Let's stop blaming WWI and credit Frank Lloyd Wright for preventing the theft of his American System-Built Homes.
Thieves Caught Thieving
Why did Russell Barr Williamson destroy records of his early work?
In the 1920s, Russell Barr Williamson saw more opportunity than just design: he could finance, he could invest, he could speculate, and he did it well. In less than 10 years, he complete over 54 sometimes opulent projects, including his own in Whitefish Bay. Things began to unravel in July of 1927.
Pebble Dash was not Wright’s Idea (Part 2)
It was Arthur Richards, Wright's partner-developer from 1916-1917, who decided to cover the American System-Built Homes (ASBH) in Magnesite pebbles, not Frank Lloyd Wright. And where does one get Magnesite before 1917?
Pebble Dash was not Wright’s Idea (Part 1)
The documented evidence tells us that Pebble Dash was an alteration of Frank Lloyd Wright's American System Built Homes designs -- something he hoped to cover up and forget about.
Why did Frank Lloyd Wright keep the drawings he planned to forget?
Why do the vintage American System Built Homes (ASBH) plans exist at all? Frank Lloyd Wright didn't plan to re-use or show them. Was his decision to store almost 1000 drawings based on nostalgia or pride, or something more practical?
Fibonacci, here and there.
I dropped the Fibonacci spiral on Wright's floor-plan for our house. To my amazement, the focus of the spiral - the balanced center of the nautilus - falls perfectly in front of the hearth, marking the most important place in this space.
Presentation: Frank Lloyd Wright Vs. Russell Barr Williamson
In the wake of the failure of the American System Built Homes project, in which Wright and Williamson had invested over 3 years of mutual effort, the men never spoke again and, tellingly, erased the experience from their professional and personal Curricula Vitae.
Let’s try again
It took some time to forgive but we're going to start sharing again on Instagram.
A Wright in Wright and Like
We're excited to share that Frank Lloyd Wright's Forgotten Elizabeth Murphy House will be featured on the 2023 Wright and Like Tour
It’s been some time. We’re still here.
Hello again Wright-o-files and friends and fans of organic architecture. It's been a while since we've shared new information here. But stewardship never pauses. Here's an update.
The Elizabeth Murphy House 