A move in the right direction.
https://www.curbed.com/2017/6/8/1576193 ... vid-wright
David Wright House donated to School of Architecture
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Paul Ringstrom
- Posts: 4777
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 4:53 pm
- Location: Mason City, IA
details, details....
Where is the $3M restoration money coming from?
Who has to pay the utilities and ordinary maintenance costs?
Has the neighborhood group approved of this change?
Has the city granted 'landmark status' yet?
Will the house be open for public tours?
Where is the $3M restoration money coming from?
Who has to pay the utilities and ordinary maintenance costs?
Has the neighborhood group approved of this change?
Has the city granted 'landmark status' yet?
Will the house be open for public tours?
Former owner of the G. Curtis Yelland House (1910), by Wm. Drummond
Good news IF the school will have the funding year after year to keep it maintained.
Remember:
-The house still isn't landmarked.
-The neighbors still don't want the house open for tours or fundraisers...given this condition, what will the school do with the house other than use it as expensive to maintain offsite student or visitor housing?
True, the house will provide learning by doing restoration and maintenance opportunities, but has the School just taken on another historic property to maintain in addition to the others it struggles to keep up?
Remember:
-The house still isn't landmarked.
-The neighbors still don't want the house open for tours or fundraisers...given this condition, what will the school do with the house other than use it as expensive to maintain offsite student or visitor housing?
True, the house will provide learning by doing restoration and maintenance opportunities, but has the School just taken on another historic property to maintain in addition to the others it struggles to keep up?
I share the others' concern over the school's ability tol pay for upkeep. Schools have a mixed record at taking care of important architecture. Weltzheimer, Hanna, Gamble, Affleck and Neutra VDL have done well.
On the other hand, there's Freeman. It got needed (and very expensive) structural shoring-up but has never received a proper restoration and is rarely accessible. Several reasons come to mind: it was in bad condition when USC acquired it; it didn't come with a big endowment; its location makes it impractical for tours and public events.
If the school could make it a public attraction, tour and gift shop revenue could make it a financial success, but apparently that isn't going to happen.
On the other hand, there's Freeman. It got needed (and very expensive) structural shoring-up but has never received a proper restoration and is rarely accessible. Several reasons come to mind: it was in bad condition when USC acquired it; it didn't come with a big endowment; its location makes it impractical for tours and public events.
If the school could make it a public attraction, tour and gift shop revenue could make it a financial success, but apparently that isn't going to happen.
This has the potential to be a true test of the ability of the various entities in the Wright Community to come together for the greater good. There are numerous organizations - the School, the Foundation, the Trust, the Conservancy - all of which actively fundraise to support their piece of the Wright legacy. This would seem to be that rare case where those pieces overlap, and the interests of multiple organizations are involved. The School, obviously, wants to be able to utilize the house as a satellite campus, housing apprentices and teaching restoration techniques; the Foundation wants to add the site to it's stable of properties, expanding the ability to share Wright's work with public; the Conservancy has been actively involved in the attempts to save the house from demolition and has as its core value the desire to see the house in a stable long-term preservation program. If ever there were a situation where the various organizations need to pull together on the same rope, this is it - and it's probably the only way a $20M goal could be reached.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Docent, Hollyhock House - Hollywood, CA
Humble student of the Master
"Youth is a circumstance you can't do anything about. The trick is to grow up without getting old." - Frank Lloyd Wright
Humble student of the Master
"Youth is a circumstance you can't do anything about. The trick is to grow up without getting old." - Frank Lloyd Wright
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Paul Ringstrom
- Posts: 4777
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 4:53 pm
- Location: Mason City, IA
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Roderick Grant
- Posts: 11815
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:48 am
The article says that the house will become the property of Arizona Community Foundation, not Taliesin directly. So looking into that group's endeavors and balance sheet might prove more revealing
There are always details to work out in situations like this, but it's important to take a positive attitude. Obviously Rawlings determined that keeping the house and its intended program was not feasible, so he is trying to do what's proper and what will, if successful, result in the second-most desirable outcome, short of returning to a private residence.
There are always details to work out in situations like this, but it's important to take a positive attitude. Obviously Rawlings determined that keeping the house and its intended program was not feasible, so he is trying to do what's proper and what will, if successful, result in the second-most desirable outcome, short of returning to a private residence.
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Paul Ringstrom
- Posts: 4777
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 4:53 pm
- Location: Mason City, IA
Neighborhood turmoil: Will Frank Lloyd Wright House donation end Arcadia feud?
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/loc ... 380906001/
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/loc ... 380906001/
Former owner of the G. Curtis Yelland House (1910), by Wm. Drummond