Wright Chat

Interesting. Several inaccuracies, but overall not a bad primer for the novice. One bit that seems always to be glossed over is that the Wright family did not consist solely of father, mother, Frank, Jane and Maginel; William had three children by his first marriage, and while the two older boys lef...

Taliesin would have been built no matter what, and FLW would never have built a house to live in alone; he seemed unable to survive on his own very well. But I don't believe Mamah had any design input whatsoever. Taliesin remained fairly consistent design-wise throughtout FLW's life from 1911 on, ac...

SDR, no not Taliesin; Hollyhock, Ennis, Freeman and Schindler/Chase. I was visiting Mary Palmer in 1986 when a group came to see the house, so I gave an impromtu tour of that, too.

A former co-worker of mine knew the owner, who was in his 90s. He had few options and was reluctant to leave after having lived in the house for so long. The same was true of the Freemans who lived in their house for 60 years. Owners don't see how things change over time. It's such a gradual process.

I'm dubious. It doesn't look like anything from Martin, but it does resemble part of the assembly of doors and windows in the Hickox living room leading to the terrace.

Sound of gravel under foot; meadowlarks and geese in the distance; rushing water; wind in the willows; the dulcit tones of the tour guide's voice ... ah, memories of my own days as a docent. It's nice to know that the information is accurate; she does a great job. It is, of course, depressing to see...

SDR, on my last visit about 1997, I saw Tan-y-deri, but cannot recall that there were any structures other than Romeo and Juliet anywhere near it. I may be wrong, but I think those houses are of recent construction, even though they don't look it. Yes, that is the pronunciation of Mamah Cheney's nam...

Oops! You're correct. It's been a long time since I last saw Pamela.

Blaine Drake was an exceptional architect, though little of his work was ever published. One modest house in the Phoenix area was published in "Small Homes in the New Tradition" by Francois C. Morand (Sterling, 1959) pp 51-55. He was married to Hulda Brierly Drake, Cornelia's sister. Unfor...

In my opinion, Stern and Gehry are of a set. I cannot get excited about either one of them. Or, for that matter, Eric Owen Moss. They all seem to be calculatedly "outre." Stern's early work was vexatious beyond reason; his more recent work seems to have calmed down somewhat, but is still n...

Patricia Kingsbury was associated with the Allen House for a long time, and was also a former member of the Conservancy. I haven't heard from her in a long time, but she was a fascinating and very smart lady whose book is well worth the read. Hoult, Jacobs and Lusk are all connected as the progenito...

The book is by Larry Woodin, one of the stalwarts of the Conservancy, who, along with Deborah Vick, was largely responsible for the Seattle and San Francisco and Los Angeles conferences. The Gordon house is a remarkable building, now set in a beautiful park. It is well worth the trip to visit both f...

HOJO, you are correct, as far as I can tell: #1 is ?; #2 Christie. I think #7 may be Edwards, but not sure.

The furnishings in Photo #1 of Lamberson would look horrid in a dingbat 60s Motel 6. When I visited Eppstein in 1985, the owners were proud as punch of owning a FLW house, yet were unaware of how dreadful the colonial furniture knockoffs from Colonial Furniture R Us looked with the frilly curtains. ...

This is one segment of the Grand Tour connecting Manchester to Mason City that I have been touting for years. Some sort of organized effort to make such a journey, all or part, with stops along the way at the various houses with overnight stays, would be a great way to experience almost the entire r...