FLW and Japanese Prints

                                                    
                                                                                                     
                                                                 
A  week ago I led a tour for a young Japanese couple who after touring the house stated that they felt a certain Japanese influence in the design of the house.  I explained to the couple who had almost no prior knowledge of Wright that indeed he was influenced by Japanese culture, had travelled to Japan several times and had designed the Imperial Hotel there as well as become a kind of dealer in Japanese fine art prints.  They were happy with this connection and reasserted the clear Japanese influence in the design of Graycliff.  I felt I needed to reacquaint myself with the story of Wright and Japanese prints.  I found the linked article which is an excellent source on the subject as well as listing several other comprehensive resources on the issue.  There are several books out on Wright's collecting and dealing in Japanese Woodblock prints, but we tend to forget about that aspect of the man because we are so focused on his architecture.  It is good to remember that one did have an effect on the other as my Japanese guests noted very easily.

http://www.ukiyoe-gallery.com/flw.htm


George

American Scholar Day

Graycliff’s Annual Celebration of American Scholar Day

Every once a year I have the boys around me read Emerson’s The American Scholar.

 Get it and read it if you haven’t read it.

Frank Lloyd Wright, address to architecture students, Chicago, 1957

Frank Lloyd Wright thought there should be a national holiday called American Scholar Day. He observed such a day himself on August 31st, the anniversary of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s lecture called The American Scholar. Called America's literary Declaration of Independence, this statement on American education and learning is one of Ralph Waldo Emerson's best-known essays.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.  Emerson typically gave speeches, which were subsequently published as essays.

The American Scholar was a speech given by Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his groundbreaking work Nature, published a year earlier, in which he established a new way for America's fledgling society to regard the world. Sixty years after declaring independence, American culture was still heavily influenced by Europe, and Emerson, for possibly the first time in the country's history, provided a visionary philosophical framework for escaping "from under its iron lids" and building a new, distinctly American cultural identity.

This coming Saturday, Graycliff will be distributing free copies of Emerson's essay on the topic.  Or you can read a copy of it here:  The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Exciting News!

The Graycliff Conservancy, Inc, is proud to announce that the next major restoration project at Graycliff will begin imminently: the restoration of the living room floor, the front entry floor, the dining room floor and related sections of the fire suppression system.

President Diane Schrenk reports that this project will be very challenging for docents, but that we will be developing paths around the construction. She asks that:  "Docents, please be creative,  and share your ideas as the work progresses!"

According to the contractors, BRD Construction, "There will be a big hole for about two weeks."   There will probably also be times when there will be loud sounds coming from the basement, and brief periods when the dining room or the front entry will not be accessible.  To paraphrase Vice President Pat Mahoney, "It will be fascinating for visitors--and for all of us--to see directly from the living room into the basement. It won't last long, and we'll only have one chance to see this!"

Fortunately, BRD has been the major contractor for  earlier restoration projects at Graycliff, and is very cognizant of and respectful concerning tours.  BRD will also be providing updates, on a roughly weekly basis, of what work is in progress and what will be coming up.

Information regarding work as it unfolds will be shared via this blog, so please keep an eye on the blog!

Housekeeping Team members, BRD has also promised to do what it can to prevent dust everywhere, but the reality is that this will mean extra attention to dusting both during construction, and after, as dust settles.

 All work is due to be completed by the end of December.

This project is being undertaken thanks to the following: Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYS Senator Mark Grisanti and  the NYS Legislature; The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation; The Hooper Family Foundation; and an anonymous corporate donor.

Want to Buy Wright?

I came across a recent article in the Huffington Post from August 28 that Darwin's Brother's William's house, also designed by FLW, is up for sale.  If you have 1.2 million, it can be yours.  The article contains some interesting commentary by the current owner who is also a real estate agent as well as quotes Kim Bixler who wrote the book about growing up in the Boynton House in Rochester.  All in all, an interesting article with some nice pictures of the house as well as how Kim's family took care of leaks in the Boynton House. Enjoy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/artinfo/frank-lloyd-wright-house-for-sale_b_3786513.html


George

What kind of Job are we doing?

                                                   



A few days ago our esteemed director sent me a couple comments about docents and volunteers and suggested I look at other sources like Yelp.com and tripadvisor .com for Graycliff.  I spent several hours reading through comments about Graycliff made by guests on a number of different sites.

People comment through our website, too...just in the last week or so we received comments from:

 Anne and Gary Martin from Cambridge, Ontario:  We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Graycliff and look forward to coming again and seeing the restoration as it progresses. A very big thank you to the gentleman who runs the shop and our tour guides, especially the lovely lady who very generously gave us her passes to the fair! I apologize for not making note of everyone's names, but I'm sure you will know who we mean! Thank you!

Patricia Nolan fron Erie, PA, about Mary Wilde:  Our group was very pleased with our docent, she did a beautiful job, giving information and moving the group through the grounds with the grace the house deserves. I was surprised by the group itself, it was a mix of no nothings to know it all!!!

I found some interesting things.  TripAdvisor gives Graycliff 4 stars out of five.  Some recent comments expressed unhappiness with construction in progress....due to the landscape restoration.  And there are always a few comments from a few people  upset that Graycliff's restoration is not yet complete, or that they just can't walk the grounds without paying for a tour.

However, the one universal element through almost all the comments was a strong appreciation for the knowledge level and enthusiasm of the docents.  There were numerous comments about the friendly and helpful staff and the untiring work of volunteers and how amazing it is that Graycliff functions almost entirely on a volunteer basis.  At least half of the comments I read mentioned their docent as being a real plus to their Graycliff experience.

Here are the three most recent comments on TripAdvisor:

folkways

Georgetown

Top Contributor

 122 reviews

 35 attraction reviews

 Reviews in 48 cities

 43 helpful votes

“Success in our third attempt.”

Reviewed August 15, 2013 NEW

We had been here before but arrived too late for the last tour. This trip we made a reservation but an unplanned business meeting delayed our arrival so a postponement was necessary. The staff was very accommodating and understanding. By staying overnight in Buffalo, we were able to upgrade to the longer tour. That was a good idea. The luck of the draw gave us Marsha as our tour guide.

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Visited August 2013

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Mathyew

Madison, Wisconsin

Top Contributor

 78 reviews

 32 attraction reviews

 Reviews in 52 cities

 83 helpful votes

“Great Piece of FLW Architecture”

Reviewed August 3, 2013

The setting on a cliff overlooking Lake Erie is a wonderful spot for this house - and obviously influenced FLW's design of it. As other posts have stated, the house is undergoing a lot of renovation so feels a bit like a construction zone. However, that didn't bother me - I think it actually provided a real canvas to understand what subsequent owners did to the property, and I found it interesting to see what it is taking to strip it back to FLW's original plan. Plus, it was still fairly easy to see the design ideas. We had a great guide who truly loved Wright's work which also made the tour a joy.

Visited July 2013

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WesternNYTravelFrog

Dunkirk, New York

Top Contributor

 85 reviews

 22 attraction reviews

 Reviews in 43 cities

 32 helpful votes

“Much Progress Has Been Made”

Reviewed August 3, 2013

Much has been written in previous reviews of this FLW designed summer 

cottage on Lake Erie SW of Buffalo regarding its unfinished state when 

compared to other, more well known Wright residences, including some 

nearby. I want to take issue with reactions I've read here. First, none of the 

writers saw the condition of the buildings and grounds as much as 20 years 

ago when the entire property was in a VERY sad state of repair with many ill-

conceived additions and general lack of maintainence. We've visited on 

three occasions over about a 15 year period and while the restoration is NOT 

complete, it has come an incredible distance given the paucity of funding 

available at any one time. The Graycliff Conservancy is to be congratulated 

on inroads they have accomplished in a relatively short period of time. It is 

worth recalling that this entire property was on the verge of complete 

demolition and conversion to a condo site as recently as 1997. When we 

visited today, the exterior of all buildings was about 95% complete and l

landscaping of the front of the property is 100% complete. While it is true 

that the interior is not in pristine condition, the exposed bones of the structure are 

as informative to even a neophyte as a sparkling clean completed 

restoration.  Our docent, the president of the Conservancy, made no apologies for where 

the restoration progress is at this point. None are necessary. It simply is a 

work in progress. This is a very worthwhile residence to visit and will only 

become more interesting as solutions to almost insurmountable issues are 

found and executed. Kudos to the Conservancy and its members!





























George Struebel

Pittsubrgh Post Gazette Article on Graycliff

A terrific article appeared on the front page of the Sunday magazine section of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (the major newspaper in the Pittburgh area)  a couple of weeks ago, followed by lots of photos on an inside page.  There were three stories about Buffalo in the section that day, including one on all the Wright buildings in Buffalo, which focused primarily on the Darwin Martin House, but mentioned Graycliff again in the first paragraph--specifically the landscape restoration.  The other article covered dining out in Buffalo, from Teds and chicken wings to fine dining.  We've had a lot of visitors from the Pittsburgh area in recent weeks as a result.

See them for yourself here:
Graycliff: Secret Frank Lloyd Wright house on the Lake

Buffalo is a major site for Frank Lloyd Wright architecture

Dine: Wingin' it at restaurants in Buffalo

Duke Gardens

A couple months ago I visited my daughter and her lovely family in Raleigh NC.  While there we spent an evening wandering around Duke Gardens, part of the Duke University complex.  (My daughter is a charge nurse for Duke University Medical Center.)  I was absolutely amazed at the extent, size, and beauty of these gardens.  They are so large that we got lost.

 Imagine my surprise when I recently discovered that they were in part designed by two landscape architects closely connected to both Buffalo and Graycliff.  The Olmstead Brothers  ( Yes, that Olmstead who designed Buffalo's Parkways.) had a hand in the initial design of the gardens and Ellen Biddle Shipman, who helped landscape Graycliff also had a hand in the design of the gardens and was apparently part of the Duke family that created Duke University.

 The linked video might be somewhat boring for those of you not seriously into landscape architecture.  I will leave that up to you, but I will tell you that if you ever visit Raleigh NC, you would be well advised to visit the gardens, absolutely spectacular and no admission and free parking.  What else could you ask for said the cheapskate vacationer.

Duke Gardens Video 

George Struebel

The Green, Green Grass of Home....

You may have been wondering how--and who--has been maintaining the Graycliff lawns.  As you know, there are several acres,and it's been a yeoman's job to keep them looking beautiful these months, what with the large equipment, digging, grading etc during the landscape restoration.   Then, there has been the rain all summer, which has meant mowing all through July and August, when the grass usually grows more slowly.

Despite these challenges,, the lawns have been looking particularly beautiful this year...much to the enjoyment of both ourselves and our many, many visitors.

So kudos to volunteer Earle Newman, who can be seen early in the mornings cutting, trimming and edging...and who is part of the Graycliff team that is maintaining our new pond as well.

Hats off to the indefatigable Earl Newman!

Erosion

Graycliff beach, spring, Doug Griffith

I found this article from Vanity Fair very interesting.  It puts the erosion at Graycliff into perspective.  Who knew there were parts of the country where annual erosion is measured in feet rather than inches!
Vanity Fair Article

Phyllis Spears

Restoring the SC Johnson Tower

Restoring the SC Johnson Tower

Our friend, photographer Mark Hertzberg, who took some wonderful photos of Graycliff a few years ago, has a photo essay on the massive restoration of the SC Johnson Tower designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that is underway.  Although the tower has been closed for years (wonderful design aesthetically, not so practical any longer for research,) its going to re-open for tours next year.

Take a look here: 

Wright In Racine on the SC Johnson Tower

The SC Johnson Company, which is still owned by the Johnson family,  has been maintaining the tower for many years...rather than tearing it down.  .It's why I buy Johnson and Johnson products...love those baggies....

Reine Hauser

Wright After Wright

We are having a resurgence of Wright designed homes and buildings not actually built in his lifetime being built after his death.  We have several here in Buffalo; the Blue Sky Mausoleum, Fontana Boathouse, and the Gas station in the Pierce Arrow Museum.  The linked video and the photo above details an FLW design actually being built ten years ago on the exact location it was originally designed for. Joseph Massaro is a contractor who made his money selling out his business  and deciding to spend it recreating this house as it was designed to be built.  It is interesting in that it is right here in New York State and a very clear example of Wright's natural architecture philosophy.  I recall reading somewhere that it was on the market a year or so ago for 20 million , but do not know if it actually sold.  Imagine owning your own island and your own Frank Llloyd Wright house.

The house was originally designed in 1949 by Wright for A.K. Chahroudi.  Allegedly at a luncheon between Chahroudi, Wright, and Edgar Kaufmann, owner of Fallingwater, Wright told Kaufmann "When I finish the house on the island, it will surpass your Fallingwater."  Wright spent three months working on the design, but the house was never built because Chahroudi was not able to afford the then estimated $50,000. to build the place.  (Good thing because as we all know about Wright's initial estimate, the cost was likely to be more like $150,000. by the time he was done.)

There is argument as to whether this is a true FLW house as Massaro only had five original Wright drawings to work from including a floor plan with ideas for built in and stand alone furniture.  Because Massaro hired a different architectural firm to oversee the project instead of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, there is controversy as to how much of an FLW design the house actually is.  The Foundation wanted almost a half million dollars to render working drawings and supervise construction of the house.  Massaro felt this to be extravagant and declined.  The Foundation than sued Massaro which ended in a settlement that Massaro could only refer to the house as being FLW "inspired" as opposed to "designed."  Massaro did attempt to follow FLW designs as closely as possible although purists have cited a half dozen design changes that were not FLW originals, but then Frank himself often changed his design as a building was going up, so who knows whether he would not have endorsed the changes that were made, several of which had to be made to meet current building codes.  As referenced in the video, Walter Conkrite who was a friend of  FLW's visited the house and was reported to say, "I feel Frank in this house."  If it was good enough for Conkrite, it is definitely good enough for me.  Besides, look at that picture above and tell me this could be anything but an FLW house.

Massaro House

Jens Jensen: Landscape Architect

Jens Jensen: Landscape Architect

Jens Jensen 9/13/1860-10/1/1951 was a Danish-American landscape architect. He worked with many famed architects such as Howard Van Doren Shaw, Louis Kahn, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and George Maher.

He immigrated from Slesvig to America in 1885 and was known for his early work in park system of Chicago, IL. His design work that received international recognition for design can be seen at Union Park, Lincoln Park, Douglas Park and Columbus Park. At Union Park in 1888 is where he transplanted wildflowers of America creating what became the American Garden in 1888. From 1936-39 Jensen designed and planted the Lincoln Memorial Park in Springfield, IL.

He retired from the park system  in 1920, and started his own practice and worked on many private mid-western estates such as Eleanor and Edsel Ford in four of their residences plus Frank Lloyd Wright’s  the Avery Coonley House and Willits Houses  of Chicago, IL.

Jensen’s landscape elements were a diversity of tree, plant and animal life and combined aesthetics history and nature as noted in www.havenhillproject.org suggests.

Jensen employed his ”delayed view” approach in designing the arrival at the residence of Clara and Henry Ford at Fair Lane, in Dearborn MI.  There is no straight drive to the house, but one must proceed through dense woodland areas, bends in the drive with curves arc and large trees giving a feel of a natural reason for the turn and obscuring the long view.

You are then propelled out and see the residence in fully view. Meadows and gardens make the landscape with masses of flowers surrounding the house.

The Great Meadow at Fair Lane leads out from the terrace with a slight bend in its length.  At the far end of the meadow is a small pond with a cluster of white birches on the edge of the woods.  During the summer the early morning sun softly highlights these trees while the evening sun sets at the end of the path to the setting sun.

It is written that “Path of the Setting Sun” is aligned so that on the summer solstice the setting sun glows through a precise parting of the trees at meadow’s end. The house and its landscape are preserved as a historic landscape and a museum with a National Historic Landmark. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/detroit/d36.htm   http://library.umd.umich.edu/archon/?p=creators/creator&id=59

http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/pic/2007/07_oct.asp 

In 1935 Jensen moved from IL to Ellison Bay, Wisconsin and established  “The Clearing”, which he called, “the school  of the soil” to train future landscape architects. www.theclearing.org

 He summed up his philosophy by saying: ”Every Plant has fitness and must be placed in its proper surroundings so as to bring out its full beauty. Therein lies the art of landscaping.”

Diane Schrenk, President

Wright as Artist

                                
                                                             

Graycliff volunteer Judi LaFlmame forwarded the linked article below touting Wright and his talents as more than an architect.  Considering he designed furniture and proposed tableware and silverware to be used in some of his homes as well as designing a dress for at least one home owner, this should not really be a surprise.  He was a man of many talents.

Wright as Artist/

DDM House Skylight Window

For those of you who have missed following it in the news, a skylight window from the DDM House was recently and accidentally discovered by noted local antiques dealer Kelly Schultz mounted in an interior wall in a local home.

 It was auctioned yesterday in his antiques auction in Clarence.  There were six bidders and as always it winnows down to one remaining bidder who purchased it for $80,000.  It is reputed to be a private collector and has remained unidentified.  The DDM House for some reason is hoping it will be donated back to them (The buyer's agent says little chance of that.) while at the same time saying that they really had no interest in bidding on the window because reproductions can be less expensively produced, although they stated they had put in an offer to buy it from the owner prior to the auction, which was turned down.

 It is sad to see a piece of our significant FLW history leave the area but highlights the argument over original vs. reproduction  in restorations especially considering that whether either is used, it is still FLW designed only and not actually built or touched in any way by the renowned architect.  It is an argument over how our restoration dollars can best be used.  And no, just in case you are wondering, I did not bid on the window and win it, but now if it was a Graycliff artifact, well another story.....

http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130803/CITYANDREGION/130809734#

Busman's Holiday

                                                                             


As a docent I spent my Sunday doing a tour at Forest Lawn Cemetery.  My wife and I did the trolley tour which we have talked about doing for years and just never got to.  First, the place is beautiful and loaded with more significant historical and cultural significance than you can believe.  For $25. each it was well worth the time and money.  It started with a short presentation in the chapel, a 120 year old or so building designed by EB Green.  Then you board the trolley, yes, an actual trolley, the same one used for the All Day All Wright tours.  You spend about 2 hours cruising the cemetery with a docent with a microphone in the front of the trolley pointing out significant points of interest.  Periodically, costumed actors, posing as various deceased individuals of note buried there get on board and tell you about themselves.  For our tour it was Dorothy Berlin, Irving's first wife, Millard Fillmore, George Pierce (of Pierce Arrow fame,)  and Sara Hinson, the Buffalo school marm who initiated Flag Day as a national holiday.

I have visited the cemetery numerous times over the years, always found myself getting lost if driving and driving in circles for awhile to find my bearings.  I was pleased to note that both the trolley driver and the docent got equally lost for a couple minutes.  It helped validate my own lack of direction.

Eventually you are returned to the chapel and your car in the parking lot there to find your way back out of the cemetery.

I was surprised little was said about FLW's Blue Sky Mausoleum or the Martins.  They are both buried somewhere in the cemetery but their grave was not referenced.  John Larkin is likewise resting there, but was not referenced.  The docent did mention there was a specific tour for the FLW connections and I am sure she meant the All Wright All Day tour.  They have a number of other specialty tours.  You can visit their website which I have linked below if you want to check them out.  Or, if computers still scare you (they do me!) you can call at 885-1600.  The tours book up early and you likely will not be able to call today and get on a tour this Sunday; we had to schedule 3 weeks in advance.  And yes, most of the tours are just on Sundays. So, if you are looking for something different and interesting to do, check it out.  Oh, and remember to bring a pillow to sit on.  After 2 hours those hard wooden seats on the trolley are painful.

www.forest-lawn.com

                                         

FLW's Imperial Hotel, Japan

Since this wonderful building showing both strong FLW design characteristics, as well as Japanese cultural influence, was destroyed in 1962, there is little about it.  However, the first link is to a pre 1962 video of the Hotel and its lobby.  The second link is to a museum in Japan where the portal and lobby of the building was reconstructed and still stands today due to the hue and cry in the 60's about demolishing an FLW creation.  Both videos provide rare views of this building.  Besides, it is nice to see something that we basically exported to Japan, instead of the other way around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9QUz_zIJqB8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8zAwTFchoA&feature=player_embedded

FLW Video

I found the following video which seems to purport to be an American Experience documentary, but plays out more like a college student's attempt to profile FLW. In the process it includes a lot of information on FLW and pictures of more of his houses than I have seen in one spot to include many interior shots of his houses.  The narration is amateurish and tedious but the photos and info contained are worth the viewing.  Graycliff is not included, but a number of shots of the DDM house are.  It runs for about 40 minutes; hope you enjoy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eBKIq8DrvE