Spiraling into oblivion : Frank Lloyd Wright's deteriorating masterpiece in Iran

The Iranian ^ | June 4, 2004 | Nima Kasraie

[Fred Hayek]

I have heard a lot of descriptions of FLW's designs which seem to indicate that he had no concept of floor loadings.

[PAR35]

His masterpiece "Falling Water" was plagued by foundation problems even shortly after it was built.

Sounds like he may have have allowed nepotism to override common sense. From the article:

"Wesley Peters, FLW's son in law and first apprentice, who did the calculations for his designs of Fallingwater "

[omniscient]

I have never understood this reverence for the work of FLW. Those interiors are alarmingly similar to the rooms of the Gobbler Motel & Supper Club.

http://www.lileks.com/institute/motel/index.html

[Capriole]

I had a co-worker who live in a FLW house near Atlanta. It was 80% glass windows, so he relied on an alarm system because door locks were basically useless to keep anyone out who wanted in. I always was uncomfortable in that place.

Exactly. When I was a teenager I lived in a Chicago-area house based on FLW design. It also had huge expanses of glass and a nearly flat roof. The roof was, of course, a disaster during snowy Chicago winters. Annoying enough having to shovel the driveway every ten minutes in winter, but to have to get up there and do the roof too absolutely stank! The glass and high ceilings made the place harder to heat than a corn crib, and we were always chilly in the winter (which in Chicago lasts for nine months). With that open floor plan, there was no privacy: if someone took a phone call or listened to the stereo or watched TV, EVERYONE had to listen, too. There was no privacy from the outside world, either, for buying curtains to cover those expanses of glass would have bankrupted my folks.

But living in that house did have one beneficial effect: it turned me into a gun-lover. For I too found out, in those pre-alarm system days, that when somebody wants to come in through your twenty-five-foot-wide front window, a lock on the door is not going to stop him. Standing on the other side of a twelve-foot-tall sheet of glass while holding a .38 does.

In any case I will never live in a contemporary house again. We've been building houses in pretty much the same way in this country for the past 350 years, and there are some very good reasons for that.

[Age of Reason]

Many of his houses were designed purely for looks

Could've fooled me.

[AdequateMan]

I had a co-worker who live in a FLW house near Atlanta. It was 80% glass windows, so he relied on an alarm system because door locks were basically useless to keep anyone out who wanted in. I always was uncomfortable in that place.

You know, it only takes ONE window to gain entry. If you're that worried about a glass house offering no restriction to breaking and entering, remember that all buildings are just that accessible to a determined thief or murderer. The alarm will do a great job of notifying the police department that they need to come over and fill out extensive paperwork.

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

Houses in Chicago should be built like the houses in the Netherlands (Sweden, Norway, etc.) with steep pitched roofs so that the snow slides off on it's own from gravity.

[Watery Tart]

The Gobbler Website by Lileks!

You have no idea how this takes me back, or how many times I will be emailing this to friends and family!

Oh, those lost 90-degree Sunday afternoons sitting at the rotating bar and sipping fancy drinks. It was like being in a giant uterus, what with the pink carpet on the walls....

And he doesn't quite make the connection in the site, but the Hartwigs used to run a VERY large turkey processing plant in Johnson Creek, hence the turkey-shaped restaurant and motel. Also explains the turkey-heavy menus.

Alas, several different restaurants have tried to make a go of it there, but none have been sucessful. The motel across the way, however, has been purchased by a nondescript national chain. I doubt it looks the same inside (not that I would know this personally, of course). ;o)

Thanks for the memories!

[omniscient]

Unfortunately, the motel complex has been demolished, although the restaurant apparently still stands. I only know of this masterpiece of American kitsch through Lilek's site. You are fortunate to have actually experienced this in all its glory.

The details of the demise are documented at:

http://gobblermotel.blogspot.com/

[Watery Tart]

Cool! Thanks!

[js1138]

Frank did crop circles?

[SauronOfMordor]

You know, it only takes ONE window to gain entry. If you're that worried about a glass house offering no restriction to breaking and entering, remember that all buildings are just that accessible to a determined thief or murderer. The alarm will do a great job of notifying the police department that they need to come over and fill out extensive paperwork.

I think of my brother-in-law's house in North Carolina. He has window sensors and interior IR sensors. I told himL forget the window sensors. If I wanted in, I would just take my pocketknife and cut a hole in your outside vinyl siding, and another hole in your interior plasterboard, and I'm in with much less noise (my walls are brick)

[Kirkwood]

Guess I didn't make it clear... He NEVER locked the doors because there was simply no point to it. He used the alarm system to let him know if someone opened one of the doors.

Of course it is obvious to even a child that if you want to break into a house it can be done by breaking a window unless you have bars on them.

[WIladyconservative]

My dad was a big *Let's all go for a Sunday Drive* kind of guy and we kids dutifully went along. We ended up at cool places all over SE and S Central WI.

I too, have eaten at the Gobbler during it's Hey-day . . . nothing to write home about, but interesting nonetheless.

Does any Wisconsinite remember the Pyramid restaurant? I remember eating there, but to this day (40+ years later) I have no clue where it is since my dad always drove.

[Watery Tart]

<Jerry Lewis Voice> Hey, WIlady! </Jerry Lewis>

Does any Wisconsinite remember the Pyramid restaurant? I remember eating there, but to this day (40+ years later) I have no clue where it is since my dad always drove.

Hey, Lady! I was talking to Mr. Tart this weekend--might your pyramid be a Chinese restaurant in Dodge County? If so, it's still there.

Of course there's always the possibility you may be talking about the Fireside Restaurant Theatre in Fort? Looked like a pyramid (to me, anyway) when I was I kid.

We used to collect the tiki glasses....

[Constitution Day]

Re: #6

That would make an outstanding lair for some Iranian Evil Genius.

[January24th]

FLW ping!

[WIladyconservative]

I know it's not the Fireside - BTDT. I don't *think* it's the chinese restaurant you mentioned . . . I distinctly remember a pyramid shaped building in a dusty setting - very Egyptian . . . . .with hieroglyphs and all.

Wish I could figure out where it was (or is) . . .

Thanks for the try though!

[BlkConserv]

House on the Rock and Talisman BUMP