Funny, You Don't Look 100!

Wright in Wisconsin is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright's Eugene Allen and Blanche (Bayse) Gilmore House on Sunday September 28, 2008 in Madison, Wisconsin. Check out the details of this special event after the jump...

As stated in the press release:

Join [Gilmore] homeowner host and other Wright enthusiasts for a catered gourmet Champagne Brunch at the house often called the “Airplane House.” This is a rare opportunity to experience this marvelous home, meticulously restored and furnished with custom-made reproduction and new furniture by its owner, who received a Wright Spirit Award for her efforts.

The Gilmore House was commissioned in 1908 and finished in January of 1909.  From the first, a leading university professor said, “This place will be one of the showplaces of the city. I am sure.”  History has born out his prediction.  It is one of Wright’s last Prairie Houses, and it belongs with the grouping of some far better-known sites in Illinois, including the Robie House in Chicago, the Tomek House in Riverside, and the Coonley compound, also in Riverside.

The house has had only three owners. The Gilmores sold it to a medical student fraternity, Phi Chi, in 1923.  The Depression soon forced the fraternity to sell the house to the Weiss family, and their granddaughter owns it now. The site for the Gilmore House is among the most spectacular for any Wright house, perched on the brow of the highest point of the University Heights subdivision in Madison.

The Gilmore house earned its “airplane” nickname immediately, both because of its shape, looking like a biplane from the east, and because of its location, which made it appear that the "plane" was about to take off over the city of Madison. The Weisses engaged the Madison architectural firm of Law and Patter to change the front entrance, add a garage and servant wing, and add two fireplaces and a bath. These changes cost the “airplane” façade its appearance but they did not cost the house its nickname.

Reservations may be made for either the 10 a.m. or noon seating, both limited to 35 guests. Cost is $100 per person. Limited space is available for this once in every 100-years event.

For reservations or further information call Sherri Shokler at 608-287-0339

Included, for those who wish to participate, is a special post-brunch walking tour offered by knowledgeable docents from the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation. Exteriors of private homes designed by Louis Sullivan, George W. Maher and others may be seen in this beautiful, historic Madison neighborhood.

Image copyright Wright in Wisconsin    

Comments

[DONALD MICHAEL AUCUTT]

George W. Maher, not G.W. Mayer.
Correction...

[Eric]

Oops! Thanks--we should know better than that. ;-)