It's a chance to tour a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and a chance to donate money to help in its preservation.
The Pappas House, designed by the famed architect in 1955 and completed in 1964, was sold earlier this year to the Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and preserving the work of Wright.
Michael Miner, the organization's CEO, has said that he plans to turn the 3,000 square-foot house into a museum and a multiuse facility, renting it out for events, corporate retreats and educational purposes.
But first, the house needs structural work, including a new septic system, a new roof and a new set of blocks supporting the roof. And that's where the tour-fundraiser comes in.
On June 7, the house — which is located in Town and Country on Mason Road at Interstate 64 (Highway 40) — will hold two cocktail party receptions in order to maintain social distancing. One will be at 2 p.m. and the other at 6:30 p.m.; social distancing will be observed and masks absolutely must be worn indoors.
Tickets are $250 and are limited to the number of people allowed to assemble in a group, which is currently 10 per reception. If there is enough interest in the event, another reception or receptions may be held on June 6, Miner said.
The tickets are tax-deductible. Among the guests will be Miner, a documentary filmmaker specializing in movies about Wright's work, and Cynthia Pappas, who grew up in the house and who, with her sisters, sold it to the organization.
The Pappas House is one of two Wright-designed buildings in the St. Louis area. The other, in Kirkwood, is now open as a house museum.
After his visits to St. Louis in 1939 and 1949 (where he didn't have much nice to say about architecture and our buildings downtown) we will n…
The exterior of the home, Friday, March 15, 2019. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in Town & Country has been owned only by the Pappas family. A foundation now hopes to raise money to refurbish it and turn it into a museum. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com.