I’d never even heard of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Gordon House until recently. It is the only project the architect did in the state of Oregon and it might just be my dream house. It is both formal, casual, grand and petite all at the same time. Starting in the 1930s, Wright began making smaller houses as part of his Usonian movement, which brought about cultural shifts in residential design – open floor plans, carports, flat cantilevered roofs, radiant floors and floor-to-ceiling windows. It was completed in 1964 for Conrad and Evelyn Gordon, who lived there for over 30 years. In 2000, the Gordon’s descendants sold it and the structure was moved 24 miles away to The Oregon Garden, where it was restored and is currently the only Wright structure open to the public in the Pacific Northwest. For more information, visit The Gordon House.
In other Frank Lloyd Wright news, the last remaining hotel designed by the architect recently reopened in Mason City, Iowa. Check out the Historic Park Inn, but judging from the photos, it fell into unsophisticated hands and looks like a mess.
A BARROW STREET CHRISTMAS
Walking home from yoga tonight, I stumbled past 77 Barrow Street which was lit up in full Christmas regalia. Given today’s mild weather and a fall that has completely flown by, it caught me off guard that Christmas is only 20 days away. I learned the resident on the ground floor with the striped curtain decorates the exterior of the building every year. For some reason, this was the first thing that put me in the holiday spirit. In terms of design, there was something fresh about the green on green theme. Happy Holidays!