Frank Lloyd Wright

Architects may come and 

Architects may go and 

Never change your point of view.  ----Simon & Garfunkel

How much do you know about Frank Lloyd Wright?  If you're like me (Sarah), you know he was the topic of this Simon and Garfunkel tune, you think he designed the Guggenheim Museum, and your 90% sure he was American - (apologies to our dearest architect friend Leann for my ignorance).  Turns out he's even more interesting than all that as we learned during our visit to Cedar Rock - a home he designed and built for a weathy Iowan, Lowell Walter and his wife.

To put it simply - Frankie was a bit of a weirdo - a real control freak, and frankly (ha ha), a poor builder.  Wright only signed the homes he built when everything about the building, and I mean ever

ything right down to the silverware, was according to his standards.  For the poor Lowells, that also meant sleeping in separate beds which he claimed would lead to better sleep (Mrs. Lowell wanted a double bed but he nixed that), having no storage space (no garage!) to prevent clutter of the mind, choosing all the interior decorations - even building all of the furniture, and oking the dishware.  He even had to approve items brought into the home years after completion.  And he would "drop by" over the years to make sure things were up to snuff!  

But apparently he wasn't too anal about functionality.  The roof, which was sort of upturned and 'unique' in various ways, leaked like a sieve, and they've now covered it with modern roofing material.  And the fireplaces, purposely sunken for better fire viewing, filled the house up with so much smoke that old Lowell could never use them.  So there you go - that's what you get 

for $1500,00 in 1950.

You might think the design was so cool that maybe it outweighed Wright's eternal presence and the damp, smokey carpets.  Well, Vanessa thought it looked like an old community center - dark brick, low roof, no windows (on the driveway side anyway) - very institutional.  But to me, the light-filled living room made up for almost all flaws.  Completely encased in window walls, it was like living outside.  Plus, he's got a point about the clutter and good sleep.  I give Frank a B+ (A+ for creativity, C- for practicality, B for use of horizontal lines).  It's amazing what you can learn in the middle of nowhere in Iowa.