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Private Category The recipient of the Private Category award, which honors Wright homeowners who have rescued a building or demonstrated outstanding stewardship in its conservation, is Steve Sikora and Lynette Erickson-Sikora for their complete restoration of the Malcom Willey House. Prior to its purchase by the Sikoras, the Willey House had fallen into a period of decline. When they acquired it in 2002, the house had suffered rot, water damage, break-ins and other serious neglect. In their efforts to stabilize and restore the house, they conducted thorough research on the history of the property and proper methods and materials to employ in the restoration. The Sikoras also developed and created a website to document the restoration of the Willey House, complete with a history of the house, timeline, massing models, furniture details and, most impressively, a virtual tour. Although it was not possible to operate the Willey House as a public site, largely due to neighborhood objections, the Sikoras have been extremely generous in opening the house to individuals and groups. The Willey house is one of the most important designs of Wright’s career—both for coming during a period of relative inactivity and serving as a prototype for later Usonian houses—and without the Sikoras there would not be access to or perhaps even a house standing to see. Professional Category The recipient of the Professional Category, which honors individuals who through architectural, scholarly or other endeavors, have advanced the knowledge and increased the appreciation of the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, is Mary Jane Hamilton. Among the most valued figures in the world of scholarship on Frank Lloyd Wright and the Lloyd-Jones family for the past four decades, Hamilton has written on various aspects of Wright’s life and career and was a major contributor to the 1990 book Frank Lloyd Wright and Madison: Eight Decades of Artistic and Social Interaction, edited by Paul Sprague. This invaluable work grew out of the exhibition Hamilton proposed in 1982 and curated six years later. Among the other exhibitions for which she was responsible, the one on “Frank Lloyd Wright and the Book Arts,” held in 1992 and accompanied by a fascinating catalogue, stands out as having offered a unique insight into an area of Wright’s career too often overlooked. Her book on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Monona Terrace: The Enduring Power of a Civic Vision, co-authored with David Mollenhoff, is a major contribution to our knowledge of Wright’s urbanism and later career. Hamilton is currently working on a book that will lay out the history of the Lloyd-Jones family in the Spring Green area and the ways in which Wright’s architecture is part of that larger story. In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Hamilton has been involved with the archives held by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin as well as helped to oversee the stewardship of the First Unitarian Meeting House in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin. Public Domain Category The recipient of the Public Domain Category award, which honors organizations or individuals who have promoted Frank Lloyd Wright’s works in the public arena or who have rescued a public building, is Wright on the Park, Inc., The Board of Directors and Executive Director Ann MacGregor for saving the Park Inn Hotel and City National Bank. Although the Park Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, decades of unsympathetic remodeling and vacancy pushed the hotel and bank to the brink of demolition. In 2005, Wright on the Park, Inc. (WOTP) was formed by several concerned citizens in Mason City, Iowa, to save and restore the deteriorated property. Led by newly appointed executive director Ann MacGregor, WOTP raised over $18.5 million to purchase the property, stabilize the buildings and complete the restoration. A creative approach to fundraising was employed, attracting grants from Save America’s Treasure, various State of Iowa Legislative appropriations, State and Federal historic tax credit as well as new market tax credits and funding from private foundations and individuals. Completed in 2010—100 years after it was first completed—the Park Inn reopened its doors as a boutique hotel in August 2011. The result was a restoration respectful to Wright’s original design simultaneously updated for present day usage and modern conveniences. One of the miracles of the restoration was the finding of the skylight’s original 25 art glass panels, now back in place. In a little over a year, the Park Inn has attracted visitors from all 50 states and 40 countries. Special Honors Category The recipient of the Special Honors Category, which honors outstanding individuals or organizations whose work represents a unique contribution to the preservation of the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright, is Jack Holzhueter. An ardent supporter of the Conservancy, Wright in Wisconsin, and the purchase and restoration of the Burnham Street American System Built Houses on Burnham Street in Milwaukee, Holzhueter has been a catalyst to several important Wright projects. In January of 2005, Holzhueter personally solicited and raised over $28,000 in less than four days to allow the Wisconsin Historical Society to acquire a unique and extremely rare collection of 32 construction-era photographs of Taliesin in 1911-1912, a phase of development that had previously been relatively ill-documented. Six years later, Holzhueter once again stepped in to help raise $25,000 for the Wisconsin Historical Society to purchase 25 rare vintage photographic proofs of Taliesin showing how Wright had redesigned a portion of his house after it was destroyed by fire in 1914. Had Holzhueter not convinced the seller to package them all together, the photos—many of which had never been published— would have been divided into private collections. During his many years as state historian with the Wisconsin Historical Society and an editor of the Wisconsin Magazine of History, Holzhueter served as the state's authority on Wright and did much to promote Wright's legacy. He was instrumental in the largest exhibition ever mounted at the University of Wisconsin's Chazen Museum of Art entitled “Frank Lloyd Wright and Madison” in 1988 and contributed several essays to the exhibit book. In addition to sitting on the Conservancy’s board of directors for many years, Holzhueter also served as the silent auction chairman, helping to raise over $175,000 to support the Conservancy’s mission. All photos by Mark Hertzberg. |
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