Conservancy Fundraiser: "Frank Lloyd Wright Evening at Penwern"

[DavidC]

Frank Lloyd Wright Evening at Penwern


David

[Roderick Grant]

Well, you know not whereof you speak.

[SDR]

Somebody needs to read this guy his rights, as we used to say. Those who live in glass houses (appropriate metaphor for an architecture site) should refrain from hurling brickbats ?

Or is it not worth the trouble . . .

S

[SDR]

Touché, But, about all the insults: What's up with that ?

S

[SDR]

Your first three posts to this thread contain---are composed of---insults to the parties mentioned. I don't care what you say about me, whether founded or not---but what is the point of dismissing the Conservancy as irrelevant or worse ? Would you say that you have benefitted, over the last 11 years, from the existence of this forum, a public face of the organization provided to members of the Wright community without charge and without advertising (other than that offered by members like yourself) ?

S

[jay]

What is the intended use for the 3.5 to 4 million dollars anyway? So, a suggestion, why don’t they change their name to the “Frank Lloyd Whitefish event planners“, as a more accurate way of defining their role?
Signed, on behalf of the dozens of the non-elite Wright building owners who have never received a thing from the flwbc,
Michael Miner

Many ridiculous and offensive things said above by Mr. Miner. I don't enjoy any of it, and have zero interest in granting his petulant behavior any significance.

However, I find it irritating that Mr. Miner has cited "3.5 to 4 million dollars" with an implication that money should be going to the homeowners. Because simple back-of-the-napkin math shows that is an instant way to bankrupt the organization.

There are over 400 existing FLLW structures. The values of these buildings range widely, but for quick math, we can assume the average value of a FLLW building is a few million. Multiply that by 400 and we've easily topped a billion dollars worth of Wright property value.

All of these 400+ structures were built between 60 and 100+ years ago, and all of them are architecturally complex buildings. Meaning, they all require an advanced and expensive range of repairs, rehabilitation, and maintenance. $4 million is pennies in a well for the full scope of Wright properties and their ongoing maintenance, rehab, and preservation costs.

The stated goal of the FLWBC, rather, is to help find good stewards who will personally invest in Wright properties, while ensuring they follow the organization's preservation goals. (Event planning is a tool that the FLWBC and many other organizations use to form social environments that serve their cause.) I have not seen the FLWBC state that they fundraise to help owners with their costs.

Further, "$4 million of assets" is utterly unconvincing as evidence of some scandalous enterprise.

[jay]

1. I am not associated in any way with the FLWBC.

2. The average FLLW building I said is maybe a 'few million dollars'. There are a handful of houses that sell below that, and very many that sell above that figure. Certainly nobody will suggest the total value of 400+ Wright buildings is any less than $1 billion. My point being that the FLWBC is an organization tasked with preserving this entire catalogue, and $4 million evaporates in a heartbeat if they start paying homeowner's repairs, rehabs, etc.

3. Good on you to be trying to save Wright buildings. I question your severe tactics, and how counterproductive this type of attitude you display here is. What it says about you as a person. How trustworthy or good-natured you are. Quite frankly, I'd never donate to your organization simply due to your attitude... But nevertheless, your goal is the same as many Wright lovers. To preserve the buildings. So there's that.

[jay]

So, whoever you are, let’s never talk again.

If you don't wish to talk with the people on this public forum––which is owned and run by the FLWBC––then you ought to avoid making your self-aggrandizing appearances on here.

Yet we know your agenda: Log in to the Wright Chat every couple of months. Toss a grenade. Be overly hostile and critical to everything and everyone. Claim your own greatness. Then declare you're done with this site and all the idiots here.

Congratulations! You're a belligerent dude! But worse, your arguments against the FLWBC are just dumb. You want them to be something they explicitly are not. So you insult them and everyone else for failing to meet some lofty expectation that only yourself has placed on them. Again, the FLWBC doesn't fundraise to help homeowners with their costs. End of story. Your complaints are baseless.

In the end, your presence here is nothing but an internet cliche:
Another angry dude with his Holier-Than-Thou Opinion, insulting anyone who comes near.

[Roderick Grant]

Jay, as the Elder Edda stated a thousand years ago:

"Never bandy words with a bad man.
Often the better is beaten in a word fight by the worse."

[peterm]

I met Mr. Miner about 9 months ago. He (or shall I say his organization?) was intent on purchasing the Alsop house in Oskaloosa. I had been assigned by the estate of the deceased owner to be the designated point/contact person in order to conduct showings. As I approached him in his parked car in front of Alsop, I introduced myself.
“Hello, I’m Peter Maunu. I am the owner and steward of the Lamberson house around the corner. Why don’t you come in out of the pouring rain? I’d be happy to show you the house.”

He simply responded, “I know who you are”, and proceeded to look away and roll up his window. Can I admit to being quite relieved when he was later outbid by another buyer at the final auction?

[pmahoney]

Michael Miner has been removed from Wright Chat for his continued disruptive behavior, both in this forum and in other venues. The Conservancy welcomes spirited discussion and constructive feedback on our work, but accusations and ad hominem attacks will not be tolerated.