Wright Chat

Will be traveling from TX to Detroit tours. Wondering if other Conservancy members might want to get a car together and drive by other houses - Ann Arbor, Okemos, Kalamazoo etc.

Don't miss the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids its the best Wright in Michigan

Linda, I like your idea. It does seem a shame to go all that way and miss some well-known Wright houses that aren’t too far from Detroit. Here is some food for thought:

Wright houses in various Michigan cities (not including Affleck, Smith, and Turkel which are included on the Conservancy tour in Detroit / Bloomfield Hills):

Ann Arbor: Palmer
Benton Harbor: Anthony
Galesburg: Eppstein, Meyer, Pratt, Weisblat
Grand Beach: Bagley, Vosburgh
Grand Rapids: Meyer May
Kalamazoo: Parkwyn Village (Brown, Levin, McCartney, Winn)
Marquette: Abbey Beecher Roberts
Northport: Alpaugh
Okemos: Brauner, Edwards, Goetsch-Winckler, Schaberg
Plymouth: Goddard, Wall
St. Joseph: Harper, Schultz, LaFond
Whitehall: Gale Cottages, Walter Gerts, Gerts double house

According to Mapquest, a loop from Detroit to Okemos to Grand Rapids to St. Joseph to Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor and back to Detroit is 440 miles and 7.5 hrs drive time:

Detroit to Okemos: 87 mi and 1.5 hrs
Okemos to Grand Rapids: 80 mi and 1 hr 20 mins
Grand Rapids to St. Joseph: 80 mi and 1 hr 20 mins
St. Joseph to Kalamazoo: 52 mi and 1 hr
Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor: 100 mi and 1 hr 40 mins
Ann Arbor to Detroit: 43 mi and 50 mins

Eliminating St. Joseph, which is the farthest city, shortens the loop trip to 360 mi and 6 hrs.

Detroit to Okemos: 87 mi and 1.5 hrs
Okemos to Grand Rapids: 80 mi and 1 hr 20 mins
Grand Rapids to Kalamazoo: 50 mi and 52 mins
Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor: 100 mi and 1 hr 40 mins
Ann Arbor to Detroit: 43 mi and 50 mins

Even just Detroit to Okemos and Grand Rapids and back is 328 miles and 5 hrs 20 min drive time. Definitely doable in a day, although it might make for a long day. Does anyone have connections to get us into Meyer May or Goetsch-Winckler?

The Meyer May House is free

— Tuesdays & Thursdays from10 a.m.to2 p.m. Sundays from 1-5 p.m.

Thanks everyone; I had pretty well researched all of this but thought it might be easier to do this in a group. I am used to having a friend with me to navigate so I can concentrate on pictures.

We are at the G-W house until about July 22. We'd love to have you stop by.

gwdan:

Thank you very much for the kind offer - to visit one of Wright's truly special Usonians. And it would be certainly be wonderful to take you up on it, too, but the Conservancy Detroit event is on Saturday, August 13th - sadly, after your July 22nd leave date.

Hopefully, on a future visit to MI circumstances could work out more favorably.


David

Great idea!
I'm sure you are going to call first.

Are any of you planning a side trip to other Wright houses in Michigan, besides the houses in Detroit? Meyer May in Grand Rapids is open for public tours, and it looks like the Palmer house in Ann Arbor is only available for overnight rentals, but not for tours. Are these the only ones that are open to the public? Are the owners of the other houses receptive to visitors?

I'm going to pass by as many houses as I can on my way to Detroit, but I'm not sure if anyone is open to Tours.
I might try to call some.

This is a little out of sequence, but is the G-W house a short term rental?

Here are the pictures from our Detroit tour:

Smith House

Affleck House

Turkel House


All of the homes were looking magnificent and are very well taken care of. Many thanks goes to all of the homeowners for being so generous in the sharing the special houses they have. And a special thanks goes to the current owners of the Turkel home - who put on a truly wonderful reception for so many Wright enthusiasts.


David

The views of the Smith House back show a detail that has always disturbed me. The little lantern on the terrace wall is the focus of attention, and it shouldn't be. The dominant placement and quality of the material as it differs from that of the house gives it unwonted significance, so that it's not a decorative accent so much as a distraction. Even the much larger modernist sculpture fits in better and is not at all distracting. It should also be pointed out that the end of the structure was added by TAA after FLW's death, and a perfect fit it is. From interior photo 37, showing the screen, to #40 is addition. One of the best Usonians.

Affleck should win a prize for most unusual Usonian design. It's a wonderful house. Could use some landscaping around the bedroom wing more akin to that on the downhill slope, with prairie grass, wild flowers and vines throughout, without any sort of pattern as the patch near the entrance shows. Also, a little less blacktop up front.

I suppose the moniker "Lazarus House" should be reserved for Auldbrass, considering how close it was to death when Joel took it on, but Turkel is a close runner-up. It was in desperate condition when I saw it in 1989.

A lovely trio, lovingly recorded on electronic "film" by David. It is so gratifying to see one after another of these unique architectural essays rescued, restored, and landscaped, so that we and others may enjoy their many aspects -- in any season and weather -- into the future.

SDR

Thanks for all those amazing photos. The carport at Smith is really something, isn't it?

Is Affleck occupied now? When I was there in 2009, it was owned by a college and was being renovated and used for university events.

Turkel has also come along quite well. It's one of Detroit's little-known gems.