PrairieMod

Kellogg's Turney House Seeks Historic Designation

The City of San Diego’s Historical Resources Board is weighing the possibility of giving historic designation to the Kendrick Bangs Kellogg-designed Thomas and Margaret Turney House (1971-1978) in La Jolla, CA. Read more about it here.

Image via lajollalight.com

Glencoe Changes Preservation Rules

The Glencoe Village Board is trying to prevent people from knocking down landmark buildings for which state historic preservation tax breaks have already been granted. They recently passed new codes that the village Historic Preservation Commission created to fix the problems of the 1990 historic preservation ordinance. So how did the Wright-designed Perry House become the last home to receive the status of "designated landmark" under Glencoe's previous preservation ordinance at the same meeting? Find out here.

Image via glencoe.suntimes.com

Arthur Erickson's Home Threatened

Nelson also sends word that the Vancouver home of famed Canadian Modern architect, Arthur Erickson, is in danger of being lost if the Foundation that carries his name cannot come up with the money to cover extensive debts incurred at the end of the architect's life. Read more about it here.

Image via theglobeandmail.com

Finding A Lasting Fix For Watts

Nelson Brackin sends a link to an article from the LA Times about the team of engineers and conservationists trying to discover the root problems for the decay of the city's famed Watts Towers and come up with a long-term fix. Read it here.

Image via the LA TImes

A Look At A Rare Wright

Architectural Record recently featured an article by Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archive Director, Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer about his memories of the "Fir Tree House," a relatively little-known Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Friedman Residence (1948) in Pecos, NM. Accompanying the article is a tremendous slide show of stunning photos showcasing this unique home. Read and see more here.

Image via archrecord.construction.com

The Blue Lady Is Back

Olivia Smith at the Los Angeles Review of Books wanted to let PrairieMod readers know about a recent piece published on their website about appreciating the modernist aesthetic of Dodger Stadium and its recent renovations. Read it here.

Image via lareviewofbooks.org

Schweikher house Owner Passes Away

The Daily Herald reports that Martyl Langsdorf, longtime resident of the Paul Schweikher House in Schaumburg, IL and the professional artist who first depicted the nuclear Doomsday Clock, passed away on Tuesday March 26, 2013 at the age of 96. Her late husband, Alexander Langsdorf Jr., was a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bomb, but later he came to regret its use. The home will now begin transition over to being more accessible by the public. Read more here.

Image via dailyherald.com

The Architect's Questionnaire: Robert Oshatz

Paul Uttinger sends a link to an interview with Organic Architect Robert Oshatz, whose bold, curvaceous work an be found across Oregon, the United States and Japan. Read the interview here.

Image via portlandarchitecture.com

Sullivan Windows Return Home

The globegazette.com reports that three original art glass windows from the Louis H. Sullivan-designed Henry Adams Building in Algona, IA (1913) are being returned to it after 30 years of separation. It's all part of the ongoing restoration efforts for the building , which now serves as the Algona Chamber of Commerce. Read more here.

Image via globegazette.com

(Re)Visioning Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House

UbSpectrum.com recently showcased the efforts of University of Buffalo architecture professor, Edward Steinfeld, and his students to help develop “universal” or “inclusive” design changes at Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin D. Martin House that will enable visitors with visual impairments to experience the architecture in a meaningful way. Read more about it here.

Image via ubspectrum.com

Behind The Velvet Ropes Tour At The Gamble House

The LA Times recently wrote-up the ultimate VIP tour for the ultimate Arts & Crafts bungalow: The Greene & Greene-designed Gamble House in Pasadena, CA offers a "Behind the Velvet Ropes" tour that allows architecture devotees to experience parts of the home normally off-limits. Read more here.

Image via The LA Times

Demolition Permit Issued For Prentice

The Chicago Architecture Blog discovered that a demolition permit has been issued for the Bertrand Goldberg-designed Prentice Womens Hospital. The earliest Northwestern University could begin the destruction of this Modernist work would be March 28, 2013. It's a sad and wasteful end to this story. Read more here.

Image via Chicago Architecture Blog

Phoenix Approves Plan To Protect Wright Structures

AZCentral.com reports that the Phoenix City Council has approved a plan to preserve seven Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings throughout the city. The plan will include outreach to owners of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings and assistance in the long-term preservation of those properties. Read more about this important preservation initiative here.

Image via azcentral.com

The Wright House That Never Was

The Akron Beacon Journal recently featured the story of the never-built 1947 Solar Hemicycle that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Joyce and E. Louis Marting Jr.of Northampton, OH. Joyce Marting is 88, but can still recall the story of the amazing house that almost was. Read it here.

Image via ohio.com

Gold Dome's Days Numbered?

Nelson Brackin sends a link to an article on NewsOK's website about the efforts to demolish Robert B. Roloff's "Gold Dome" in Oklahoma City by its current owner who bought it at auction and determined it is “prohibitively expensive” to renovate. Read more here.

Image via newsok.com

Ito Wins Pritzker Architecture Prize

Speaking of Japan, Mark H. sends a link from a New York Times article about Japanese architect Toyo Ito, (whose library survived Japan’s disastrous 2011 earthquake) winning the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Read more here.

Image via the New York Times

An American Collector's Gift To Japan

Two recent articles discuss “Jakuchū’s Here" a traveling exhibit that will come to museums in the three Japanese towns worst affected by the triple disaster of March 2011. The exhibit is the brainchild of collectors and Bruce Goff clients, Joe and Etsuko Price, and it features their extensive collection of Edo period art. Read more (including Joe's experiences with another famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright) here and here.

Image via nippon.com

WSJ Features Millard House

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Millard House in Pasadena, CA was recently featured on the Wall Street Journal website. It's still for sale for $4,495,000...if only I had the extra pocket change! More here.

Image via wsj.com

The Chicago Seven For 2013

Mark H. sends a link to a story about the new list of the seven most endangered buildings for 2013 from Preservation Chicago. Making this list are banks, churches and a West Side hotel where former President Jimmy Carter and his wife once stayed. Read more here and see the list here.

Image via preservationchicago.org

Looking To Make Lincoln Logs American Again

The makers of Lincoln Logs are looking to find a domestic supplier for wood to make the classic toy all-American once again. Read about the attempt to re-shore John Lloyd Wright's invention here.

Image via woodworkingnetwork.com

From Gaudi To Goff

Speaking of Gaudi, Nelson Brackin sends two links about Bruce Goff, one of which relates to Gaudi. Apparently, when Bruce Goff came to speak at Auburn University in 1975, Nelson had arranged for him to give two lectures: one on his work and the other on any topic he wanted. Goff elected to talk about Gaudi. I'm only assuming Gaudi's masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, was mentioned. Nelson also sends a link to some more photos of Goff's lost masterpiece, Shin'enKan. See them here.

Image via Wikipedia Commons

Original "Mad Man" Illustrates Latest "Mad Men" Campaign

Sometimes nothing but an original will do. Case in point: When Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner wanted a very specific mid-century feel for the latest season's campaign, he went straight to the source: British illustrator Brian Sanders, 75, whose prolific career spans 50+ years. Read more about Sander's "Mad Men' project in this New York Times interview.

Image via NYT

Rescuing Marion's Artwork

This news item from Australia describes the tense situation conservators were under trying to save a valuable silk lithograph by Marion Mahony Griffin from being destroyed. Read about it here.

Image via abc.net.au

A Building For People, Not Cars

Mark H. sends a link to an article about a 44-unit Modern apartment building in Boston under development by architect Sebastian Mariscal. The most progressive aspect of this new building is not its look, but the fact that it has absolutely no tenant parking. Read more here.

Image via nytimes.com

Goff's Nicol House In NY Times

Zachary M. sends a link to an article in The New York Times about Bruce Goff's uniquely designed Nicol House in Kansas City, MO. Read and see photos here.

Image via nytimes.com

We Lost Another One: Neutra's Cyclorama

March 1, 2013 was a bad day for Modern architecture. First we lost the James Fitzgibbon-designed Paschal House (1950) in Raliegh, NC and now comes word that Richard Neutra's Cyclorama building at Gettysburg was also destroyed that same day. Read the sad news here.

Image via lamag.com

Michael P. Johnson Within Reach

DWR recently caught-up with architect Michael P. Johnson while scouting photo shoot locations for DWR's March catalog. Read more about the meeting here.

Image via dwr.com

Building Of The Month: Graycliff

Reine Hauser sends word that Frank Lloyd Wright's Graycliff in Buffalo, NY was selected as “Building of the Month” by the 20th Century Society of Great Britain. Read more about here.

Image via graycliffestate.org

We Lost Another One: Paschal House

George S. sent word that the James Fitzgibbon-designed Paschal House (1950) in Raliegh, NC was demolished Friday, March 1, 2013 following an eight-year effort to save it.Even more disturbing is the fact that it was the children of the original owner who let it be destroyed and who now plan to divide the lot for five new homes. Read more about this sad architectural loss here.

Image via newsobserver.com

Ladislav Sutnar's "Build The Town"

I recently stumbled upon the work of Czech graphic and toy designer Ladislav Sutnar and fell in love with his Bauhausian "Build the City" modular block set. Although they never went into production, Sutnar had 50 prototype sets made in the early 1940s, so perhaps I'll get lucky and find one at a yard sale. Read more about Sutnar and his building block city here.

Image via olivertomas.com

Attention To Details At Dana House

The State Journal-Register reports that the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Susan Lawrence Dana house in Springfield, IL will start offering special two-hour "Attention to Detail" tours that focus on the story behind the restoration of the residence and its plethora of unique design qualities. Learn more here.

Image via sj-r.com

Speaking Easy About The AZ Biltmore's Mystery Room

HotelChatter.com reports that the Albert McCarthur-designed (with input from Frank Lloyd Wright) Arizona Biltmore Resort will finally reveal its "Mystery Room" (a former prohibition era speakeasy lounge) to the public as a restored drinking lounge—no password required. Read more here.

Image via hotelchatter.com

If you've ever wandered the legendary Arizona Biltmore Resort, you've likely stumbled upon a photo of the "Mystery Room," though never the room itself as the location has long been — you guessed it — a mystery. That's all about to change; last week we were among the first to learn that this mysterious room will soon be revealed and restored to a version of its former self as a speakeasy lounge. - See more at: http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2013/2/27/13249/0972/hotels/Arizona_Biltmore%92s_Mystery_Room_Returns_to_Speakeasy,_Man-Cave_Glory#sthash.WLkF08wJ.dpuf

Bertrand's Secret Shell Classrooms

Gapers Block recently featured Chicago's Brennemann Elementary School and its Modern architectural secret: shell-like Bertrand Goldberg-designed classrooms, which are currently encased in a box to protect them from the elements. More here.

Image via bertrandgoldberg.org

Noble Home

Here's a link to an article about a new energy-efficient kit house under construction in Buckland, Massachusettes. The home was designed by Taliesin apprentice Noah Grunberg and is being built through his company Noble Home, LLC. Read more here.

Image via recorder.com

Bachman Wilson House To Go To Italy?

The New York Times reports that Italian architect Paolo Bulletti has been discussing the possibility of transporting the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Bachman Wilson House (1954) from its current flood-prone site in New Jersey to the hills of Fiesole, near Florence, Italy. It may not be as far-fetched as it sounds, if a buyer with the money to move the Usonian can be found. Read more here.

Image via nytimes.com

iGuggenheim

Major museums around the world are jumping on the smartphone app craze, including the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim museum in New York City. Read more here and then download the free app here.

Image via iTunes

Murder, Mystery, And Schindler

LA Weekly reports on a new exhibit at the Rudolph Schindler-designed Kings Road House that encompasses, Los Angeles history, travel, and a fairly out-there murder theory involving Schindler and the "Black Dahlia". Read more here.

Image via laweekly.com

The South Shore's Hidden Architectural Wonders

The website nwitimes.com recently featured some of Northwest Indiana's architectural heritage, including a few homes (some sadly lost or remuddled) by Frank Lloyd Wright. Read the article and see more photos here.

Image via nwitimes.com

Forgotten Chicago's Shoreline Motels Part 3

Patrick Steffes at the blog Forgotten Chicago has posted the third article in their Shoreline Motel series, this time focusing in-depth on motels in Chicago's central area. Initially seen as a more modern and convenient alternative to Chicago’s rapidly aging hotels, these brand-new and sometimes architecturally distinctive properties in the central area were all built in the 1950s and 1960s, and are now mostly forgotten. Utilizing FC’s exclusive database of more than 9,000 images, articles and catalogued ephemera, this article includes rare and unexpected images, many not seen in decades. Check out more here.

Images via Patrick Steffes/Forgotten Chicago

Learning From Losing Prentice

Unfortunate news reaches us that the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Landmarks Illinois have moved for a voluntary dismissal of their complaint against tearing down Prentice Women's Hospital in Cook County Circuit Court, signaling the end of their legal challenge against the City of Chicago and the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Northwestern University dug in their heels and shamefully played the ultimatum game until they got their way. Sometimes greed and ignorance wins—but as this extremely insightful blog post by Lynn Becker points out, there is something valuable to be learned from the ultimately failed effort to save Prentice. Read more here.

Image via Save Prentice Facebook Page

Orange County Votes To Save Rudolph Building

Mark Hertzberg sends a link to the news that the Orange County Legislature passed a proposal to renovate their government building designed by architect Paul Rudolph. Read more about it here.

Image credit: Daniel Case/Wikipedia

Florida Southern College A Happening Place

Frank Lloyd Wright's Florida Southern College has been in the news quite a bit lately. First it was the news that six little "Wright-ish" structures were going to be built for the massive colony of feral cats that live in and around campus. Now, The Ledger reports that the college broke ground on the new Bill and Mary Ann Becker Business Building designed by the dean of the Yale School of Architecture, Robert A.M. Stern. Read more here.

Image via The Ledger

Fixing FSC Wright

Speaking of Florida Southern College, Zachary M. sends a link to the website and an article detailing the efforts of historic masonry preservationist, Ken Uracius of Stone and Lime Imports, Inc., to restore the campus' beautifully elaborate (but crumbling) Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings. Read more here.

Image via stoneandlime.com

Lighting Up Marin's Spire

The Marin Independent Journal reports that the Marin Civic Center officials will illuminate the administration building's 200-foot golden spire Friday evening as part of a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary. Anybody in the area able to get a photograph of what is sure to be a stunning sight? Read more here.

Image via Wikipedia

House Of Many Visions

Bill S. shares a link to an article on the stunning lake house designed by architect James Walter Schildroth that exhibits many of Wright's Organic Principles. Read and see more here and here.

Image via schildrotharchitect.com

Architectural Review Future Projects Awards

Mark H. sends a link to the BBC News' photo gallery highlighting the Architectural Review Future Projects Awards. See the future now here.

Image via bbc.co.uk

Florida Southern College's Cat Houses

Bill S. sends word that that Florida Southern College plans to build six small structures inspired by the campus' Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings...for their population of about 100 feral cats. Why don't they just let the cats live in the half-finished Usonian visitors center instead? Read more here.

Image via The Ledger

Fallingwater Takes The Cake

An intricate cake resembling Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater won top honors in the Heinz Architectural Center's CAKEitecture pastry competition which helped to mark the center's 20th anniversary. See more of this sweet recreation here.

Image via triblive.com

What Could Have Been In NYC

Reine H. sends a link to curbed New York's feature on Frank Lloyd Wright's unexecuted 1930 design for three glass apartment buildings for St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery. Read it here.

Image via curbed NY

Tafel's Albert House Faces Demolition

Mark Hertzberg reports on his blog, Wright in Racine, that the Edgar Tafel-designed Carl and Marie Albert House (1948-1950) is awaiting a demolition order for February 28, 2013. Read more about this pending architectural loss here.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg