Group seeks to restore 1916 Frank Lloyd Wright home
Last Updated: Sunday, June 17, 2007 | 1:00 PM ET
CBC Arts
A non-profit group is seeking to restore a 91-year-old home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for low-income families in Milwaukee.
The single-family home is one of four duplexes and two cottages from what the architect called "American System-Built Homes" — a series of prefabricated dwellings that Wright hoped would become a national line. Wright, one of the world's most prominent and respected architects, believed low-income families deserved high-quality architecture.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin group is attempting to restore one of the 850-square-foot homes to its original 1916 condition.
The group hopes the project will inspire the renovation of the remaining homes, as well as prompt architects to design more affordable housing.
Wright historian Jack Holzhueter said the homes are a shining example of Wright's passion for providing affordable housing for low-income families.
"It's early relatively in his career, 1916," Holzhueter told the Associated Press. "It's a very large group of buildings. No other cluster of Wright buildings begins to resemble this one, in proximity, density, etcetera."
Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin hopes the site will facilitate education programs.
"We feel that it's important that we restore them as well and open them again leading into the educational component to maybe have people design homes today just like Wright did almost 100 years ago," said Denise Hice, the group's president.
Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin bought the single-family home in 2004 for $130,000 US from an owner who lived there for about 40 years. The homes sold originally for $3,500 to $4,500.
The organization also bought one of the duplexes in 2005 for $142,000.
Mike Lilek, the group's treasurer, expects the restoration project to take more than a year to complete.
The project's budget is estimated at $379,369, Lilek said. The group has so far raised $298,500.
"We're going to try and turn these back to owner-occupied buildings," he said.
"I don't know if me or you would move into a building in its 1916 condition."
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
Whitney Houston's final song Celebrate debuts by Jessica Wong May. 23, 2012 2:46 PM It seems fitting that Whitney Houston's final release is an upbeat and uplifting duet in which she passes the torch to a younger singer with vocal powerhouse potential. In the high energy song Celebrate, from the upcoming film Sparkle, Houston duets with singer and former American Idol Jordin Sparks.
Top News Headlines
- Police kettle Montreal student protesters, arresting 518
- Police in Montreal moved in on student protesters again Wednesday night, kettling them and making 518 arrests — the largest number in one night since the demonstrations began weeks ago. more »
- Economy trumps crime as top priority, poll suggests
- A new online poll suggests the health of the economy is the top priority for Canadians, ranking ahead of a crackdown on gun, gang and drug crime. more »
- Suspect in custody in decades old N.Y. missing boy case
- New York City police say a person who's in custody has implicated himself in the death of Etan Patz, the boy whose disappearance 33 years ago on his way to school helped launch a missing children's movement that put kids' faces on milk cartons. more »
- Online surveillance bill opponents continue campaign
- The Canadian government's plans for its bill to give law enforcement greater powers over consumer internet information may be on hold, but a consumer group isn't giving up the fight against lawful access. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Ottawa Van Gogh exhibit a romp with nature
- The National Gallery of Canada's Vincent Van Gogh exhibit features 47 paintings pulled together from around the world that explore the Dutch artist's fascination with nature. more »
- Lady Gaga angers Thai fans with fake Rolex comment
- Pop singer Lady Gaga has caused a stir in Thailand after telling her fans that she planned to buy a fake Rolex from a market in the capital Bangkok. more »
- Tom Wesselmann celebrated in new Montreal exhibit
- With Beyond Pop Art: Tom Wesselmann, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is trying to give the reserved, modest American art icon the attention he deserves. more »
- Security breach alleged in making of bin Laden raid film
- A House committee chairman charged Wednesday in Washington that the CIA and Defence Department jeopardized national security by co-operating too closely with filmmakers producing a movie on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. more »
Q Blog
Toni Morrison on her two selves May. 24, 2012 10:53 AM Jian speaks with the celebrated African American author and academic about her two conflicting selves, and her new novel, Home.
CBC Books
The problem with modern motherhood May. 24, 2012 9:40 AM French writer Elisabeth Badinter has written a controversial new book about modern motherhood. It in she argues that parenting methods like attachment parenting undermine women. She explains why to Day 6.
- Police kettle Montreal student protesters, arresting 518
- Canadian Everest victim warned by guide to turn back
- Outhouse bear attack survivor was grabbed from 'throne'
- Prince Charles and Camilla jet home after 4-day visit
- Disgraced RCMP officer transferred to B.C.
- Canadian Pacific Railway strike leads to 2,000 layoffs
- John Baird to champion religious freedom in U.S. speech
- Finley expected to detail EI changes today
- SpaceX rocket does practice lap at space station
