For those traveling the country in search of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Duncan Residence, S.407.2, is now located in Polymath Resort Park on Usonia Drive in Acme, PA, a short stop from PA Tpke exit 91, the same you use for Fallingwater, S.230, and Kentuck Knob's Hagan house, S377. Take US 31 west at the turnpike exit to Clay Pike Road. 3.3 miles up you will find Dillon Road on the right. Right at the Y. The house is available for overnight stays. 877/833-7829.

Hagan residence, Kentuck Knob, S.377, 724-329-1901. Kauffman residence, Fallingwater, S.230, 724/329-8501

Others travelling in SE New York State or SW Connecticut and curious about all the brouhaha surrounding the Massaro attempt with Tom Heinz to build the Chahroudi residence (See S.346) might wish to consider the following:

MASSARO VERSUS WRIGHT

If only the dream of Mr Massaro had been properly realized, we’d all be praising his effort. Sadly, both on legal and aesthetic grounds, the Massaro house on Petra Island is not, and cannot be called, a Frank Lloyd Wright house. It could have been but, first Massaro agreed with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to say only that his building was “inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright” and second, too many compromises based on what Massaro wanted, not on what Wright gave him, deny a Wrightian claim.
Massaro might have hired a Taliesin Fellow to head the project, someone familiar with organic architectural practices from having lived with them over the decades since Mr. Wright’s death. Thereby he might have gotten more favorable press from the purists who would have been forced to look closely at the finished project before passing judgement. Further, one should not blame Tom Heinz for taking on the project. What architect would have passed up this opportunity to complete a Wright masterpiece, given also a fee worth two or three year’s earnings in one project? It is the compromises to which Heinz acceded that are unWrightian that should bother everyone.
Were I a consultant to the project, being generally recognized as an arbiter on what is Wright and what not as demonstrated in my two books, I’d have insisted on either a Taliesin or a Taliesin-trained Fellow to direct the project. That is the price one has to pay for authenticity. For instance, if Eric Wright had been the architect of record, who would argue the finished project? Eric, who worked in the Taliesin draftingroom under his Grandfather's direction (as well as under his father Lloyd Wright's supervision), might have produced convincing blueprints from the unfinished sketches with which Tom Heinz had to work.
So, what is wrong in the finished project?
Massaro has said that he didn't build the stairs from the cantilevered porch because they would descend into 3 feet of water. IF SO, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN WHAT WRIGHT WANTED, SO WHO IS MASSARO TO QUESTION WRIGHT’S INTENT? That stair was Wright’s referent to Fallingwater (S.230) which, in a moment of showmanship, the architect claimed would be trumped by the Chahroudi structure. No stair, no referent, no Wrightian authorship.
Massaro's 26 skylights are domed; Wright designed skylights that were flat. Massaro counters that flat ones leak. MODERN SEALANTS CAN PREVENT LEAKAGE OF FLAT SKYLIGHTS (much as modern technology can seal Wrightian flat roofs).
Margaret Folsom Leighey (S.268) railed against the National Trust after it moved her house to Woodlawn Plantation and positioned it differently than at its original site. Resited, the shadows didn’t fall as they originally did. Shadows from domed skylights would not fall the same as from flat ones.
Next might be listed the desert masonry (desert rubblestone wall), a construction process developed by Wright in which the embedded stones are flush with or recessed within the containing concrete. At Massaro’s house, many stones stick out, a clear violation of Wright’s intent.
In order to follow building codes, Massaro claims, he had to add 4 inches of Styrofoam insulation inside the support posts, making it impossible to embed the odd-shaped granite stones he harvested from the island and still keep the house from collapsing. DID MASSARO EVER CONSIDER GOING TO THE BUILDING INSPECTOR AND ASKING FOR A VARIANCE, GIVEN THE POSSIBLE HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS BUILDING WERE IT BUILT EXACTLY TO WRIGHT’S SPECIFICATIONS? “Frank would have changed this,” responds Massaro. “He would have had to.” HOW DO WE KNOW how WRIGHT WOULD HAVE CHANGED IT, IF HE WOULD? MAYBE WRIGHT WOULD HAVE ABANDONED THE PROJECT, OR COMPLETELY REDESIGNED IT.
Given Massaro’s combative attitude, utterly different from Chahroudi’s nature, I believe Wright would have redesigned it. He would have given Massaro a different house, still site-specific as the Chahroudi, but more in keeping with the different client’s character. Maybe it would have trumped Fallingwater, the Massaro house does not.

SAD NEWS. S.005 and S.006B, the Louis Sullivan properties in Ocean Springs, MS, were totally destroyed by hurricane Katrina 28 August 2005. The James Charnley Bungalow, S.007, was gutted by the storm. The Guesthouse section, S.008A, of that building was largely destroyed. Your FLlW UPDATE webmaster was in Ocean Springs, Monday, September 26, 2005. To see images of Katrina damage to the Charnley site, click HERE.

There is really only one way to "view" Wright if one wishes to gain an understanding of his genius. One must go into the buildings. Standing outside and look at the building, however much that may reveal what is in side (as good organic design will), is a fruitless pursuit. There are now a few buildings by Wright that are available for rental by the week or weekend, and a bed & breakfast, as well as several sites that may be visited for a small fee on a daily basis. CLICK HERE for a listing.

Herewith some answers to the challenge I made to all academics who claim to be experts on the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright or who otherwise teach courses on the work of the master. They were to demonstrate their knowledge or admit they were deficient. From Cambridge to Madison, many failed to prove their worthiness. Here is a site with items under consideration as possibly by Wright. Weigh in with your conclusions, either yes, or no, or possibly, and why. No excuses. If you want more information, email for what is available. What is shown should, however, be sufficient. CLICK HERE.

When we have no reliable photographic evidence together with a plan from the archives of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, how do we know if a work was built in any form, or as designed, nor not at all ? This is important regarding S.132, S.143, S.123, S.124 and S.223, among others. Or the buildings that were collaborations, not unique Wright works, such as S.010, S.033, S.045 and S/014. But here, this is all about "built works that weren't!" In April 2000 I went to Damietta and the east branch of the Nile delta, to check out the cottages at or near there. Here is a genearal statement, and a report on the Egyptian cottages. Click HERE.

There are very few Frank Lloyd Wright web sites that are truly useful. Many are advertisements for real estate that "looks" like a Frank Lloyd Wright building, according to the real estate agent. Others, like the NASA site, are graphically interesting, but seriously outdated (the NASA site uses the "Bruce Radde" list of Wright structures published in Raeburn and Kaufmann's Frank Lloyd Wright; Writings and Buildings, which was actually assembled by another Taliesin fellow and of which about every third listing is incorrect). One site is from a Boston College professor who offers a portfolio of perspective uncorrected images of buildings. My standard for individual listings is that the site manager always identify built Wright structures by the Storrer catalog number as given in The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion together with the full site name as therein listed. Indices to other sites are judged by how comprehensive their listings and how easy it is to navigate them. With over 700,000 sites that come up in a general search of "Frank Lloyd Wright," it seems absurd to advise of any as being special. PBS has opened a site, but it is too reliant on the faulty two-part Ken Burns Frank Lloyd Wright Biography.

Anyone reading this and thinking their site should be included, please email me accordingly at < franklloydwright@storrer.com>

<http://www.wrightnowinbuffalo.com> is the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau web site devoted to Buffalo's incredible wealth of architecture, art and heritage attractions. The site features detailed information on the city's outstanding collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings.

<http://www.steinerag.com/flw> is the Steiner Agency's private site that chronicles nearly 1,400 books, periodicals and items related to our favorite architect. This site includes nearly one thousand internet pages covering Wright's published work beginning in 1895 through recently published work.

<http://www.jpvanherik.com> is Jason Paul van Herik's site showing his organic architecture in Japan.

Regarding S.092, the Mosher home	The Mitchell Residence, S.039, Wright with Corwin
FLlW Companion; CD-ROM & foreign language editions	Photo gallery; Marin County Hall of Justice
The Storrer Biography of Wright.	Not by Wright, but by the Taliesin architects
New exteriors in Oak Park	Not by Wright, no matter who says so
FLlW; A Gatefold Portfolio	Buildings undergoing major restoration
Ken Burns' FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT	Derelict buildings
Lloyd Wright in Chicago	USA travel to Frank Lloyd Wright sites
Gehry versus Gaudi	Wright buildings recently opened to the public
Organic architecture; living the future, rather than doting on the past; FOKSE	Other Wright-related sites worth consideration
Movies filmed in the Ennis house, S.217	Trophy books, or Why do Brits write about Wright?
Changes to printings of The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion since 1993 first printing	Wright in Racine: The Architect's Vision for One American City, an editorial

	43 Book reviews combined into a single page