Theodore van Fossen (Rush Creek Village - OH) home in danger

[DavidC]

1940 home influenced by Wright in danger


David

[Palli Davis Holubar]

Funny how conversations meander around the same subjects:
Tony Smith was one of the Taliesin Apprentices helping to build the Gunning House in 1940.

The images on the Columbus Landmarks site announcing the endangered House are excellent and include a period B&W showing fireplace and furniture. How could a house like this be neglected so long in such a prosperous city... while MacMansions and "ski lodge" condos multiplied like rabbits under hedge funds?

www.columbuslandmarks.org/preservation/gunning.php
(the pdf take a long time, haven't gotten them yet)

This is a wonderful site & an fine early house to study the deep meaning of FLW' s organic architectural ideas outside the realm of his personal influence.
More work should be done on Theodore Van Fossen's work. He was 20 years old when he built the Gunning House!

Some non-profit should bite off this building if there are no sensitive individuals in Columbus who want to live in this natural and built environment.

[Wrightgeek]

Palli-

It's not as though there are no individuals here in Central Ohio who want to live in such a captivating environment. I live about 10-12 miles away, and have visited the site several times over the past few years. I would love to be the one to save this treasure, but unfortunately I do not have a spare half million dollars available to invest in such an undertaking. And while the buildings are outstanding and the natural characteristics of the site are spectacular, the property has several substantial drawbacks attached to it.

First of all, while the house is certainly not beyond repair, it will require major renovation, as it has been unoccupied for a number of years.

Second, the property is situated on US Route 16, which is called East Broad Street in Columbus. Broad Street is one of the major east/west arteries through Central Ohio, and at the location of this building it is a seven lane thoroughfare with a speed limit of 50 MPH, and as a result the home's site is surrounded mostly by office and commercial properties.

Third, the house is located approximately five miles from Port Columbus International Airport, and lies directly under the flight path of one of the airport's busiest east/west runways. Passenger jets come over the house every 10-15 minutes during peaks times, at altitudes of less than 3000 feet, creating quite a roar as you can imagine.

And finally, there's the present state of our economy.

I don't mean to sound negative about the house's future, just realistic. I would truly love to see this unique property restored to it's original 1940's Usonian-style glory, but the obstacles are substantial. Here's hoping a savior from within or beyond the bounds of Central Ohio can be found to rescue this gem, before it is too late.

[Palli Davis Holubar]

Wrightgeek- We don't either... thirty years ago when real estate was more reasonable I should have purchased a similar neglected vernacular structure in Wisconsin...old regrets. The difference today is there are fewer people with the skill and interest to take on such projects...to restore in the Berger Usonian homeowner way. And fewer people willing to let go of property for it's own good instead of the potential land value of commerce.
And it sounds like a myriad of problems that would deter a homeowner wth dreams of quiet Sunday evenings on the lanai after weekends of hardwork. Jets are inescapable.

But a office that has little foot traffic, nature conservancy, etc? Is this 2.5 acres surrounded by big offices buildings, parking lots, malls or do the other buildings have large expanses of groomed acreage? Having stood empty, is the problem largely the roof?

Questions from the photographer: When you visited could you walk all around and inside? I assume the realtor would have to give permission now, yes? Modern "ruins" are hard to find. Is the house that close to that far gone? You said buildings...are there others?

[janlee445]

I agree with Wrightgeek, it's not that there is nobody here in central Ohio that would love to restore the house, it would present quite a challenge due to the neglect and state of disrepair. Before winter set in, I went over there and took photos - I live only about 7 miles away. Despite the fact that the house is located on a major thoroughfare, when you are back there, it is an oasis. I was just in awe!!. However, there were no planes that flew over while I was there.

My nephew proposed a bed and breakfast for this house. I know several Wright usonian houses are now available for overnight stays. Maybe the connection to Wright would be enough to draw visitors and business travelers who do not want a traditional hotel. However, I do not have the means nor the energy for such an ambitious project.

As far as the setting, Palli, it is surrounded on the east by only one private residence and of course, the ravine. On the west and south, it is surrounded by subdivisions. And, it was unlocked. There was a steady stream of traffic of people with cameras going in and out of there. I talked with a woman who lives in Reynoldsburg that used to live in Wisconsin near Taliesin.

[peterm]

the daughter of tony smith (the sculptor, and co designer of this great house), kiki smith, is also an extremely important and successful artist. she would probably have the means to restore this great house. since this might be one of the only works of architecture by tony, one would think she would be interested.

http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2003/kikismith/

[RA]

Boy, I was not feeling the love looking at this house. The interior stone work is funky to put it nicely, the ceiling is oppresive, the furniture in the vintage photo was very primative and the fireplace in the photo was not very nice as well. The exterior is also unatractive.

What an incredible difference between this house and a Wright designed house. Night and day. Even the Wright houses which purportedly may have only had his signature on the prints after he ok'd the plans are light years better than this house. It is interesting to experience this difference.

Tony Smith ultimately chose the correct career path.

Some of the exterior landscaping and stone work is nice.

This is goig to be a hard sell other than at the value of the land.

[Craig]

Seems like conflicting information. As architecture I find the house to be simply stunning (unlike some others posting here). As real estate, well, it is location, location, location. I do find it almost unbelievable that this house has been on the market for 3 years and that it sits unlocked even after being written up in the local paper with the address included. If the owner is out of state then exactly where the hell is the real estate agent? (Or the police for that matter - isn't it called trespassing?) I was upset to read about the vandalism.

I hope that someone in their right mind who lives in the area rises to the occasion. There must be SOMEONE.

[KevinW]

........there are some things about this house that I like. I can tell you I was not doing stuff like this at age 20.

[Palli Davis Holubar]

Yes, myLiebermeisterAGG, that simple fact is what struck me as well.

It also speaks of another important fact: the influence of FLW and organic architecture was an intellectual wildfire that instilled significant energy into a generation of young people before and again after WWII. As a midwestern babyboomer, the fascinating cultural history questions are: how did Taliesin apprentices have the opportunity to work on this Columbus house? Were apprentices (short-term or not) "builders for hire"? How did the "buzz" circulate? How did Van Fossen have the opportunity to build a house? This is years before Rush Creek development, did FLW know Von Fossen and wish him well by sending workers? How was this house accepted in 1940 in Central Ohio? etc. Seems like perf boards will be on the back burner for awhile...

[DavidC]

I don't know a thing about it, but the Ted Von Fossen story must be a fascinating one. To be able to take in, adapt and make practical Wright's Usonian philosophy at such a young age - and then implement it for a whole community - seems an amazing accomplishment. Does anyone know if there are any scholarly publications on him and his work? If not, given that he's still alive (I believe), the clock most certainly is ticking on gathering up first-hand info.


David

[Palli Davis Holubar]

The Ohio Historical Society lists his name as Von Fossan- The Historical Society has it misspelled. Fossen is correct. I have just be speaking wih a friend of Martha Wakefield who remembers sitting in the house in the 50s. It was glorious then, too. Robert Gunning, the owner, is an interesting person as well- he designed the FOG Index in 1952, a simple tool to measure the clarity of writing.

[Shawn Beckwith]

I visited this property three years ago, before I was transfered to Florida. I was invited by a local well respected preservation architect walked up the tower and all around. The berm and landscape next to Broad street and the size of the lot the architect's idea was to place two more Usonian type structures on the lot. Albeit grandparent houses, studios what have you. There is still room for a drive and open area for garden, catch, kids playing ball. Only when the decidious trees go dormant might you be able to see another house across the ravine. It is an island of sucor. Nature abound and you donot hear the traffic. It would be a shame if a developer leveled it. Very pleased this is recieving national attention. The renovation, restoration is doable from my recollection and was not butchered. Sure some things need fixing. We have made award winning project out of far worse. It is a diamond in the ruff.

D. Shawn Beckwith
Restoration Project Manager of the
Burton J. Westcott House
The Durable Restoration Company
Columbus, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Cocoa Beach

[teamteets]

I visited the house yesterday with the realtor. He is very knowledgeable about the history of the house both locally and the significance of the property. I did find the interior work excessively primitive relative to Wright houses. The exterior design and workmanship was wonderful. This contrast as well as the difficult location on E. Broad street make this a hard purchase to make.

I have a blog post with more details of the current state of the structures. Also scroll down through the blog, and through the past months to see my Wright inspired renovations. (blog url will be in next post... forum won't let me post a URL in my first post)

[teamteets]

http://bikedublin.wordpress.com/