PrairieMod

11 Demolished Too Soon

The blog, Architizer, put together a list of 11 Buildings That Should Still Be Standing in honor of the struggle to save the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. Two Wright's make the list, though I think Midway Gardens should have been added. See it here.

Image via Architizer

Unity Temple's $10 Million Deal

Emily Roth, Executive Director of the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, sent word about a new $10 million preservation deal that would place the framework in place to fully restore Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple. More after the jump...

Wright, Art, and Milwaukee

Barbara F. sends a link to the Milwaukee Art Museum's blog on the exhibition The Layton Art Collection: 1888-2013, which includes a humorous connection to Frank Lloyd Wright as part of its history. Read more about it here.

Image via steinerag.com

Modern Illinois Gets Concrete

The blog Modern Illinois recently posted a new piece on a poured-concrete house in a wooded area of Rolling Meadows, IL that MCM lovers will want to check out. Read it and see more photos here.

Image via Modern Illinois

Visions Of The White City

Curbed Chicago recently celebrated the 120th anniversary of the opening of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition by posting some photos of many of the Chicago Fair's grandiose buildings (including Louis Sullivan's Transportation Building). See them all here.

Image via Curbed Chicago

A Good Friday At Annunciation

Mark Hertzberg offers a two-fer this weekend! In addition to the exciting news around the forthcoming opening of the SCJ Research Tower for tours, Mark was also recently invited by Father Angelo Artemas to photograph vespers and evening Good Friday services at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church near Milwaukee. Read and see more here.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

SCJ Tower To Open For Tours

Big news for architecture lovers was posted on Mark Hertzberg's Wright in Racine blog: Frank Lloyd Wright's SC Johnson Wax Research Tower will soon be partially open next year! This is really exciting because the Tower has been closed to access since 1981. Read more about the work underway to prepare the Tower for tours and see tons more photos here.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

Usonian Exhibit Sneek Peek

Wright in Racine offers some tantalizing peeks at the new Frank Lloyd Wright "Usonian" exhibit opening at SC Johnson Wax. See and read more here.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

Bach House Buzz Building

There's exciting buzz building about Frank Lloyd Wright's Emil Bach House in Chicago. This little late Prairie gem is undergoing an extensive restoration by Tawani Enterprises, a firm owned by Chicago philanthropist and businessman, Col. JN Pritzker (IL-Retired). The house was commissioned in 1914 by Emil Bach, an early admirer of Wright’s work. The project is scheduled for completion in July, 2013 and will be open for overnight guests and exclusive private events. Check out the restoration progress as it's being documented on the Emil Bach House website here.

Image via blog.emilbachhouse.com

A Look Inside Wright's Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

Mark Hertzberg recently had the privilege of being invited to photograph the interior of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Check out his amazing photos here of this Wright interior seldom seen by the public.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

A Look At Sullivan's Martin Ryerson Mausoleum

The excellent blog, DesignSlinger recently featured the Louis Sullivan-designed Martin Ryerson Mausoleum, located in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery. Read and see more here.

Image via designslinger.com

Hardy House Restoration Update

Mark Hertzberg has posted another update at Wright in Racine about the amazing restoration work underway at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Hardy House in Racine, WI. Read and see more photos here. If you want to experience this iconic Wright work in person, then don't miss the April 27, 2013 tour, which benefits Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin. Tours are limited to 90 people, by reservation for specific time slots between 9:30 and 2:30 p.m. Reservations are accepted by telephone only, at 608-287-0339. More details here.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

Mod Houses That Will Kill Your Children

The blog projectophile.com posted a warning to anyone who loves both Mid-Century Modern homes and their children: Don't mix the two. Floating stairs, open ledges, Nature-inspired death traps...the list of ways your toddlers will expire goes on and on. Read this hilariously tongue-in-cheek blog entry here.

Image via projectophile.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

Tribune Building Rocks Out

The Chicago Architecture Blog took on the daunting task of cataloging all 149 rocks and building fragments embedded in Chicago's famed Tribune Tower. Check them all out (including a piece of the Taj Mahal) here.

Image via The Chicago Architecture Blog

A New Hardy House Restoration Update

The blog, Wright in Racine, provides another photo-laden update on the amazing restoration work taking place at Frank Lloyd wright's Hardy House in Racine, Wisconsin. Check it out here.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

The Arts & Crafts Bungalow

Mark Hertzberg sends a link to a blog by Susan from New Westminster, BC, Canada, who lives with her family in a 1910 Arts & Crafts Bungalow. As Susan states: "My goal with this blog is to share my passion for A&C architecture, philosophy, landscape & design, and collectibles, especially anything related to the local area where I live." Check it out here.

Image via artsandcraftsbungalow.com

Building The Wright Chair

The good folks at Wright in Wisconsin have undertaken a fascinating project in bringing to life an unbuilt chair designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for one of the American System-Built houses at 2714 West Burnham Street in Milwaukee. Master craftsmen Stafford Norris III and Stephen D. Ritchings have been tasked with bringing this chair to life. Read about their intriguing efforts here.

Image via Wright Chat

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

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

What Rises On The Spot Of A Former Wright Site

Curbed Chicago links to a blog post from realtor Eric Rojas that shows the new single-family home rising from the former site of a coach house on the "Gold Coast" of Chicago where Frank Lloyd Wright lived and had a studio for a brief period of time in 1914. Read more here.

Image credit: Bob DePalma

Must-Know Modern Homes: The Lovell Beach House

Houzz.com's guest blogger, John Hill, recently wrote a very extensive post with lots of photos on the Rudolph Schindler-designed Lovell Beach House, built in Newport Beach, CA in 1926. Find out what makes it a "Must-Know Modern Home" by following the link.

Image via houzz.com

Updating A Usonian

Mark Hertzberg of Wright in Racine sends a link to a story on the blog houzz.com that features the work done by architect Ken Dahlin in sensibly updating a 1952 Usonian by John Randal McDonald in Racine, WI. Read all about it here.

Image via Genesis Architecture, LLC

Wright's NYC Glass Buildings That Never Were

Gothamist.com recently featured a 1930 article highlighting the "all-glass buildings" designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the heart of New York City that never made it off the drawing board. Read more here.

Image via gothamist.com

Get A Look At Ganz Hall

Designslinger recently posted some great photos of Ganz Hall, inside Adler and Sullivan's Auditorium Building in Chicago. See the photos here.

Image via designslinger

Usonian Dreams

Wright Chat user, DavidC, recently posted a link to an interesting blog that features one family's quest to fulfill their dream of designing, building, and living in their own Usonian home. Check out their progress here.

Image via usoniandreams.info

The Excitement Is Building

Lynn Becker recently visited the ArchiTech Gallery in Chicago and was treated to a preview of the eagerly anticipated monograph coming next year on Alfonso Iannelli (designed by your PrairieMod editor!) I know it seems like it's taking forever, but let Lynn tell you--it'll be worth the wait. Obviously, as we get closer to publication I'll let readers know more details!

Image credit: Lynn Becker

Google Goes Grimm

Today marks the 200th Anniversary of the first edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales. To celebrate, Google has put together a really cool Mod illustrated version of Little Red Riding Hood. Read more about it here.

Image via Google

An Unforgettable 5 Years

The researchers at Forgotten Chicago have recently published their second article highlighting their first five years of tours and research. Utilizing their vast research database of more than 7,500 articles and images from the 1920s to the 1990s, many not seen in decades, this article highlights many little-known Chicago area buildings and projects, including Carson Pirie Scott’s modernist architecture, low-cost Art Deco houses in the North Shore, little-known Stanley Tigerman projects, non-Mies International Style buildings in the area, and much more! Read more here.

Image via Forgotten Chicago

Light And Shadows At Hardy House

Mark Hertzberg has posted a new suite of photos to his blog, Wright in Racine, which display some of the wonderful play of light and shadows at Frank Lloyd Wright's Hardy House. See more here.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

Interview With Larry Woodin

Build LLC recently posted an interview with Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy President, Larry Woodin—along with tons of great architectural photos. Read the interview and see the photos here.

Image via Build LLC

Schweikher House In Mount Prospect

Lara Solonickne wanted to share some very interesting information with PrairieMod readers about the S.W. Burda residence in Mount Prospect, IL which was designed by architect Paul Schweikher in 1940. Read all about it at Lara's blog, sears-homes.com.

Image via sears-homes.com

Quinan's Weekly Wright-Up

Mark Hertzberg sends word that the author and historian, Jack Quinan, has assumed the editor-and-chief role of the D.D. Martin House Complex's blog, The Weekly Wright-Up. Read all the riveting entries here.

Image via wright-up.blogspot.com

Lost Chicago

It goes without saying that Chicago is known for its architecture—both standing and demolished. Lee Bey recently interviewed the authors of the wistful new book, Lost Chicago, on the topic of what's been lost over the years in the city of Big Shoulders. Read it here.

Image via amazon.com

Mapping America's Threatened Architecture

Curbed National notes that even though the plight of the David and Gladys Wright House is one of the most visible preservation battles in the news, there are many other threatened buildings that need attention. Read more here.

Image via curbed national

Hardy House Restoration Update

Mark Hertzberg gives us a much appreciated update on the restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Hardy House in Racine, WI. Read and see more photos over at Wright in Racine.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

Lifson On Prentice

Edward Lifson, of Hello Beautiful!, recently covered the preservation drama surrounding the Bertrand Goldberg-designed Prentice Women's Hospital for Minnesota Public Radio. Listen to it or read more here.

Image via chicagotribune.com

Speaking Of Goldberg...

Architectural historian and photographer, Lee Bey, has dug-up some vintage 1960s footage of Bertrand Goldberg's most famous Chicago buildings: Marina City. Watch it here.

Image via wbez.org/blogs/lee-bey

Tracy House Featured

Zachary M. and Nelson B. both sent a link to the beautiful 1955 Tracy House in Seattle (which is for sale for $950,000) was recently featured on Curbed Seattle. See the post here.

Iamge via the Curbed Seattle/FLWBC

Wright In Racine's New Look

Mark Hertzberg sent word that, after struggling with technical problems, his weblog Wright in Racine is back with a new look and a new series of posts that illustrate the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's City National Bank and Park Inn Hotel (now Historic Park Inn) in Mason City, Iowa. Mark photographed the building in 2005, 2008, 2010, and the completed buildings three weeks ago. See more here.

Image copyright Mark Hertzberg

Here's a link to an excerpt from the founder of Des Moines, Iowa-based RAYGUN and author of The Midwest: God's Gift to Planet Earth, a humorous look at the history and culture of the American Midwest. Of course, Chicago and Frank Lloyd Wright get a mention. Read more here.

Image via siliconprairienews.com

You Could Be Happy Wright Here

Leslie van Buskirk sends word that her real estate blog, icouldbehappyhere.com, recently highlighted the exceptionally sweet Lloyd Wright-designed Dorland House (1950) in Altadena, CA. Check out the post and some of the other homes for sale here.

Image via icouldbehappyhere.com

Lee Bey On David Wright House

Chicago photographer and architectural historian, Lee Bey, recently covered the increasingly desperate situation concerning the David and Gladys Wright House in Phoenix, AZ. Read and watch a video here. Then support the cause here.

Image via wbez.org

What's In A Name?

Curbed National puts up an interesting post about 5 recent home listings that take severe liberties in attaching Frank Lloyd Wright's name to the buildings (presumably in the hope that it will blind prospective buyers to how gaudy or un-Wrightian the homes actually are). See more here. And in case you're wondering...that sound you hear is Frank spinning in his grave (wherever it is).

Image via Curbed National

Architectural Toy Story

The Atlantic Cities recently posted on the United States' largest public-trust collection of architectural toys (located on the third-floor of the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.) Read more about this toy story here.

Image via theatlanticcities.com

Iannelli On The Mind

Bonnie McGrath writes in the Chicago Journal that she recently had Alfonso Iannelli on her mind after several mentions of the Modern artist, designer & sculptor occurred during a recent tour of Chicago's Northerly Island. Read about it here.

Image via chicagojournal.com

Melrose Park Bertrand Goldberg's Re-Discovered

Patrick Steffes, Contributor to the blog Forgotten Chicago, sent word about a recent re-discovery that fans of Midwestern Modernism will want to take notice of. During a sold-out bus tour highlighting overlooked suburban architecture on August 26, the intrepid explorers at Forgotten Chicago finally revealed the location of Bertrand Goldberg’s long forgotten 1939 Standard Homes. These modest homes caused a sensation when new, but their location has been unknown for decades. Using old newspaper microfilm, fire insurance maps, and multiple visits to the community, the remaining homes in the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park, IL were located in late 2011.

One of Goldberg’s earliest residential designs, and part of a plan for thousands of low-cost homes across the country, other Standard Homes were also built in Indiana and Maryland. These Chicago-area homes are located on 22nd Avenue between Division Street and North Avenue in Melrose Park; information on other recent Forgotten Chicago finds and upcoming events may be found here.

 

Photo credits top to bottom: Bertran Goldberg Archive, Chicago Daily News, 1939 & Patrick Steffes, 2011

Soak-Up The Sullivan Details

The blog, Design Slinger, offers-up some historical and present-day photo details of the Louis Sullivan's former Carson Pirie Scott & Co. State Street store (now a City Target). Check it out here.

Image via designslinger.com

Geeking Out Over Eames

Wired.com's "Geek Mom" recently posted about the art and legacy of Charles and Ray Eames. Even if you are well aware of the Dynamic MCM Duo's work, you may still enjoy this refresher. Read it here.

Image via wired.com

Re-Visiting The Eames House 60 Years Later

PrairieMod reader, Zachary M. sends a link to a fascinating post on laobserved.com about "Reluctant Angeleno" author Allon Schoener's visit to the Eames' Pacific Palisades home for the first time in almost six decades. Read it here.

Image via laobserved.com