September 6, 2012
Wright house due for demo unless it sells
By JOURNAL STAFF
A house in Arizona designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that was the forerunner for his Guggenheim Museum may be demolished soon unless a buyer steps forward, according to a website called TopTenRealEstateDeals.
Wright designed and built the house between 1950 and 1952 for one of his sons on a 2.2-acre site in Phoenix, but a Nevada developer bought it and plans to build two new houses on the land.
The developer is 8081 Meridian Corp. and the website reports that the company has agreed to wait for a while to see if someone wants to buy the property so the house can be preserved.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has an online petition to save the house at http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-phoenix-save-the-david-and-gladys-wright-house .
Neil Levine, an architectural historian and Harvard professor, called the house one of Wright's most innovative, unusual and personal works. The circular spiral plan was used six years later for the Guggenheim in New York City.
The 2,553-square-foot house is on a landscaped site with a pool near the foot of Camelback Mountain. It has 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, Philippine mahogany woodwork and a large fireplace. A curving ramp leads to the master suite and a rooftop terrace.
The Phoenix Planning Commission has voted to consider a preservation designation, which triggers a temporary delay in permits for demolition.
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How sad is this?! And I'd wonder how his sons would feel? Watching a gift, and a piece of their dad's legacy be literally demolished!
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