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December 20, 2012

The David Wright House has Been Saved! (For Real this Time)

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Tis the season to be jolly! After an epic 6-month long saga that has been nothing short of a roller coaster, the David Wright House is finally in good hands with plans in place to preserve it in perpetuity. The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the organization that first brought the threat of demolition to our attention, has come to the rescue! The preservation organization facilitated the purchase of the property by an anonymous benefactor that will transfer it to an Arizona nonprofit. The new owner will push forward a landmark designation by the City that will protect the…

November 13, 2012

With New Buyer Backing Out, Phoenix City Council Must Designate David Wright House Regardless of Owner Permission

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I had a feeling it was too early to celebrate. Many media outlets reported two weeks ago that a preservation-minded buyer had purchased the David Wright house from the existing owner – 8081 Meridian – who wanted to demolish it in order to build two McMansions on the site. This meant that the house was going to be saved for sure. Why? First, the new owner had no plans to demolish it. And second, the new owner would most likely give his permission for the city to put a landmark designation on the house. But alas, the Business Journal…

October 04, 2012

Camelback East Village Planning Commission Almost Botches Recommendation for the Landmark Designation of the David Wright House

by: Will Novak

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Will Novak: On Tuesday night (Oct 2nd) the case to recommend a landmark status historic overlay on the beautiful David and Gladys Wright home in Arcadia went before the Camelback East Village Planning Committee. If you weren’t there, be sorry you missed it; for a moment I thought it would turn into WrestleMania XXIX. Before going into detail about what happened at the meeting, a bit of an overview of City processes is needed. As you probably know, the City is divided up into 15 “Villages” each with its own Village Planning Committee….

September 28, 2012

Open House this Weekend and More Updates on the David Wright House

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Here are a few important updates on the David Wright House: 1. As a note of interest regarding the attitude of the current owner and his disregard for the public interest in his new acquisition, Jim McPherson reports that, “the current owner of the David & Gladys Wright House invited PHOENIX Mayor Greg Stanton and guests to tour the building and grounds today…the mayor and a few others from the State Historic Preservation Office, Planning Commission, and Historic Preservation Commission (stood) in front of the chain link fence. They couldn’t get in. The property owner did not show up. He did…

September 19, 2012

Historic Preservation Commission Unanimously Recommends Landmark Designatation for the David Wright House

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Yesterday afternoon as a full house with an electric atmosphere at the Historic Preservation Commission meeting at Phoenix City Hall, surprising many of the commissioners who’re used to seeing only a handful of seats taken at these meetings. Everyone was there for the landmark designation recommendation for the David Wright House. It’s a no brainer that the David Wright House is worthy of a landmark designation, but the rub lies in that the owner has not given permission for this designation. And in Phoenix, we don’t normally go through with a historic preservation designation without the owner’s approval due…

June 27, 2012

A Visit to the David Wright House Reveals a True Masterpiece in Great Condition

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet There has been a lot of talk about the David Wright House as of late. You may even be sick of hearing about it. But the battle to save it is far from over. Yesterday I had the privilege of going to tour the house which I had heard was in quite a state of disrepair. But our tour proved otherwise. Many of us remarked at how well the house has withstood its 61 years and how it remains in great condition. The new owner, John Hoffman, who is the center of what I’m sure is some unwanted attention,…

July 25, 2014

New Summer Exhibition and Opening at Frank Lloyd Wright’s the Gordon House

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The Gordon House, located in Silverton, Oregon, is the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Oregon and the only Wright building in the Pacific Northwest open to the public. It was built in 1964 for Evelyn and Conrad Gordon in Wilsonville, OR and was saved from demolition in 2001 when it was disassembled and moved to Silverton, Oregon. Set in a serene environment next to the Oregon Garden, this Wright gem is a beautiful and unique home to look at inside and out. Guided tours of the house are available everyday except Tuesdays and start at noon, 1pm…

April 20, 2014

What Frank Lloyd Wright Houses Teach about Views, Siting and Designing from the Inside Out

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet “Frank Lloyd Wright went to great lengths to make sure his houses never faced north,” said Robert McCarter, a Ruth and Norman Moore Professor of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, on Friday at his lecture for the Gordon House Conservancy called The Evolution of the American House. McCarter also said that Wright liked to use drapes in homes not only to cut the draft but to create visual privacy while at the same time maintaining auditory connectedness. The architect was particularly sensitive to how occupants of his buildings experienced sound. The Gordon House This weekend’s lecture was…

June 18, 2012

A Preservation Victory: Frank Lloyd Wright House No Longer Under Threat of Demolition

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The decision to initiate a historic overlay and landmark designation process for the David Wright House at the Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday June 12 came surprisingly quickly. Only Zoning Attorney and former Phoenix Historic Preservation Commissioner Grady Gammage spoke, though many others had prepared remarks in support of the motion to help save the historic landmark from possible demolition. Among the attendees and those who had prepared to speak were some heavy hitters on the local architecture scene including Eddie Jones, Wendell Burnette, Phil Weddle, Jack Black, and Matthew Salenger. Gammage spoke eloquently, emphasizing that the Commission wasn’t…

June 11, 2012

Help Save this Extraordinary Frank Lloyd Wright House Under Threat of Demolition!

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet We are one of the few places on earth from which Frank Lloyd Wright chose to work. It is a huge point of pride for our region that one of the most famous architects that ever lived designed so many significant buildings here. In 1950-52, he designed and built a house for his son David on 5212 E. Exeter Rd. It is a remarkable house, not only compared to most houses of the era, but even compared to other Wright buildings. Neil Levine, an imminent Wright scholar says about the house: The Gladys and David Wright House is one…