Tour, support Oregon's only Frank Lloyd Wright house (photos)

Although the late Frank Lloyd Wright was prolific and remains the most famous architect in the world, it takes effort to see one of his modern creations.

Only half of his designs were completed and many of his masterpieces are privately owned, sequestered behind gates and hidden from view. Even his egalitarian-minded Usonian plans, which he hoped could evolve into affordable suburban housing, are off limits.

Except, Oregon's only Frank Lloyd Wright structure, the 1957 Gordon House, is open to the public.

Built on the banks of the Willamette River but relocated to the Oregon Garden in Silverton to save it from being demolished, the Gordon House is based on Wright's spare, functional Usonian principles.

The term "Usonia" stands for living in harmony with the land in the United States of North America (USONA). He described his dwellings as having an organic appearance as if they rose "out of the ground and into the light."

Sixty custom Usonian homes were constructed across the country between 1936 and Wright's death in 1959. The Haddock House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is listed for sale at just under $1 million.

Learn more about the architect, his work and his only Oregon project at Wright This Way!, a fundraiser that supports the preservation and ongoing renovation of the Gordon House on Tuesday, July 10 (the date changed from Wednesday, June 27). The event won't take place at the house but at Design Within Reach, 825 N.W. 13 Ave. in Portland.

Architect Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture will talk about Wright's impact on his work.

VIP ticket holders ($100thegordonhouse.org) will meet Cloepfil at a wine tasting at 5 p.m. People with general admission tickets ($60 or $15 for students, $30 for emerging professionals) are invited to arrive at 5:30 p.m. and enjoy wine, beer and light appetizers.

Attendees will be able to purchased a limited number of overnight stays at the Gordon House for a discounted $299, $399 and $499, rather than the standard $750. Throughout the year, the house and gardens can also be rented for events, from weddings to concerts.

Guided tours of the interior of the Gordon House at 869 W. Main Street in Silverton are at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. daily with reservations (503-874-6006, gordonhouse1957@frontier.com). Tickets are $20.

Wright was 90 years old when he designed the cedar-and-concrete-block two story house in 1957 for Conrad and Evelyn Gordon. Construction took place from 1963 to 1964.

The living room has walls of glass and rooms flow from one to another in Wright's inventive open floor plan. Another breakthrough idea: Radiant-heat concrete floors that reduce energy costs.

The kitchen is considered by experts to be one of Wright's best.

An 11-foot-square concrete core that rises from the basement to the kitchen ceiling skylight draws heat from the subterranean boiler and cool air from the earth-cooled basement. The tower and a wall fan keep the smell of smoke, fish, fried food and other foods from lingering in what Wright called the "workspace" of the house.

His concepts for cooking comfort and efficiency seen here, including backsplashes to make it easy to clean up wall spills and under-cabinet lighting, continue to influence kitchen design.

After Evelyn Gordon died in 1997, the home fell into disrepair. When the riverfront property near Wilsonville was sold, preservationists and architecture fans -- some of whom would become members of the nonprofit Gordon House Conservancy -- had the home dismantled and moved 24 miles to land outside the Oregon Garden.

The house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was reconstructed and opened to the public in March 2002.

Since then, more than 100,000 visitors have walked through the three-bedroom, three-bath house and explored Wright's concepts of great rooms, indoor-outdoor living and passive energy.

-- Janet Eastman

jeastman@oregonian.com
503-799-8739
@janeteastman

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