Restoration projects

The following buildings are undergoing restoration, some total, others not so obvious. If you know of others, please let us know at franklloydwright@stirrer.com

Materials in this & related web pages are copyright © MMV by William Allin Storrer

This page updated 27 April 2003

The William P Boswell house, S.423, in Indian Hills northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio, has recently been given a thorough renovation. Its overly-complicated heating/cooling system has been updated and wood surfaces refinished. The bedroom wing has been reconfigured.

The Louis Penfield house, S.365, in Willoughby Hills east of Cleveland, Ohio, has been lovingly restored over four years and is available for weekly rentals.

 

The Gerald Tonkens house, S.386, in Amberley Village north of Cincinnati, Ohio, is the best-constructed version of the Usonian Automatic. Its roof is solid coffered concrete block. It has recently been reported that the roof is being worked on, tho we have no further information.

 

If you didn't know that Taliesin, S.218, has long been in need of much repair, you haven't been following the world of Wright closely. Even though Wright did major changes to the structure twice, and minor ones all the time, not much was done after his death. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the Taliesin Architects have never had sufficient funds to do the job properly.

 

The A D German Warehouse, S.183 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, just a ways down the road from Spring Green, has never been what it seems. The patterned block that was to have formed the frieze was constructed as poured-in-place concrete. The idea of a teahouse restaurant, art gallery and such seems to have been the idea of a later owner; Wright designed a warehouse only. Thanks to Randolph Henning for clearing up this issue.

 

Kaufmann Residence Fallingwater, S.230, in Bear Run, Pennsylvania. Structural problems continue to plague restoration of Wright's most famous work. Everyone tries to blame Wright as they get paid enormous sums to solve the problems. The latest argument seems to be that the upper floors placed too much weight on the lower cantilever. It should be noted, however, that this area of Pennsylvania suffers heavy acid-rain which, of course, seeps into cracks and eats away at structural steel needed to support the cantilever. Better the critics learn about materials which now solve problems which in Wright's day were insoluble.

 

 Robie House, S.127, in Chicago, Illinois, as we have long known it.

 Robie House under reconstrution

 

 

Barnsdall Hollyhock House, S.208, in Los Angeles, California. Summer 2001 found Barnsdall Park a total mess, with no access to the grounds, as construction and reconstruction was ongoing.

 Darwin D Martin Residence, S.100-102, in Buffalo, New York.

 

 The house before restoration (above) and Conservatory (right)

 

Isabel Martin House "Greycliff," S.225, in Derby, New York, southwest of Buffalo on Lake Erie. Tours are offered, by reservation only; 716-947-9217

 For information, got to their web site <http://graycliff.bfn.org>

Willey Residence S.229, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A new owner has decided to fully restore this magnificent example of the transition from the California block houses, the first Usonians, to what would be called by most historians bent on considering the first Jacobs Residence (S.234) the first Usonian house.

 Westcott Residence, S.099, in Springfield, Ohio, exterior, interior, both current

A B Roberts House, S.236, in Marquette, Michigan. Little upkeep was done on this most-northern of Michigan Wright during the lifetime of astrologer Roberts. Work proceeds yearly at a slow but inevitable pace.

Samuel Freeman Residence, S.216, in Hollywood, California. Owned by USC which seems to want to spend as little as possible on restoration. Four block houses were built in southern California. The latter three used the structural system Wright would feature in his Usonian Automatic houses of the 1950s. The Storer residence, S.215, has been fully restored by cinema producer Joel Silver with help from Wright grandson Eric. The Ennis house, S.217, is in constant danger of sliding down the hill and becoming nothing more than rubble. This house needs to be preserved and either used by the university or opened to the public with its original (restored) R M Schindler furniture. If Los Angeles air were not so polluted, none of this would have been a problem to Wright's structures.