Wright Chat

[KevinW]

There seems to be an error in regard my recollection of way the abosultely stunning Fawcett house concrete floor ended up with the nice goldish brown color, and since the message I recieved today was from the family, I happily agreed to address it here. It seems as though the way I remember the Beharka recollection is in conflict with the way the family remembers it, and that indeed Wright was involved, and agreed to the color change. This is a very important fact, because it is well documented that Wright was stubborn and close minded to clients wishes, and this is just one more example to the contrary.
The part where Bob and Olga were at odds is a result of after Wrights death, he (Wright) failed to tell his staff, including Olga it would seem, and she only knew of what was on the drawings.
My passion for this whole thing and contributing where I can is my only interest. So I amy happy to be corrected when I am in error.
Thanks all!
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KevinW

[JimM]

Isn't that location rather dry and almost desert like? If the clients requested the change (other than not liking the color red) they had a good sense of aesthetics. BTW, the myth that Wright was difficult to work with has not been borne out by what just about every client has related. Regardless of his genius he was first and foremost a practicing architect, and client input is always part of the program.

Anyway, IMO, the earthier color would seem to be a much better fit. The ubiquitous Cherokee Red looks phenomenal set against green landscapes (as almost any "red" would), which is the case with most Usonians.

Just a thought.

[KevinW]

To me, being a transplanted Chicago boy, Los Banos seems a good representative of why California is the Golden State. While not really desert, way too far north for that, it certainly turns golden in the warmer months, envision a Maynard Dixon hillside painting with the golden hills in the background and the only other colors coming from the Oak trees and the nearly always blue skis.
Los Banos it self is in the valley, and is surrounded by Dairy Farms and some of the best agriculture the state has to offer, fruits, veggies, cotton, and nuts, as far as the eye can see. In fact, cotton fields lead you to the Fawcett Property.But those golden hills you see in the western background are a stunning site to see!
Indeed, the golden brown color was a magnificent choice!
Another keen insight from Jim!
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KevinW

[Paul Ringstrom]

The house is in the middle of a large flat agricultural area with crops growing all around the property for many acres.

Satellite Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=21200+south+center+ave,+los+banos,+ca+93635&sll=41.504707,-88.041235&sspn=0.009369,0.013347&ie=UTF8&ll=36.973493,-120.850103&spn=0.004997,0.006673&t=h&z=17

The house is on the diagonal road labeled Center Ave not the north-south road labeled Center Ave. Below an to the right of the indicator arrow, north of Mervel Ave.

[JimM]

[Roderick Grant]

Lieber, although you corrected the story, I would not have been surprised to find out it was true. Olga, among her many other attributes, was color challenged. I don't think it was merely a lack of taste, but more likely a physical defect. "Lurid" would describe her favorite color schemes, she probably couldn't discern subtle hues. When Barbara Elsner had to reupholster her Henredon furniture and replace the carpet leading from the living room to the dining room, Olga decreed the colors, and Elsner was too timid (hard as that may be to believe) to contradict her. The results were not totally satisfying. Olga also had Ablin painted Pepto Bismol.

[modjohn]

Wow! This is one of the most stunningly beautiful Usonians I have ever seen. Even though it does stretch the Usonian ideal to the limit. The photos from the realtor's site are great.

Very large. I wonder what the original construction budget was? I would guess that the owners had no problem keeping trim, since they would have to walk over 100' from the master bedroom to the kitchen for a late night snack.

[therman7g]

http://www.fawcetthouse.com/

Frank Lloyd Wright house

Randall and Harriet Fawcett were introduced to Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture while students at Stanford University. A decade later, they asked him to design a house for them near Los Banos.

It was finished in 1961. The Fawcetts raised a family in the house, farmed the adjoining 80 acres and then died. Their daughters have now put the house up for sale -- for $2.7 million.

Wright didn't build many houses in the Valley, and he wasn't particularly excited about the prospect of this one. Thumbing through photographs of the area, he reportedly told Randall Fawcett, "Not much beauty there."

Fawcett replied: "Actually, Mr. Wright, the Central Valley of California contains the most fertile agriculture land in the world. You should consider it an honor to build a house there."

So he did. The orchards provided a never-ending supply of firewood, so he built a fireplace that was 12 feet high and 6 feet wide. The roof pitches up to frame the Coast Range, while the house manages to blend in with the earth -- a nod to the family's farming heritage, said Crosby Doe, the real-estate agent.

Doe of Beverly Hills said the house would make a good private retreat or arts center. Doe specializes in the sale of artistic and historic properties. To see photos and learn more, go to www.FawcettHouse.com.

[Deke]

Looks like a fun house...quite interesting. Couple things jumped to mind from the photos on the realtors site: one is the fireplace has a strange kind of mayan quality that wasn't typical of usonians...seemed a bit off to me. And I was surprised to see a stained glass door. I had always thought that the Ennis House marked Wright's last used of stained glass.

$2.7 million? Seems like a large premium for a house in the valley, especially one without any furniture. Maybe the property comes with some agricultural perks where Uncle Sam pays you to do nothing.

Deke

[wjsaia]

[DavidC]

[Reidy]

As we've been discussing on the Ennis thread, the attribution of the glass designs there is questionable. Hollyhock may be the last house for which Wright actually intended it.

He designed windows for the Greek Orthodox church at the very end of his life, but they didn't use his designs. The guide told us that churches depend on their wealthier, usually older, congregants to donate windows, and they went for something more conservative and Byzantine-looking. The church used to publish a booklet on their building with color illustrations of Wrigt's drawings.

[peterm]

it seems like the usonian perforated plywood screen replaced the stained glass as a method for filtering light.

[Roderick Grant]

Reidy, didn't Eugene Masselink design the windows for the Greek Orthodox church, and the reredo as well?

[Reidy]

According to the lady at the church, Wright designed them.