The Acres

[Doug LaBrecque]

I am the owner of the Curtis Meyer house, and have just logged on here for some advice. We have just created a new mailbox structure at the entrance of The Acres. The old one was desperately in need of attention. We have a wonderful contractor who has done quite a bit of the restoration on the Weisblat house and the Pratt house. He came up with a design that met our very limited budget and our practical needs.

We now want to have "THE ACRES" attached to the new mailbox structure. Should we use the FLLW eaglefeather font? We can pay a company to download the font, and make us aluminum letters which will be the closest we can come to Cherokee red. The letters will be 1/2 thick, and 9". Any thoughts from anyone? We were quoted 60 bucks per letter. Has anyone had any experience with fonts and signage? We also are in need of a new street sign that will say Hawthorne Drive.



I will log on at a later date and give this page an update on all of the excitng projects happening at The Acres.

[Roderick Grant]

I can't advise you on your current plight, but I must say that your house is really wonderful. I hope your neighbor, the Eppstein House, ends up in good hands. Any news on that front?

[matthews]

I did a search and got this place - www.customhousenumbers.com. It looks like they do what you're asking. Don't know how much it costs though.



By the way, P22 the company that put out Eaglefeather also put out several other FLlW faces, so you may want to check those out.

[allwrightythen1]

I know that there is a design group called erban ink that says they specialize in Frank Lloyd Wright graphic design:



http://www.erbanink.com/wright.htm



I contacted them about a brochure design awile back and they were very reasonable and nice. They could probably help you out or at least answer some of the questions you have.

[dkottum]

How about this.



http://www.peterbeers.net/interests/flw ... _homes.htm



I don't know who designed this, but the lettering is of a style Taliesin was using at the time your house was built. The Eaglefeather font was of an earlier time, before the Usonian era.

[MHOLUBAR]

I have to agree with dkottum that the old sign is the way to go. New boards, engraved, or hand carved and painted, would look perfect, just as they were drawn. It could likely be installed with a level for less than the price of aluminum letters. The old sign lasted pretty well for 40 years(?)

[Doug LaBrecque]

Thanks for the various info guys, I have made a few calls, and I think this will shape up nicely. The old sign was on pressure treated wood and was from the late 70's. Since it was nearly falling down and was poorly built, there really was no love for it. We did like the font though! It is too late to etch or engrave onto the new cedar, but perhaps we will consider an attached sign in the same font that we will choose for our new street sign. Regardless of what we decide( we make our decisions as a group), I am certain it will be an improvement over what was there.



I will try to log on at a later date and give specifics on all of the restoration of the Curtis Meyer house. I am pleased with the results, and I am certain that the legions of Wright devotees will be elated.





Best,

[SDR]

Not to belabor the point, but is this a picture of the sign you are replacing ? Is it on community-owned property ?



http://www.peterbeers.net/interests/flw ... _homes.htm



This would appear (to my eye) to be an early, perhaps Taliesin-designed sign structure ? If so, it should certainly be salvaged, at least as an historic artifact related to your world-famous architectural community ?



I could see sanding the boards, repainting the letters, and mounting the boards to a newly-built replica of the original masonry. . .



This does not appear to be 30-year-old pressure-treated lumber, so perhaps we are not on the same page.



Was there a mailbox as part of this sign, or was/were mailbox/es a later addition ? Is that the mailbox structure on the left of the photo ?



Please pardon my belated barrage of questions. I am still looking for other online aluminum-letter vendors; several came to light last year on another design board. You should be able to do better than the price quoted, I believe. I agree that the Eaglefeather font is too early for your home(s).



Respectfully, SDR

[Craig]

Doug,



Yes, please do post some photos. My partner and I looked at the home many years ago when it was on the market. We didn't purchase the property but it is wonderful. I especially liked the semi-circular office in the "tower." And that original dining table was pretty great too.



As for the sign, I agree with SDR. Couldn't it simply be recreated using the original as template or even salvaged if matter of economy is the issue?



In any event, keep us posted. Those of us who know the Acres are happy to see it on the upswing!

[wjsaia]

I agree with the idea of adhering to the existing letter style.



I recommend salvaging, repairing, refinishing, and re-installing the original incised wood sign components and incorporating them into your new mailbox enclosure. Not knowing any details of that design, which you report has already been executed, it's a little hard to know how nicely that could be accomplished, but that would have been the first and most desirable approach, I believe. The original masonry elements also might best have been replumbed and restored as part of the overall project, but maybe it's too late for that now; I wouldn't know.



Any investment of time and money in new, painted aluminum letters, mounted to a wood substrate, is likely to turn out disappointing at some point, because, once any neighboring teenage Tom, Harry, Ed, Al, Charlie, Rod, another Ed, or Sam gets the idea he'd like to have a nice Cherokee Red personal initial from The Acres hanging in his bedroom, the letters will start to disappear quickly. It's really easy for vandals to pry off metal letters when they are mounted on wood.



Bill Schwarz

[SDR]

I believe (based on appearance) that the existing sign boards may be of mahogany or another weather-resistant wood. A surface sanding would refresh them without damaging the recessed carved letters, after which they would return to their present appearance over time, as was Wright's preference.







This is 72 pt. Century Gothic (see 'gothic' in a dictionary); the 'S' is a 79 pt. figure, rotated.



SDR