A few months ago, I wrote a post about the David Wright House, an endangered Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece in Phoenix. Well, with the New Year, comes new news. Good news, thankfully!
It seems that the preservationists' hard work has paid off, as the unique home that the architect designed for his son in 1952 was finally sold to an anonymous preservation-friendly buyer on December 20, 2012.
A nonprofit organization is now being created to operate the property and oversee its restoration, and the new owner will be pursuing landmark status for the home (at last!).
It is the intention of all involved to make the house available for educational purposes on a limited basis.
Whew, that was a close one!
Read More: Sale of Wright House Assures its Preservation from the New York Times
MORE DAVID WRIGHT HOUSE ON THE WEB:
• Az Central (lots of images)
• Arch Daily
• Colin Edward Slais, Architect
(Images: 1,4 & 5. Arch Daily, 2-3.Colin Edward Slais, Architect)
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I am so glad to see this. Homes like this should be preserved. Congratulations to those involved. I hope to see it one day.
Great news! Again, congratulations to those who worked so hard to save this building!
It is absolutely ridiculous that this intriguing house was ever going to be demolished. That said, I am so relieved!
I was just with my parents who live in Phoenix, as we were just talking about how we hadn't heard that they'd found a buyer and we were concerned. Great news!
Yay!!! I'm so happy to see this post. I remember reading the original story and was sad to hear that this could possibly be demolished. A few years ago I went back to college and had to take an architecture class for one of my 'art' prerequisites. I fell in love with the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and did my final presentation on his work. I hope to one day see this in person.
I'm also so happy to hear this news!
I live in Italy and I just can not imagin people demolishing art builidings. If our ancestors did the same with our Venice, or Florence, or whatever beautiful building here, all the planet would be less rich than it is today.
*Fist pumping in air!* That house blows away most of the designer homes I see today. Sadly, many designers make houses a showcase of their skills and egos. Wright took into account the land, the owners and aesthetics. Having toured an number of Wright homes, the first thing that comes to mind is "This feels like home". The second is "I don't want to leave". The last thought is usually "This is really good design".
This is such great news. I saw the house listed in an upscale Arizona real estate magazine just a couple of weeks ago, so I knew it wasn't being demolished, but I'm so happy a buyer has come forward.
People also need to keep in mind that not everything can be preserved. If every structure was preserved nothing new would ever get built. A lot of old buildings also cost a lot to preserve and maintain. In many cases the costs are difficult to bear or are unsustainable. Someone from Italy chimed in but I have also read that Italy is quite burdened in trying to preserve all of its ancient structures and artifacts.
ha, I'm such a sports nerd! When I saw this post I instantly thought it was David Wright of the Mets.
@jdoey: I'm not aware of anyone trying to preserve everything. Tearing buildings down to rebuild in its place is also often very wasteful, and unsustainable. Not to mention that plenty of older buildings use passive energy design. Proper and routine maintenance is the key for any building. Italy is different story, and not really comparable to the US in terms of historic properties.