. These homes are iconic, so you don't mess with them. Claire says, "I think it's beautiful the way it is, and I wouldn't change a thing."

You can alter the back or sides of a Frank Lloyd Wright house, but not the front unless you want enraged preservationists showing up on your doorstep.

These homes draw special buyers but as the Montenegros have learned, even with a forested back yard and a stone's throw from Lake Michigan, they're not always an easy sell. Juan says, "I think that Frank Lloyd Wright owners make the mistake of pricing them too high at the beginning, and we were guilty of that."

Their asking price now is just over $1 million. Claire says, "The house may or may not appeal to everybody, but there is a certain segment of people that love these homes. It is a house to be lived in. It is not a museum."

Louisa McPharlin had similar run-ins growing up in this Frank Lloyd Wright house from 1892 on Chicago's south side. She says, "I would come from school and my mother would be entertaining young architects who would either write her or just knock on the door."

She's now the real estate agent looking for a buyer for this fixer-upper priced at $1.1 million. McPharlin has put on a new roof and believes Wright's reputation is a selling point. She says, "It needs a special person who will have the energy, the resources either want to use it for some wonderful plan or live in it."

The Montengros home is move-in ready, but it was built in 1906. Juan says, "Our house had leaks, but we've gone ahead and fixed it. What 100-year-old house has not leaked?"

Just part of the price for living in a piece of American history.

Louisa McPharlin, the seller of that 121-year-old Wright fixer-upper she grew up in tells us she has found a buyer who wants to turn the home into a bed and breakfast.

The House Beautiful

Docent Jim Beardsley has shared an article that recently appeared in  UU World, a publication of the Unitarian Universalist Church, on The House Beautiful.  Thank you so much, Jim!

While  a draftsman for Joseph Lyman Silsbee in Chicago, Frank Lloyd Wright worked on  commissions relating to his family's close association with the Unitarian Church.   In 1886, his family commissioned the Unity Chapel in Spring Green, WI, and two years later, he worked on All Souls Church in Chicago, had been founded by  his uncle, Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones.

Wright's association with the Unitarian Church continued a decade later, when the tiny Auvergne Press published a hand-printed edition of the Rev. Willian Channon Gannett's essay, The House Beautiful.   Working with  his former client and amateur printer William H. Winslow, Wright contributed both drawings and nature photographs to the volume.

Of the original 90 copies of the book, one surviving copy is now in the University of Rochester's Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation.

The book was re-printed a few times over the years, most recently in 2006 by Pomegranate.  The Graycliff Pavilion Shop carried it at that time, but its now out of print.  (Although used copies are still available on-line.)  Pomegranate also has notecards based on Wright's designs for the book....if you'd like to order a box, please talk to Ryan in the shop.

To read the article provided by Jim Beardsley, please see:  Frank Lloyd Wright's Beautiful book

For a complete history, with photos, of The House Beautiful, see: The House Beautiful