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BLUEPRINTS VOLUME XXI, NO. 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: • The Pope-Leighey House
• No Ordinary Clients:The Story of Luis and Ethel Marden
• An Interview with James Kimsey
• “Coonley” and “Wright”
Volume XXIV, No. 3 Summer 2006
NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
Prairie Skyscraper: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower
through September 17, 2006
The only true skyscraper
designed by Wright that was
actually constructed, the Price
Tower is a glimmering jewel
of a building. The exhibition
includes original drawings,
fascinating samples of corre-
spondence between Wright and
the project’s client, furniture,
and a large model of the tower.
The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design
through June 3, 2007
The second in a series of major
National Building Museum
exhibitions on sustainable
design, The Green House begins
with a full-scale, furnished
replica of an environmentally-
friendly house. Also featured
are photographs and models
of exemplary houses and
apartment buildings from
around the world, plus a
resource room with many
examples of materials that are
both green and attractive.
Cityscapes Revealed:Highlights from the Collection
Long-term
The first exhibition presenting
a cross-section of items from
the Museum’s own collection,
including drawings, photo-
graphs, material samples,
and artifacts from National
Historic Landmarks.
Washington: Symbol and City
Long-term
A seminal exhibition about
the complex city that the
Museum calls home.
Spectacular, large-scale historic
and contemporary models
give visitors an intimate
understanding of the city’s
past and possible future.
curre
nt ex
hibitio
ns
M US E U M HOU RSMonday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day
NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM401 F Street NW Washington, DC 20001202.272.2448 / www.NBM.orgRed Line Metro, Judiciary Square
Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage PaidWashington, DCPermit No. 488
Blueprints is the quarterly journal of the
National Building Museum. Subscriptions
are a benefit of Museum membership.
Blueprints ©2006
All rights reserved
ISSN 0742-0552
editor / G. Martin Moeller, Jr.
designer / Jennifer Byrne
blueprints
TR USTE ES AN D STAFF
B O A R D O F TR U STE E S
Officers
ChairCarolyn Brody
Chair ElectMichael J. Glosserman
Vice ChairsGilbert E. DeLormeDavid C. EvansWill MillerRobert A.M. Stern
SecretaryDavid C. Evans
TreasurerRobert H. Braunohler
PresidentChase W. Rynd
Trustees
William B. Alsup IIIFrank AntonThomas N. Armstrong IIIDavid S. BenderDeborah BerkeWilliam M. BrennanJoan Bagget CalambokidisDonald A. CapocciaKent W. ColtonDennis J. CotterChristopher DorvalJohn P. Gleason, Jr.Mike GoodrichDelon HamptonGary HaneyRobert W. Holleyman, IIJoseph F. Horning, Jr.Gerald M. HowardMercy JiménezFrederick A. KoberA. Eugene KohnStephen S. LashTerrence M. McDermottDeryl McKissackHollis S. McLoughlinBrian T. McVayMelissa A. MossRobert A. PeckWhayne S. QuinPhilippe RollierRichard M. RosanStephen M. RossDeborah Ratner SalzbergStephen E. SandherrEric ThorkilsenJames W. ToddNorbert W. Young, Jr.
Honorary Trustees
Harold L. AdamsHoward M. BenderM. Arthur Gensler Jr.Thomas J. KlutznickStuart A. McFarlandRobert McLean IIIElizabeth B. MoynihanMarilyn PerryMallory WalkerLeonard A. Zax
Founding Trustees
Cynthia R. FieldHerbert M. FranklinEdward T. HallNancy Stevenson Beverly Willis
Ex Officio Trustees
The Honorable Dirk KempthorneSecretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
The Honorable Alphonso JacksonSecretary, U.S. Department ofHousing and Urban Development
The Honorable James M. Inhofe Chairman, Senate Committee onEnvironment and Public Works
The Honorable Don YoungChairman, House Committee onTransportation and Infrastructure
Lurita DoanAdministrator, General ServicesAdministration
David L. WinsteadCommissioner, Public BuildingsService, General ServicesAdministration
The Honorable Alan M. HantmanArchitect of the Capitol
Allen WeinsteinArchivist of the United States
The Honorable James H. BillingtonLibrarian of Congress
Lawrence M. SmallSecretary, Smithsonian Institution
Richard MoePresident, National Trust forHistoric Preservation
Christine McEnteeExecutive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer The American Institute ofArchitects
STA F F
Administration
Jennifer BertschExecutive Assistant and Manager of Board Relations
Don HolstromSystems Administrator
Betsy May-SalazarVice President for Finance and Administration
G. Martin Moeller, Jr.Senior Vice President and Curator
Chase W. RyndExecutive Director
Rebecca WarwickHuman Resources Manager
Finance
Diane BeckhamController
Laura LeonardAccounting Coordinator
Curatorial
Chrysanthe B. BroikosCurator
Shelagh M. ColeRegistrar/ Manager of TravelingExhibitions
Catherine Crane FrankelDirector of Exhibitions and Collections
Cecelia GibsonRegistrar
William H. C. GriffithExhibitions Coordinator
Reed HaslachCuratorial Associate
Matthew KuhnertCuratorial Associate
Christopher MaclayPreparator
Susan Piedmont-PalladinoCurator
Laura SchiavoCurator
Deborah SorensenCuratorial Associate
Dana TwerskySenior Registrar
MaryJane E. ValadeExhibitions Designer andPreparator
Education
Corinne CannonYouth Groups Coordinator
Liz GuthrieAssistant Outreach ProgramsCoordinator
Mary HendrickseAssistant Youth GroupsCoordinator
Paul F. KillmerDirector of Public Programs
Scott KratzVice President for Education
Ann LambsonDirector of Youth Education
Kathryn McGillOutreach Programs Coordinator
Jennifer MichaelreeAssociate Youth GroupsCoordinator
Sarah Petty RiceFamily Programs Coordinator
Sarah SmithYouth Education Assistant
Jaime Van MourikPublic Programs Coordinator
Development
Suzanne BissellDirector of Individual Giving
Sangita ChariFoundation and GovernmentRelations Manager
Michael DunaganDirector of Institutional Giving
Elika HemphillDirector of Development Events
Melinda HungermanCorporate and AssociationRelations Manager
Caitlin IrvinDevelopment Assistant
Melissa SlaughterMembership Manager
Shar TaylorVice President for Development
Mary ZeheAssistant Director of Development
Marketing & Communications
Jennifer ByrnePublications Designer
Bryna LipperDirector of Marketing andCommunications
Kevin MorseWebsite Administrator
Julia NeubauerEditor/Writer
Lauren SearlMarketing and CommunicationsAssociate
Museum Shop
Leslie BradshawAssistant Manager
Marcia DiehlOperations Manager
Scott GlasscoeInventory Specialist
Michael HigdonRetail Manager
Tom ZiolkowskiAssociate
Special Events
Christopher FrameDirector of Special Events
Charles ShelbySpecial Events Coordinator
Bill SnitzerSpecial Events Coordinator
Visitor Services
Kristi CotnerTour and Volunteer Coordinator
Barry EdmundsWeekend Assistant MuseumServices Manager
Danielle FloresAdministrative Assistant/Receptionist
Ronald Keith FulwoodInformation Desk Specialist
David KaplanInformation Desk Specialist
Annie KalinowskiTour and Volunteer Assistant
Rose Marie KirwinInformation Desk Specialist
Doris LandauInformation Desk Specialist
Susan MittlemanInformation Desk Specialist
Bryan NormanMuseum Operations Coordinator
Allen TravitzVisitor Services Manager
Gallery Representatives
Monique AndersonWilliam BarnesPatricia CunninghamHarriet CywinskiBarry EdmundsBeverly FennellJessie HarleyJennifer HeimbeckerLouise JohnsonNathaniel KulykBarry LustbergJana MartinNanci McCollumCarla PattersonErma PersonSeymour SeligMatthew SeymourCrystal WatsonMary West Shamika WhiteKaren WhitehairSarah WhitelowEvelyn WilsonFred WilsonViktor Zavadsky
Contents
1 Message from the Executive Director
3 The Pope-Leighey House
8 No Ordinary Clients:
The Story of Luis and Ethel Marden
12 The Marden House:
An Interview with James Kimsey
14 “Coonley” and “Wright”
15 Museum News
18 Support
20 Mystery Building
The NationalBuildingMuseumexplores
the world we build
for ourselves—from our homes,
skyscrapers and public buildings to our parks, bridges, and cities. Through exhibitions, education programs, and publications, the Museum seeks to educate the public about achievements in architecture, design, engineering, urban planning, and construction.
The Museum is supported by contributionsfrom individuals, corporations, foundations,associations, and public agencies.
cover / The main living area of theMarden House, in McLean, Virginia, by Frank Lloyd Wright. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy of Lautman Photography.
This unusual and fascinating buildingis the subject of an exhibition titled PrairieSkyscraper: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower,which is on view at the National BuildingMuseum through September 17. Organizedby the Price Tower Arts Center, whichowns—and occupies part of—the build-ing, the exhibition delves into the historyof the tower’s design. It includes drawings,photographs, original furniture, corre-spondence between Wright and his client,and samples of the building’s architecturalornament. The exhibition itself wasdesigned by the firm of Zaha HadidArchitects, which has also designed a pro-posed addition to the Price Tower ArtsCenter. Both in the exhibition and in theproposed expansion, Hadid’s characteristicsharp angles and dynamic forms master-fully play off of the geometry of the origi-nal building.
I want to thank the sponsors whomade the presentation of the exhibition atthe National Building Museum possible.The Copper Development Association is ourlead sponsor, and there’s a good reason forthe association’s enthusiasm for the show:much of the Price Tower’s distinct charac-ter derives from the beautiful green patinaof the copper panels and louvers that lineits façades. We also received major supportfrom Mr. C.J. Silas of Bartlesville, who ischairman of the board of the Price TowerArts Center. Finally, we are grateful toRestore Media, LLC for its sponsorship of aprivate opening reception for the show.
(continued on page 2)
M ESSAG E FROM TH E EX ECUT I VE D I R ECTOR
blueprints 1
THE WORD “GENIUS” IS OFTEN USED TOO
casually, but it seems to be quite legiti-mately applied to Frank Lloyd Wright.
In a career spanning nearly three quartersof a century, Wright was at the vanguardof dramatic theoretical, technological, andstylistic shifts in architecture—not justonce, but several times. While he designedbuildings all across the country and evenoverseas, he maintained a strong affinityfor the vast American prairie, where hewas born and spent most of his life. Under-standably, therefore, many of Wright’s mostfamous buildings were insistently horizon-tal, reflecting the broad and relatively flatexpanse of the Midwestern terrain.
One striking exception to that rule isthe Price Tower, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma,completed 50 years ago and recentlyrestored to its full glory. It is Wright’s onlytrue skyscraper that was actually executed(the S.C. Johnson Research Tower inRacine, Wisconsin, seems too small to qual-ify for that term, and Wright’s proposedMile-High Skyscraper remains an unbuiltfantasy, though I would not be surprised tosee an equally tall structure under way inDubai any day now).
The Price Tower is unique not onlywithin Wright’s oeuvre of completedworks, but also in the history of tall build-ings. A masterful composition of verticaland horizontal elements, it is a soaringform that nonetheless manages to seemfirmly rooted to the land. It stands as arebuke to the dominant threads in the his-tory of modern skyscrapers—richly col-ored, textured, and faceted, with a dynam-ic, pinwheel plan, the tower contrastssharply with the boxy International Styleskyscrapers that punctuate most Americanskylines. In a sense, it represents the roadnot taken in the design of modern towers.
Chase W. Rynd
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Tower on the Prairie
Protecting the Wright Legacy
I recently had the opportunity to serve as
a member of the team that reviewed the
operations of the Frank Lloyd Wright
Preservation Trust for renewal of its
accreditation by the American Association
of Museums. The trust manages Wright’s
Home and Studio in Oak Park, Illinois, and
the famed Frederick C. Robie House on the
University of Chicago campus, both of
which are National Historic Landmarks
that are open to the public.
Participation in accreditation visits to
other institutions is always an enlighten-
ing experience for museum professionals.
Through such activities, I and the Museum
overall establish and strengthen connec-
tions with other organizations that often
prove valuable in our efforts to organize
engaging exhibitions and programs.
Chase W. Rynd
Included is an interview with LorenPope, who commissioned Wright to designa modest structure now known as the Pope-Leighey House. Pope, who is now 96, clear-ly recalls many details about the designand construction process and his relation-ship with Wright. The second major pieceis an article about the relatively little-known Marden House, which was designedfor an extraordinary Washington coupleand is now owned by AOL co-founder JamesKimsey, who was also interviewed for thisissue. A short, first-hand piece by AveryFaulker, a Washington-area architect whosegrandparents commissioned one ofWright’s most famous houses, rounds outthe focus on the residential work of theman many people consider to be the great-est American architect in history. •
Chase W. RyndExecutive Director
FEATU R E
2 blueprints blueprints 3
M ESSAG E FROM TH E EX ECUT I VE D I R ECTOR
I N 1939, A YOUNG JOURNALIST NAMED
LOREN POPE wrote a three-page letter toFrank Lloyd Wright asking him to design
a house for his family. Pope said that hehad one-and-a-third acres of land in FallsChurch, Virginia, and could afford tospend $5,000. Wright accepted the job, andwent on to create a house that was laterpraised by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., son of thecouple who commissioned Wright’s famousFallingwater, as the architect’s “greatestlegacy to the nation.” It was one ofWright’s first “Usonian” houses, his visionof affordable living for the “family of moderate income.”
In the 65 years since its completion, the Pope-Leighey House—named after itstwo private owners—has been dismantledand moved twice, once to avoid the con-struction of Interstate 66 and once becauseof subsurface soil problems, yet it stilllooks as contemporary and welcoming as itdid when the Popes moved in, in March1941. It now stands on a wooded site tenmiles south of Old Town Alexandria, on a2,000-acre estate once owned by GeorgeWashington.
The story of the design, constructionand lasting legacy of the Pope-LeigheyHouse is one of a confluence of the lives oftwo people, 50 years apart in age, but kin-dred spirits with a shared philosophy oflife. Loren Pope fit the profile of the per-fect Wright client: creative, searching fortruth, and someone who had already readWright’s An Autobiography.
Wright was 72 years old, experiencinga renaissance of recognition and significantcommissions as he entered the most prolificperiod of his career, having recently com-pleted the Jacobs House, Fallingwater, andthe Johnson Wax Administration Building,to name a few. Pope was 28 years old,newly married and living above Ware’sDrugstore in Falls Church, Virginia.
Today, Loren Pope is 96 years old andcan vividly recall the events leading up tohis first meeting with Wright, the euphoriaof watching the master develop his design,a construction process that attracted curiousvisitors from around the area and, mostimportantly, his life-long relationship withWright, as well as with Gordon Chadwick,the Taliesin apprentice assigned to the pro-ject, and Howard Rickert, the youngVienna, Virginia, carpenter who constructedthe house.
I recently met with Loren to talkabout his house.
(continued on page 4)
top / Price Tower at night. © Christian M. Korab/ Korab Photo, 2003.Courtesy of Price Tower Arts Center.
right / Price Tower commissary tableand stools, 1956. Courtesy of Price Tower Arts Center.
An Interview with Loren PopeThe Pope-Leighey House
by Steven M. Reiss, AIA
The Summer of Wright
The Prairie Skyscraper exhibition is one ele-ment in a series of initiatives at the NationalBuilding Museum that we have groupedtogether under the heading “The Summer ofWright.” Lectures, films, and family activi-ties addressing Wrightian themes comple-ment the exhibition. I encourage you tocheck the Museum’s website or the monthlyCalendar of Events for details regarding thisrelated programming.
This issue of Blueprints is another element of “The Summer of Wright.” ThePrice Tower was designed and built in the1950s, when Wright was already in his 80sbut still working as actively as ever. Duringthis period, even as he was focusing muchof his energy on high-profile public andinstitutional projects such as theGuggenheim Museum and the MarinCounty Government Center, Wright neverstopped designing single-family houses. Inthis issue you will find articles related toseveral of Wright’s residential works,focusing on two of the three private houseshe designed for the Washington area.
Loren Pope in front of the Pope-Leighey House. Photo courtesy of Loren Pope.
Steven Reiss, AIA, coordinates
the monthly technical tours
of the Pope-Leighey House
and is a former chairman of
HNTB Architecture.
(continued from page 1)
Included is an interview with LorenPope, who commissioned Wright to designa modest structure now known as the Pope-Leighey House. Pope, who is now 96, clear-ly recalls many details about the designand construction process and his relation-ship with Wright. The second major pieceis an article about the relatively little-known Marden House, which was designedfor an extraordinary Washington coupleand is now owned by AOL co-founder JamesKimsey, who was also interviewed for thisissue. A short, first-hand piece by AveryFaulker, a Washington-area architect whosegrandparents commissioned one ofWright’s most famous houses, rounds outthe focus on the residential work of theman many people consider to be the great-est American architect in history. •
Chase W. RyndExecutive Director
FEATU R E
2 blueprints blueprints 3
M ESSAG E FROM TH E EX ECUT I VE D I R ECTOR
I N 1939, A YOUNG JOURNALIST NAMED
LOREN POPE wrote a three-page letter toFrank Lloyd Wright asking him to design
a house for his family. Pope said that hehad one-and-a-third acres of land in FallsChurch, Virginia, and could afford tospend $5,000. Wright accepted the job, andwent on to create a house that was laterpraised by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., son of thecouple who commissioned Wright’s famousFallingwater, as the architect’s “greatestlegacy to the nation.” It was one ofWright’s first “Usonian” houses, his visionof affordable living for the “family of moderate income.”
In the 65 years since its completion, the Pope-Leighey House—named after itstwo private owners—has been dismantledand moved twice, once to avoid the con-struction of Interstate 66 and once becauseof subsurface soil problems, yet it stilllooks as contemporary and welcoming as itdid when the Popes moved in, in March1941. It now stands on a wooded site tenmiles south of Old Town Alexandria, on a2,000-acre estate once owned by GeorgeWashington.
The story of the design, constructionand lasting legacy of the Pope-LeigheyHouse is one of a confluence of the lives oftwo people, 50 years apart in age, but kin-dred spirits with a shared philosophy oflife. Loren Pope fit the profile of the per-fect Wright client: creative, searching fortruth, and someone who had already readWright’s An Autobiography.
Wright was 72 years old, experiencinga renaissance of recognition and significantcommissions as he entered the most prolificperiod of his career, having recently com-pleted the Jacobs House, Fallingwater, andthe Johnson Wax Administration Building,to name a few. Pope was 28 years old,newly married and living above Ware’sDrugstore in Falls Church, Virginia.
Today, Loren Pope is 96 years old andcan vividly recall the events leading up tohis first meeting with Wright, the euphoriaof watching the master develop his design,a construction process that attracted curiousvisitors from around the area and, mostimportantly, his life-long relationship withWright, as well as with Gordon Chadwick,the Taliesin apprentice assigned to the pro-ject, and Howard Rickert, the youngVienna, Virginia, carpenter who constructedthe house.
I recently met with Loren to talkabout his house.
(continued on page 4)
top / Price Tower at night. © Christian M. Korab/ Korab Photo, 2003.Courtesy of Price Tower Arts Center.
right / Price Tower commissary tableand stools, 1956. Courtesy of Price Tower Arts Center.
An Interview with Loren PopeThe Pope-Leighey House
by Steven M. Reiss, AIA
The Summer of Wright
The Prairie Skyscraper exhibition is one ele-ment in a series of initiatives at the NationalBuilding Museum that we have groupedtogether under the heading “The Summer ofWright.” Lectures, films, and family activi-ties addressing Wrightian themes comple-ment the exhibition. I encourage you tocheck the Museum’s website or the monthlyCalendar of Events for details regarding thisrelated programming.
This issue of Blueprints is another element of “The Summer of Wright.” ThePrice Tower was designed and built in the1950s, when Wright was already in his 80sbut still working as actively as ever. Duringthis period, even as he was focusing muchof his energy on high-profile public andinstitutional projects such as theGuggenheim Museum and the MarinCounty Government Center, Wright neverstopped designing single-family houses. Inthis issue you will find articles related toseveral of Wright’s residential works,focusing on two of the three private houseshe designed for the Washington area.
Loren Pope in front of the Pope-Leighey House. Photo courtesy of Loren Pope.
Steven Reiss, AIA, coordinates
the monthly technical tours
of the Pope-Leighey House
and is a former chairman of
HNTB Architecture.
(continued from page 1)
THE POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOREN POPE
4 blueprints blueprints 5
THE POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOREN POPE
above / Historic photograph of theliving and dining areas. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
below left / Living area and library of the Pope-Leighey House. Photo by Steve Reiss.
Floor plan of the Pope-Leighey House. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
Steven Reiss: How did you first hear about
Frank Lloyd Wright?
Loren Pope: I was working at my first news-paper job for the Washington Evening Star andjust out of college, when my boss suggestedI look up a kindred maverick thinker andarchitect, Frank Lloyd Wright. I did someinitial research and found Wright’sWasmuth papers. The sepia tone of thedrawings did not appeal to me so I didn’tdo any further reading. In January 1938, aTime magazine article again sparked myinterest in Wright and his recently pub-lished An Autobiography. I borrowed thebook from the library, returned it the nextday, bought my own copy and soaked upevery chapter two and three times beforegoing on to the next. Long before the bookwas finished, the light had become daz-zling and I was a true believer. From AnAutobiography on, my bride and I stoppedthinking about the picket-fence Cape Codwe had initially planned to build.
SR: Do you remember the first time you met him?
LP: Later in 1938, Wright was in D.C. to dis-cuss his design of Crystal Heights, a com-plex [never built] which would haveincluded the largest building in theDistrict. He gave a presentation to theAssociation of Federal Architects at theHay-Adams Hotel. I went with my friendEd Rowan, who headed up the New Deal
art program, and our wives. After Wright’sspeech I gathered up the nerve to ask if hemight someday consider creating a housefor me. He replied that he built them onlyfor people like me—“people who deservedthem.” He added that he never built hous-es for real estate men or subdividers, ofwhich I was neither.
SR: How did you get up the nerve to write him a
letter asking him to design your house?
LP: Faith filters out fear (and some error).I was making the grand sum of $50 a weekworking as a copy editor and living aboveWare’s Drugstore in Falls Church, newlymarried. With the encouragement and urg-ing of my friend, Ed, I decided that nomatter how busy or important, the masterwould listen to someone who wanted oneof his works so much. I wrote and rewrotethe letter at least half a dozen times.When I finally dropped it in the mailbox, Ifelt that I had poured out my heart as bestI could and that he would listen to me. Iincluded along with it a map of the site,contours, and trees. It was a letter that noman with a normal ego could ignore.
SR: How did you begin your letter?
LP: “Dear Mr. Wright, There are certainthings a man wants during life, and of life.Material things and things of the spirit.The writer has one fervent wish thatincludes both. It is a house created by you.”
SR: And how did Mr. Wright respond?
LP: Every day I would go to the East FallsChurch post office. Finally after threeweeks I received a buff-colored envelopewith a red logo in the corner. Inside was athin and terse reply. “Dear Loren Pope, Ofcourse I’m ready to give you a house.”
SR: Your first meeting with Wright in Taliesin—
can you describe it?
LP: Yes, en route I had an exciting bonus.In Madison, Wisconsin, I had an opportu-nity to see the first Usonian house and themodel for mine. It was built for newspa-perman Herbert Jacobs. When I walked inthe door, the thrill of actually findingmyself in the kind of Wright house that Iwould have gave me goose bumps. The floorwas red concrete with carpets made offlax, the walls were 11-inch-wide cypress
boards and three-inch-wide pine battens.The doors went around the corners withno supports and the dining and livingareas flowed into each other around thebrick fireplace. In the flesh it was all warmand inviting, as a dream house should be.A Wright apprentice picked me up at theJacobs house to take me to Taliesin. WhenI entered the house, the photographs I’dpored over could not prepare me for thevision of beauty I walked into. Ceilinglines soared. Rich, colorful rugs coveredmost of the waxed stone floor. There was afire in the great stone fireplace, Japanesescreens in green and gold and elegantWright-designed furniture. All waswarmed in the glow of concealed lightingand bathed in soft music.
I shook the master’s hand and greetedMrs. Wright. Much of the conversationbefore dinner was about his autobiography.Dinner was served by several of hisapprentices and although I am interestedin food, I have no recollection of themenu. It seems most of the conversationwas about the New Deal. Wright had strongopinions but he was a willing listener anda charming host.
The next morning we had an oatmealbreakfast eaten on Wright-designed chinawhich sat on Wright-designed place mats.After breakfast we walked down to thegreat drafting room where 30 or moreapprentices were working at their draftingtables, drawing and making models of pro-jects. We reached Mr. Wright’s draftingtable, which was near a large stone fire-place, and there was the top sheet of theplans for my house, labeled “House forLoren Pope, East Falls Church, Virginia.”
He described the drawings to me. Firstthe floor plans and how a person cominginto the living area would see not wallmeeting ceiling but surprisingly, a lacy rib-bon of clerestory windows with cutoutdesigns around the top of the whole space.The walls seemed to be only screens, barelyseparating the inside from the outside. Thehouse was L-shaped with a low brick-pavedentry. Outside, a cantilevered carport float-ed over the driveway. Inside the house onthe right were rooms labeled “sanctum”and “workshop” and, to the left, was a longgallery with bedrooms. Straight ahead anddown five steps soared the open area offireplace, dining, and living areas. Anopen kitchen was off to one side. A line ofFrench doors opened inward, on the right,into an extension of the living room floor.It just flowed out into the grass. The rooffloated over the entire space supported byonly three brick masses.
(continued on page 6)
THE POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOREN POPE
4 blueprints blueprints 5
THE POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOREN POPE
above / Historic photograph of theliving and dining areas. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
below left / Living area and library of the Pope-Leighey House. Photo by Steve Reiss.
Floor plan of the Pope-Leighey House. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
Steven Reiss: How did you first hear about
Frank Lloyd Wright?
Loren Pope: I was working at my first news-paper job for the Washington Evening Star andjust out of college, when my boss suggestedI look up a kindred maverick thinker andarchitect, Frank Lloyd Wright. I did someinitial research and found Wright’sWasmuth papers. The sepia tone of thedrawings did not appeal to me so I didn’tdo any further reading. In January 1938, aTime magazine article again sparked myinterest in Wright and his recently pub-lished An Autobiography. I borrowed thebook from the library, returned it the nextday, bought my own copy and soaked upevery chapter two and three times beforegoing on to the next. Long before the bookwas finished, the light had become daz-zling and I was a true believer. From AnAutobiography on, my bride and I stoppedthinking about the picket-fence Cape Codwe had initially planned to build.
SR: Do you remember the first time you met him?
LP: Later in 1938, Wright was in D.C. to dis-cuss his design of Crystal Heights, a com-plex [never built] which would haveincluded the largest building in theDistrict. He gave a presentation to theAssociation of Federal Architects at theHay-Adams Hotel. I went with my friendEd Rowan, who headed up the New Deal
art program, and our wives. After Wright’sspeech I gathered up the nerve to ask if hemight someday consider creating a housefor me. He replied that he built them onlyfor people like me—“people who deservedthem.” He added that he never built hous-es for real estate men or subdividers, ofwhich I was neither.
SR: How did you get up the nerve to write him a
letter asking him to design your house?
LP: Faith filters out fear (and some error).I was making the grand sum of $50 a weekworking as a copy editor and living aboveWare’s Drugstore in Falls Church, newlymarried. With the encouragement and urg-ing of my friend, Ed, I decided that nomatter how busy or important, the masterwould listen to someone who wanted oneof his works so much. I wrote and rewrotethe letter at least half a dozen times.When I finally dropped it in the mailbox, Ifelt that I had poured out my heart as bestI could and that he would listen to me. Iincluded along with it a map of the site,contours, and trees. It was a letter that noman with a normal ego could ignore.
SR: How did you begin your letter?
LP: “Dear Mr. Wright, There are certainthings a man wants during life, and of life.Material things and things of the spirit.The writer has one fervent wish thatincludes both. It is a house created by you.”
SR: And how did Mr. Wright respond?
LP: Every day I would go to the East FallsChurch post office. Finally after threeweeks I received a buff-colored envelopewith a red logo in the corner. Inside was athin and terse reply. “Dear Loren Pope, Ofcourse I’m ready to give you a house.”
SR: Your first meeting with Wright in Taliesin—
can you describe it?
LP: Yes, en route I had an exciting bonus.In Madison, Wisconsin, I had an opportu-nity to see the first Usonian house and themodel for mine. It was built for newspa-perman Herbert Jacobs. When I walked inthe door, the thrill of actually findingmyself in the kind of Wright house that Iwould have gave me goose bumps. The floorwas red concrete with carpets made offlax, the walls were 11-inch-wide cypress
boards and three-inch-wide pine battens.The doors went around the corners withno supports and the dining and livingareas flowed into each other around thebrick fireplace. In the flesh it was all warmand inviting, as a dream house should be.A Wright apprentice picked me up at theJacobs house to take me to Taliesin. WhenI entered the house, the photographs I’dpored over could not prepare me for thevision of beauty I walked into. Ceilinglines soared. Rich, colorful rugs coveredmost of the waxed stone floor. There was afire in the great stone fireplace, Japanesescreens in green and gold and elegantWright-designed furniture. All waswarmed in the glow of concealed lightingand bathed in soft music.
I shook the master’s hand and greetedMrs. Wright. Much of the conversationbefore dinner was about his autobiography.Dinner was served by several of hisapprentices and although I am interestedin food, I have no recollection of themenu. It seems most of the conversationwas about the New Deal. Wright had strongopinions but he was a willing listener anda charming host.
The next morning we had an oatmealbreakfast eaten on Wright-designed chinawhich sat on Wright-designed place mats.After breakfast we walked down to thegreat drafting room where 30 or moreapprentices were working at their draftingtables, drawing and making models of pro-jects. We reached Mr. Wright’s draftingtable, which was near a large stone fire-place, and there was the top sheet of theplans for my house, labeled “House forLoren Pope, East Falls Church, Virginia.”
He described the drawings to me. Firstthe floor plans and how a person cominginto the living area would see not wallmeeting ceiling but surprisingly, a lacy rib-bon of clerestory windows with cutoutdesigns around the top of the whole space.The walls seemed to be only screens, barelyseparating the inside from the outside. Thehouse was L-shaped with a low brick-pavedentry. Outside, a cantilevered carport float-ed over the driveway. Inside the house onthe right were rooms labeled “sanctum”and “workshop” and, to the left, was a longgallery with bedrooms. Straight ahead anddown five steps soared the open area offireplace, dining, and living areas. Anopen kitchen was off to one side. A line ofFrench doors opened inward, on the right,into an extension of the living room floor.It just flowed out into the grass. The rooffloated over the entire space supported byonly three brick masses.
(continued on page 6)
THE POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOREN POPE
blueprints 76 blueprints
THE POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOREN POPE
(continued from page 5)
SR: And your reaction to his sketches?
LP: I thought Mr. Wright was a genius ashe described the house to me.
SR: Did he indicate what effect he was trying to
achieve with his design?
LP: Years later he was quoted as saying,“What I was aiming for was the sense of ahappy, cloudless day.”
SR: How did you afford the house?
LP: Every lending agency I went to wasafraid of loaning me money for the house. Infact, the retired diplomat who ran the EastFalls Church Savings and Loan Associationtried to counsel me, “Loren, this house wouldbe a white elephant.” My last resort was theEvening Star, which financed homes for itsemployees. The Star offered to lend me $5,700,to be taken out of my pay at $12 a week.
Around that same time Mr. Wrightcalled to say the house he had shown mewould be too expensive and he would haveto rework it. That meant the workshop hadto come out and the sanctum shrunk.[Note: The initial size of the house, 1,800square feet, was eventually reduced to 1,200.]
SR: Tell me about the apprentice that Mr. Wright
assigned to your house.
LP: Gordon Chadwick was a 26-year oldgraduate architect from Princeton whohad been working with Mr. Wright as anapprentice for two years. Another Usonianhouse was to be built at the same time inBaltimore for Joseph Euchtman and bothjobs were to be handled by Gordon. I wasto provide room and board and give him$25 a week, half of what I was making.The Usonian houses used no stock materi-als, so doors, windows and so on had to bemade on site. Gordon bought a carload ofsecond-grade red tidewater Cyprus fromthe Florida everglades so he could pick outthe knot-free boards of the same shade forthe houses and still save money.
To keep the costs down on the Usonianhouses Wright often had his apprentice actas the general contractor. So Gordon alsohad to get separate contracts for the concretework, and masonry, the plumbing and elec-trical work and of course the carpentry.
SR: And who was the house’s carpenter?
LP: Howard Rickert from Vienna, Virginia,was the master carpenter who built ourhouse. He was one of the few men whounderstood what it was all about. After onecareful study of the blueprints, he becameenthusiastic saying, “This house is logical.”
SR: Describe the house.
LP: It is a big small house for a small fami-ly. It is L-shaped, one-story on two levelsbecause the lot slopes, with a living roomeleven-and-a-half feet high, with a red-col-ored concrete floor, which also is a radiantheater by virtue of the hot water pipesunderneath. The house has brick support-ing piers and cypress walls.
For light, ventilation, and decoration,the house has a patterned ribbon ofclerestory windows between the top of thewall and the ceiling. You can sit by thefireplace at night and see the stars. Thereis no paint or plaster, and no masking ofany material. The finish, both outside andin, is clear wax, a treatment that comple-ments the beauties of brick and wood. Thehouse gives you a sense of protection, butnever of being closed in, and of leadingyou on beyond where your eyes can see.The honest use of materials satisfies theurge you feel when you think you wouldlike to have a log cabin or a rustic hide-outin the mountains. Altogether, it is a soft,warm symphony of charm.
SR: How did the neighbors react to the house
as it was being built?
LP: With curiosity. People would just walkonto the property and watch the construc-tion. Architects would come by and try topick up any sets of drawings lying around.
SR: How much did the house cost?
LP: About $7,000, including Wright’s fees.[Note: Wright’s standard fee was 10 percentof the construction cost.] What we got wasan extraordinary house for an ordinaryprice. And what’s more, our house camecompletely furnished: carpets, furniture,stove and so forth, all for just about thecost of an ordinary one.
SR: What type of contact did you have with Wright
during construction? Did he visit the house?
LP: He visited the house several times.During one trip he said that the house wascosting me too much and he never askedfor the remainder of his fee. He felt it wasone of his best Usonian houses and actual-ly wanted to name the house “Touchstone.”
SR: What was it like living in the house?
LP: The house gave us pleasure day andnight. Each morning, the big window thattook up most of the outside bedroom wallenabled us to enjoy the lawn and the mag-nificent tulip poplar outside the livingroom and the woods beyond. The sunwould shine through the leaves and theclerestories created dancing patterns oflight and shadow as it moved across thewalls. Even on a cloudy day the housenever looked cold or drab, it was so open,the wood and brick so warm and rich. Justbeing there simply made us feel fulfilledand happy and proud, day after day. To us,it had a presence and a character.
Dinner became a relaxing time toenjoy with my little family. Then when itgot dark we could sit by the fireplace andsee the stars, or have coffee outside andenjoy our dramatic Japanese lantern. Thewhole effect was a lift for our souls.
SR: There are numerous stories about
Mr. Wright’s “control” of his projects. Did you
experience this with your house?
LP: People often asked if Mr. Wright dictat-ed matters of decor, what kind of disheswe should use or whether we should followa certain lifestyle. He did not, usually. Butthere was a case with a magnolia tree I’dplanted in front of the carport. Soon itgrew above roof level. I was bringing himout to the house. The instant I turned ontoour road he spotted the offending magno-lia and exclaimed, “What are you trying todo Loren, ruin this place?” So the next dayI cut it down.
Another time, I had placed four orfive rows of the brick patio outside the din-ing area, using a 30-inch mason’s level. Itwas not the most professional of jobs. Helooked it over and said, “Loren, use astring.” So I tore out what I had done and
used a string. The next time he came, heapproved, especially the square opening I’dmade at the outside corner for an azalea.
SR: Why did you move after only six years?
LP: When we sold the house in 1946 tomove to a 365-acre farm in Loudon County,our plan was to build a larger Wrighthouse. Mr. Wright came out and picked outthe site (of course the most difficult onwhich to build), but we had cut our tieswith the city (and its paychecks) and aWright house on a farming and free-lancewriting income became academic. Yearslater in 1959 when I did have a steady pay-check, I discussed another design for ahouse with Mr. Wright who was staying inNew York working on the GuggenheimMuseum; but Wright simply didn’t livelong enough for us to get our wish.
For many years I’ve been away fromthe house more than I’ve been there, butspiritually I’ve never left the house. Livingin the house has affected my whole life. •
above / Under-floor heating pipes dur-ing construction. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
below / Historic photograph of theexterior. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
above / Pope-Leighey House at dusk. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
Loren Pope is completing a book
on the Pope-Leighey house
which he hopes to publish later
this year. Mr. Pope has also
recently completed an updated
edition of his best-selling book,
Colleges That Change Lives:
40 Schools You Should
Know About Even If You’re
Not a Straight-A Student.
A companion publication,
Looking Beyond the Ivy
League: Finding the College
That’s Right for You, has also
been published by Mr. Pope.
THE POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOREN POPE
blueprints 76 blueprints
THE POPE-LEIGHEY HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH LOREN POPE
(continued from page 5)
SR: And your reaction to his sketches?
LP: I thought Mr. Wright was a genius ashe described the house to me.
SR: Did he indicate what effect he was trying to
achieve with his design?
LP: Years later he was quoted as saying,“What I was aiming for was the sense of ahappy, cloudless day.”
SR: How did you afford the house?
LP: Every lending agency I went to wasafraid of loaning me money for the house. Infact, the retired diplomat who ran the EastFalls Church Savings and Loan Associationtried to counsel me, “Loren, this house wouldbe a white elephant.” My last resort was theEvening Star, which financed homes for itsemployees. The Star offered to lend me $5,700,to be taken out of my pay at $12 a week.
Around that same time Mr. Wrightcalled to say the house he had shown mewould be too expensive and he would haveto rework it. That meant the workshop hadto come out and the sanctum shrunk.[Note: The initial size of the house, 1,800square feet, was eventually reduced to 1,200.]
SR: Tell me about the apprentice that Mr. Wright
assigned to your house.
LP: Gordon Chadwick was a 26-year oldgraduate architect from Princeton whohad been working with Mr. Wright as anapprentice for two years. Another Usonianhouse was to be built at the same time inBaltimore for Joseph Euchtman and bothjobs were to be handled by Gordon. I wasto provide room and board and give him$25 a week, half of what I was making.The Usonian houses used no stock materi-als, so doors, windows and so on had to bemade on site. Gordon bought a carload ofsecond-grade red tidewater Cyprus fromthe Florida everglades so he could pick outthe knot-free boards of the same shade forthe houses and still save money.
To keep the costs down on the Usonianhouses Wright often had his apprentice actas the general contractor. So Gordon alsohad to get separate contracts for the concretework, and masonry, the plumbing and elec-trical work and of course the carpentry.
SR: And who was the house’s carpenter?
LP: Howard Rickert from Vienna, Virginia,was the master carpenter who built ourhouse. He was one of the few men whounderstood what it was all about. After onecareful study of the blueprints, he becameenthusiastic saying, “This house is logical.”
SR: Describe the house.
LP: It is a big small house for a small fami-ly. It is L-shaped, one-story on two levelsbecause the lot slopes, with a living roomeleven-and-a-half feet high, with a red-col-ored concrete floor, which also is a radiantheater by virtue of the hot water pipesunderneath. The house has brick support-ing piers and cypress walls.
For light, ventilation, and decoration,the house has a patterned ribbon ofclerestory windows between the top of thewall and the ceiling. You can sit by thefireplace at night and see the stars. Thereis no paint or plaster, and no masking ofany material. The finish, both outside andin, is clear wax, a treatment that comple-ments the beauties of brick and wood. Thehouse gives you a sense of protection, butnever of being closed in, and of leadingyou on beyond where your eyes can see.The honest use of materials satisfies theurge you feel when you think you wouldlike to have a log cabin or a rustic hide-outin the mountains. Altogether, it is a soft,warm symphony of charm.
SR: How did the neighbors react to the house
as it was being built?
LP: With curiosity. People would just walkonto the property and watch the construc-tion. Architects would come by and try topick up any sets of drawings lying around.
SR: How much did the house cost?
LP: About $7,000, including Wright’s fees.[Note: Wright’s standard fee was 10 percentof the construction cost.] What we got wasan extraordinary house for an ordinaryprice. And what’s more, our house camecompletely furnished: carpets, furniture,stove and so forth, all for just about thecost of an ordinary one.
SR: What type of contact did you have with Wright
during construction? Did he visit the house?
LP: He visited the house several times.During one trip he said that the house wascosting me too much and he never askedfor the remainder of his fee. He felt it wasone of his best Usonian houses and actual-ly wanted to name the house “Touchstone.”
SR: What was it like living in the house?
LP: The house gave us pleasure day andnight. Each morning, the big window thattook up most of the outside bedroom wallenabled us to enjoy the lawn and the mag-nificent tulip poplar outside the livingroom and the woods beyond. The sunwould shine through the leaves and theclerestories created dancing patterns oflight and shadow as it moved across thewalls. Even on a cloudy day the housenever looked cold or drab, it was so open,the wood and brick so warm and rich. Justbeing there simply made us feel fulfilledand happy and proud, day after day. To us,it had a presence and a character.
Dinner became a relaxing time toenjoy with my little family. Then when itgot dark we could sit by the fireplace andsee the stars, or have coffee outside andenjoy our dramatic Japanese lantern. Thewhole effect was a lift for our souls.
SR: There are numerous stories about
Mr. Wright’s “control” of his projects. Did you
experience this with your house?
LP: People often asked if Mr. Wright dictat-ed matters of decor, what kind of disheswe should use or whether we should followa certain lifestyle. He did not, usually. Butthere was a case with a magnolia tree I’dplanted in front of the carport. Soon itgrew above roof level. I was bringing himout to the house. The instant I turned ontoour road he spotted the offending magno-lia and exclaimed, “What are you trying todo Loren, ruin this place?” So the next dayI cut it down.
Another time, I had placed four orfive rows of the brick patio outside the din-ing area, using a 30-inch mason’s level. Itwas not the most professional of jobs. Helooked it over and said, “Loren, use astring.” So I tore out what I had done and
used a string. The next time he came, heapproved, especially the square opening I’dmade at the outside corner for an azalea.
SR: Why did you move after only six years?
LP: When we sold the house in 1946 tomove to a 365-acre farm in Loudon County,our plan was to build a larger Wrighthouse. Mr. Wright came out and picked outthe site (of course the most difficult onwhich to build), but we had cut our tieswith the city (and its paychecks) and aWright house on a farming and free-lancewriting income became academic. Yearslater in 1959 when I did have a steady pay-check, I discussed another design for ahouse with Mr. Wright who was staying inNew York working on the GuggenheimMuseum; but Wright simply didn’t livelong enough for us to get our wish.
For many years I’ve been away fromthe house more than I’ve been there, butspiritually I’ve never left the house. Livingin the house has affected my whole life. •
above / Under-floor heating pipes dur-ing construction. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
below / Historic photograph of theexterior. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
above / Pope-Leighey House at dusk. Courtesy of Woodlawn Plantation.
Loren Pope is completing a book
on the Pope-Leighey house
which he hopes to publish later
this year. Mr. Pope has also
recently completed an updated
edition of his best-selling book,
Colleges That Change Lives:
40 Schools You Should
Know About Even If You’re
Not a Straight-A Student.
A companion publication,
Looking Beyond the Ivy
League: Finding the College
That’s Right for You, has also
been published by Mr. Pope.
FEATU R E NO ORDINARY CLIENTS: THE STORY OF LUIS AND ETHEL MARDEN
8 blueprints blueprints 9
above / Exterior view, with PotomacRiver at right. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
top / Main floor plan. Courtesy of Richard Williams Architects.
above / Frank Lloyd Wright examiningjoints in the concrete block at theMarden House. Courtesy of the Estate of Mr. & Mrs. LuisMarden.
prejudices of the era), so he chose “Luis,” as avariation on the nickname “Louis,” which healready used, and then picked the surname“Marden” at random out of a telephone book.
Luis moved to Washington in 1934,when he was only 21 years old, to accept ajob with National Geographic. Despite hisyouth, he almost immediately had a pro-found influence on the character and repu-tation of the magazine, thanks to his intro-duction of the use of lightweight, 35mmcameras and Kodachrome film, which pro-vided richer color than the film the maga-zine had used previously. Later, his manynotable achievements in various areasbrought added luster to the magazine.While exploring with Jacques-Yves Cousteau(who became a life-long friend of theMardens), Luis developed innovative tech-niques for underwater photography, andthus introduced the magazine’s readers toimages of a heretofore unknown submarineworld. He even had the distinction of hav-ing both a species of orchid (Epistephium mar-denii, which he discovered while on assign-ment in Brazil) and a sea flea (a parasitethat lives on lobsters) named after him.
The biography of Luis’s wife, Ethel,who now lives in an assisted-care facilityin Arlington, Virginia, is equally remark-able. Born in Texas, she studied both math-ematics and English, and as a youngwoman moved to Washington, where shegot a job with the Federal CommunicationsCommission. She was considering pursuinga doctorate in mathematics when she wasoffered the opportunity to join theNational Bureau of Standards to work onthe development of one of the earliest truecomputers. Like her husband, Ethel held apilot’s license. She also loved sports cars,and in her heyday, she could be seen zip-ping around the Washington area in herMG (she later owned an Austin Healey anda Jaguar). In an interview conducted aspart of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives’Oral History Program in 2001, she said, “Iadmire anybody who has done somethingfor the first time. . . anyone who has been apioneer in something.” It is hardly surpris-ing that she and Luis enjoyed each other’sprofound respect, nor that both would findthemselves drawn to a larger-than-life fig-ure such as Frank Lloyd Wright.
Luis Marden, who died in 2003 at theage of 90, has been called “the epitome ofthe Geographic man.” The epithet alludesnot only to his 64-year career as a writer,photographer, and senior editor withNational Geographic magazine, but also to hisintrepid spirit, his insatiable curiosity, andhis vast knowledge spanning a wide rangeof disciplines.
Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, toItalian parents, Luis was originally namedAnnibale Luigi Paragallo. As a teenager, hebecame proficient in five languages, learnedEgyptian hieroglyphics, and wrote a bookcalled Color Photography for the Miniature Camera,which may have been the first ever publishedon the topic of 35mm color photography. Hewas soon invited to host a radio programabout photography, a position that led to hisname change—the station owners thoughthis name was too difficult for his audience tounderstand (although one wonders now ifthey simply felt it was too “ethnic” given the
The Story of Luis and Ethel MardenNo Ordinary Clients by Martin Moeller FAMED FOR HIS BRILLIANCE AND ECCENTRICITY,
Frank Lloyd Wright seemed to attractclients who were extraordinary in their
own right. It would be impossible, ofcourse, to state definitively which of hisclients was the most fascinating, but therecan be little doubt that Luis and EthelMarden, of McLean, Virginia, would beprime candidates for that distinction.Anyone lucky enough to have met theMardens could recount numerous tales oftheir improbable exploits: how Luis person-ally discovered the wreck of the infamousH.M.S. Bounty, for instance; or how Ethelset the women’s record for underwater div-ing; or how the two of them fearlessly chal-lenged the academic establishment bydeclaring that the long-accepted account ofChristopher Columbus’s first journey to theNew World was all wrong, and that heactually made his initial landing far awayfrom where most experts believed.
The Mardens married in 1939, just oneday after Luis returned from an extendedtrip to South America, where he had beenworking on a series of articles for the mag-azine. They settled into a new apartment,but soon began to discuss the idea of com-missioning Wright to design a house forthem. In March of 1940, Luis wrote thefirst of several letters of inquiry to Wright,but the architect was enjoying one of thebusiest periods of his career, and eventhough he soon accepted the commission,it was more than ten years before he wasable to begin the design of the Mardens’house, and nearly twenty years before itsconstruction was complete.
When Luis first wrote to the architect,the Mardens did not yet own a piece of landon which to build their dream house, but in1944, while fishing along the banks of thePotomac—it was wartime, and they did nothave enough gasoline ration coupons todrive to a preferred fishing spot along theShenandoah—the couple became entrancedby a site on the Virginia side of the river justabove Little Falls. The next day, they called areal estate agent and learned that a propertyin that area was for sale, and they bought itshortly thereafter.
Finally, in 1952, Wright produced adesign for the Mardens’ house. Because hewas so busy with high-profile projects suchas the Guggenheim Museum in New York,and advancing age made it increasinglydifficult for him to travel, Wright hadworked primarily from topographical mapsof the Mardens’ property (on his sole visitto the site before construction began,Wright had been unable to reach the mainviewpoint because the terrain was toosteep for him to negotiate). When the
FEATU R E NO ORDINARY CLIENTS: THE STORY OF LUIS AND ETHEL MARDEN
8 blueprints blueprints 9
above / Exterior view, with PotomacRiver at right. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
top / Main floor plan. Courtesy of Richard Williams Architects.
above / Frank Lloyd Wright examiningjoints in the concrete block at theMarden House. Courtesy of the Estate of Mr. & Mrs. LuisMarden.
prejudices of the era), so he chose “Luis,” as avariation on the nickname “Louis,” which healready used, and then picked the surname“Marden” at random out of a telephone book.
Luis moved to Washington in 1934,when he was only 21 years old, to accept ajob with National Geographic. Despite hisyouth, he almost immediately had a pro-found influence on the character and repu-tation of the magazine, thanks to his intro-duction of the use of lightweight, 35mmcameras and Kodachrome film, which pro-vided richer color than the film the maga-zine had used previously. Later, his manynotable achievements in various areasbrought added luster to the magazine.While exploring with Jacques-Yves Cousteau(who became a life-long friend of theMardens), Luis developed innovative tech-niques for underwater photography, andthus introduced the magazine’s readers toimages of a heretofore unknown submarineworld. He even had the distinction of hav-ing both a species of orchid (Epistephium mar-denii, which he discovered while on assign-ment in Brazil) and a sea flea (a parasitethat lives on lobsters) named after him.
The biography of Luis’s wife, Ethel,who now lives in an assisted-care facilityin Arlington, Virginia, is equally remark-able. Born in Texas, she studied both math-ematics and English, and as a youngwoman moved to Washington, where shegot a job with the Federal CommunicationsCommission. She was considering pursuinga doctorate in mathematics when she wasoffered the opportunity to join theNational Bureau of Standards to work onthe development of one of the earliest truecomputers. Like her husband, Ethel held apilot’s license. She also loved sports cars,and in her heyday, she could be seen zip-ping around the Washington area in herMG (she later owned an Austin Healey anda Jaguar). In an interview conducted aspart of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives’Oral History Program in 2001, she said, “Iadmire anybody who has done somethingfor the first time. . . anyone who has been apioneer in something.” It is hardly surpris-ing that she and Luis enjoyed each other’sprofound respect, nor that both would findthemselves drawn to a larger-than-life fig-ure such as Frank Lloyd Wright.
Luis Marden, who died in 2003 at theage of 90, has been called “the epitome ofthe Geographic man.” The epithet alludesnot only to his 64-year career as a writer,photographer, and senior editor withNational Geographic magazine, but also to hisintrepid spirit, his insatiable curiosity, andhis vast knowledge spanning a wide rangeof disciplines.
Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, toItalian parents, Luis was originally namedAnnibale Luigi Paragallo. As a teenager, hebecame proficient in five languages, learnedEgyptian hieroglyphics, and wrote a bookcalled Color Photography for the Miniature Camera,which may have been the first ever publishedon the topic of 35mm color photography. Hewas soon invited to host a radio programabout photography, a position that led to hisname change—the station owners thoughthis name was too difficult for his audience tounderstand (although one wonders now ifthey simply felt it was too “ethnic” given the
The Story of Luis and Ethel MardenNo Ordinary Clients by Martin Moeller FAMED FOR HIS BRILLIANCE AND ECCENTRICITY,
Frank Lloyd Wright seemed to attractclients who were extraordinary in their
own right. It would be impossible, ofcourse, to state definitively which of hisclients was the most fascinating, but therecan be little doubt that Luis and EthelMarden, of McLean, Virginia, would beprime candidates for that distinction.Anyone lucky enough to have met theMardens could recount numerous tales oftheir improbable exploits: how Luis person-ally discovered the wreck of the infamousH.M.S. Bounty, for instance; or how Ethelset the women’s record for underwater div-ing; or how the two of them fearlessly chal-lenged the academic establishment bydeclaring that the long-accepted account ofChristopher Columbus’s first journey to theNew World was all wrong, and that heactually made his initial landing far awayfrom where most experts believed.
The Mardens married in 1939, just oneday after Luis returned from an extendedtrip to South America, where he had beenworking on a series of articles for the mag-azine. They settled into a new apartment,but soon began to discuss the idea of com-missioning Wright to design a house forthem. In March of 1940, Luis wrote thefirst of several letters of inquiry to Wright,but the architect was enjoying one of thebusiest periods of his career, and eventhough he soon accepted the commission,it was more than ten years before he wasable to begin the design of the Mardens’house, and nearly twenty years before itsconstruction was complete.
When Luis first wrote to the architect,the Mardens did not yet own a piece of landon which to build their dream house, but in1944, while fishing along the banks of thePotomac—it was wartime, and they did nothave enough gasoline ration coupons todrive to a preferred fishing spot along theShenandoah—the couple became entrancedby a site on the Virginia side of the river justabove Little Falls. The next day, they called areal estate agent and learned that a propertyin that area was for sale, and they bought itshortly thereafter.
Finally, in 1952, Wright produced adesign for the Mardens’ house. Because hewas so busy with high-profile projects suchas the Guggenheim Museum in New York,and advancing age made it increasinglydifficult for him to travel, Wright hadworked primarily from topographical mapsof the Mardens’ property (on his sole visitto the site before construction began,Wright had been unable to reach the mainviewpoint because the terrain was toosteep for him to negotiate). When the
NO ORDINARY CLIENTS: THE STORY OF LUIS AND ETHEL MARDEN NO ORDINARY CLIENTS: THE STORY OF LUIS AND ETHEL MARDEN
blueprints 1110 blueprints
By then however, major changes to thedesign were no longer possible. Miracu-lously, despite what would seem to be a significant lapse in the architect’s under-standing of the site, the completed housenonetheless appears to be well integratedinto its landscape and takes excellentadvantage of the spectacular views to therapids below.
In April 1959, as their house was near-ing completion, the Mardens traveled toPhoenix for a conference, and while there,Ethel decided to visit Wright’s compound atTaliesin West. Wright sent word that he wasunable to join Ethel for lunch because ofanother appointment. Ethel later learnedthat the appointment had been with his doc-tor; Wright died on April 9, two monthsshort of his 92nd birthday. The Mardensmoved into their house on May 31.
Over the next four decades, Luis andEthel enjoyed their home to the fullest.They dubbed the house “Fontinalis,” aLatin term meaning roughly “at thespring” or “by the stream.” Not coinciden-tally, Salvelinus fontinalis is the formal Latinname for the brook trout, which was theMardens’ favorite fish. As much as theyloved the house, they rarely entertained,and indeed were reluctant to have visitorsin general. Friends of the Mardens generallyattribute this to the fact that the house wasalways so cluttered with diving equipment,books, and countless souvenirs from theirexplorations. Given Wright’s insistence onorderliness, they may have been slightlyembarrassed to be using the house so vigor-ously. As a result of the Mardens’ desirefor privacy, their house remained one ofWright’s lesser-known works.
In 1998, Luis, who had developedParkinson’s Disease, moved to a nursinghome. Ethel remained in the house, butshe realized that the time was approachingwhen she and her husband would have tocome to terms with the fate of theirbeloved house once neither of them couldlive there. In prosperous Washington,there were plenty of people who couldafford to buy such a house. But who amongthese prospects would be willing and ableto provide the proper stewardship for sucha landmark?
Mardens received the architect’s initialdrawings, Luis was quite displeased with thedesign. It was apparent that Wright hadmerely recycled a scheme for one of hissomewhat formulaic “football” houses—a term referring to the shape of the plan—and only slightly adapted it to fit the siteoverlooking the Potomac. In the interviewfor the Wright Archives, Ethel explainedthat the design “would have been fine onthe prairie . . . but it wasn’t suitable at allfor our place because it didn’t take advan-tage of the river.” This initial design hadrooms on one side and a serene pond and aterrace on the other. Ethel added, “[M]yhusband was indignant and wrote Mr.Wright and said it was ridiculous to put aplacid lily pond above a roaring cataract.And we didn’t hear from Mr. Wright for awhile after that.”
Wright had appointed his apprenticeBob Beharka to oversee the Marden project,and it was he who gingerly presented theclients’ specific concerns to the architect.Grudgingly, Wright agreed to eliminate the“placid lily pond,” and to honor theMardens’ request for a “straight glass wall”overlooking the river. Once constructionwas well under way, Wright visited the siteagain. This time, he was able to reach theviewpoint, and upon doing so, freelyadmitted, “I had no idea it was so dramatic.”
above / View from the Marden Housetoward the rapids of the PotomacRiver. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
below left / Living and dining areas. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
top / Living area, showing clerestorywindows with ornamental screens. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
above / View of the main living area,looking toward the fireplace. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
Robin Rose, co-owner of the Cantilever artand design gallery in Bethesda, and DanielDonnelly, who owns an eponymous shop inAlexandria, consulted on furniture andupholstery.
The results of the team’s efforts speakfor themselves. The restored house issimultaneously authentic and fresh.Kitchen appliances have been upgraded,and a copper roof replaced the original tarcovering, but on the whole, the buildinghas been faithfully restored. Period furni-ture, though much of it is not original tothe house, fits comfortably. The interior isinviting and livable.
Now that the project is finished,Kimsey is making good use of Wright’swork as a guesthouse and as an unparal-leled venue for entertaining. It is not opento the public, but thanks to Kimsey, every-one can now at least get a glimpse of thisresidence through photographs such asthose that accompany this article, whichconvey the house’s warmth, elegance, andtimeless beauty.
Luis Marden supposedly once declaredthat “One lifetime isn’t enough.” Fortunatelyfor those who admire the work of FrankLloyd Wright, however, the Marden househas now embarked on its second life. •
Eugene Smith, a retired banker andexecutor of the Mardens’ estate, was awarethat James V. Kimsey, co-founder of thecompany that became America Online(AOL), had bought the property next doorto the Marden house and was building apalatial new residence for himself. WhenSmith ran into Ted Leonsis, another AOLexecutive at a party, he took advantage ofthe opportunity and asked Leonsis toapproach Kimsey to see if he had anyinterest in acquiring the Marden house.Kimsey’s positive response came quickly,and in 2000, the purchase went through.
Kimsey knew that he would need atalented and knowledgeable team to over-see the restoration of the Marden house.He asked a number of people for recom-mendations, and one name kept comingup: Bailey C. Adams, of Adams GeneralContractors, Inc., in Chevy Chase,Maryland. Adams already knew the housewell; he had met Luis Marden a number ofyears earlier when he was looking for somerare Brazilian rosewood for a project onwhich he was working. As in so manyareas, Luis had expertise in tropical woods,and was able to advise Adams on obtainingthe wood he wanted. Kimsey interviewedAdams and concluded that he was the idealperson to handle the complex project.Richard Williams Architects served aspreservation and interior architects, while
NO ORDINARY CLIENTS: THE STORY OF LUIS AND ETHEL MARDEN NO ORDINARY CLIENTS: THE STORY OF LUIS AND ETHEL MARDEN
blueprints 1110 blueprints
By then however, major changes to thedesign were no longer possible. Miracu-lously, despite what would seem to be a significant lapse in the architect’s under-standing of the site, the completed housenonetheless appears to be well integratedinto its landscape and takes excellentadvantage of the spectacular views to therapids below.
In April 1959, as their house was near-ing completion, the Mardens traveled toPhoenix for a conference, and while there,Ethel decided to visit Wright’s compound atTaliesin West. Wright sent word that he wasunable to join Ethel for lunch because ofanother appointment. Ethel later learnedthat the appointment had been with his doc-tor; Wright died on April 9, two monthsshort of his 92nd birthday. The Mardensmoved into their house on May 31.
Over the next four decades, Luis andEthel enjoyed their home to the fullest.They dubbed the house “Fontinalis,” aLatin term meaning roughly “at thespring” or “by the stream.” Not coinciden-tally, Salvelinus fontinalis is the formal Latinname for the brook trout, which was theMardens’ favorite fish. As much as theyloved the house, they rarely entertained,and indeed were reluctant to have visitorsin general. Friends of the Mardens generallyattribute this to the fact that the house wasalways so cluttered with diving equipment,books, and countless souvenirs from theirexplorations. Given Wright’s insistence onorderliness, they may have been slightlyembarrassed to be using the house so vigor-ously. As a result of the Mardens’ desirefor privacy, their house remained one ofWright’s lesser-known works.
In 1998, Luis, who had developedParkinson’s Disease, moved to a nursinghome. Ethel remained in the house, butshe realized that the time was approachingwhen she and her husband would have tocome to terms with the fate of theirbeloved house once neither of them couldlive there. In prosperous Washington,there were plenty of people who couldafford to buy such a house. But who amongthese prospects would be willing and ableto provide the proper stewardship for sucha landmark?
Mardens received the architect’s initialdrawings, Luis was quite displeased with thedesign. It was apparent that Wright hadmerely recycled a scheme for one of hissomewhat formulaic “football” houses—a term referring to the shape of the plan—and only slightly adapted it to fit the siteoverlooking the Potomac. In the interviewfor the Wright Archives, Ethel explainedthat the design “would have been fine onthe prairie . . . but it wasn’t suitable at allfor our place because it didn’t take advan-tage of the river.” This initial design hadrooms on one side and a serene pond and aterrace on the other. Ethel added, “[M]yhusband was indignant and wrote Mr.Wright and said it was ridiculous to put aplacid lily pond above a roaring cataract.And we didn’t hear from Mr. Wright for awhile after that.”
Wright had appointed his apprenticeBob Beharka to oversee the Marden project,and it was he who gingerly presented theclients’ specific concerns to the architect.Grudgingly, Wright agreed to eliminate the“placid lily pond,” and to honor theMardens’ request for a “straight glass wall”overlooking the river. Once constructionwas well under way, Wright visited the siteagain. This time, he was able to reach theviewpoint, and upon doing so, freelyadmitted, “I had no idea it was so dramatic.”
above / View from the Marden Housetoward the rapids of the PotomacRiver. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
below left / Living and dining areas. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
top / Living area, showing clerestorywindows with ornamental screens. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
above / View of the main living area,looking toward the fireplace. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
Robin Rose, co-owner of the Cantilever artand design gallery in Bethesda, and DanielDonnelly, who owns an eponymous shop inAlexandria, consulted on furniture andupholstery.
The results of the team’s efforts speakfor themselves. The restored house issimultaneously authentic and fresh.Kitchen appliances have been upgraded,and a copper roof replaced the original tarcovering, but on the whole, the buildinghas been faithfully restored. Period furni-ture, though much of it is not original tothe house, fits comfortably. The interior isinviting and livable.
Now that the project is finished,Kimsey is making good use of Wright’swork as a guesthouse and as an unparal-leled venue for entertaining. It is not opento the public, but thanks to Kimsey, every-one can now at least get a glimpse of thisresidence through photographs such asthose that accompany this article, whichconvey the house’s warmth, elegance, andtimeless beauty.
Luis Marden supposedly once declaredthat “One lifetime isn’t enough.” Fortunatelyfor those who admire the work of FrankLloyd Wright, however, the Marden househas now embarked on its second life. •
Eugene Smith, a retired banker andexecutor of the Mardens’ estate, was awarethat James V. Kimsey, co-founder of thecompany that became America Online(AOL), had bought the property next doorto the Marden house and was building apalatial new residence for himself. WhenSmith ran into Ted Leonsis, another AOLexecutive at a party, he took advantage ofthe opportunity and asked Leonsis toapproach Kimsey to see if he had anyinterest in acquiring the Marden house.Kimsey’s positive response came quickly,and in 2000, the purchase went through.
Kimsey knew that he would need atalented and knowledgeable team to over-see the restoration of the Marden house.He asked a number of people for recom-mendations, and one name kept comingup: Bailey C. Adams, of Adams GeneralContractors, Inc., in Chevy Chase,Maryland. Adams already knew the housewell; he had met Luis Marden a number ofyears earlier when he was looking for somerare Brazilian rosewood for a project onwhich he was working. As in so manyareas, Luis had expertise in tropical woods,and was able to advise Adams on obtainingthe wood he wanted. Kimsey interviewedAdams and concluded that he was the idealperson to handle the complex project.Richard Williams Architects served aspreservation and interior architects, while
THE MARDEN HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES KIMSEY
12 Blueprintsblueprints 1312 blueprints
F EATU R E
Martin Moeller: How did your purchase of the
Marden House come about?
James Kimsey: The Marden House is hard bymy house. Every morning when I shaveI’m looking out my window at that house,which has been a constant reminder that Ineeded to do something with it. Whenattorneys for the Mardens approached meto buy the house, Luis had moved into anassisted-living facility, Ethel was still liv-ing in the house, and they were both intheir nineties. Given the amount of moneythat a house on the river costs, and giventhe amenities that were in that house,there was a concern that whoever wouldbuy it wouldn’t really live in it, so howwould that work? The fact that I happenedto live next door, and built a monument towretched excess, which was my ownhouse, made me the clear and logical buyerfor it. So before the [high-tech] bubbleburst, I said, “Sure, I’ll buy it.” “And canMrs. Marden live in it?,” they asked.“Sure,” I said.
I never saw the inside of the houseuntil maybe six months to a year after Ibought it. I went over to meet Ethel Marden,who I figured to be a very frail woman in hernineties, and instead I met this very robustwoman who showed me around, and endedup taking my house manager and me tolunch at the Cosmos Club.
MM: The Mardens themselves were clearly an
extraordinary couple — as fascinating as Wright
himself. In what ways did the house reflect their
character?
JK: I think if you did some kind ofFreudian study on the gene pool ofWright’s clients, the graphs would look dif-ferent from those of normal folks. I nevermet Luis Marden, and I’m sorry that I did-n’t get to know him a bit, but Ethel is real-ly interesting. She held the women’s
above / Living area, with bookshelvesat left. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
underwater diving record at one point.They were buddies with Jacques Cousteau—there’s a picture of him that Luis tookwhile diving. Philippe Cousteau, Jacques’sgrandson, spent a lot of his young child-hood in the Marden house.
The house was full of stuff when Iwalked in for the first time. I could tellthat Ethel went to some trouble to tidy itup to greet me, but the place was stillpacked with stuff. Not a square inch ofanything didn’t have stuff on it. Now, wehave put her husband’s picture up, andhave some of his possessions still on dis-play, so while it’s clearly a monument toFrank Lloyd Wright, I think secondarilyit’s a monument to the Mardens.
We also kept a lot of Luis’s books, sojust looking at the library he left, andwalking around the house, there is alwayssome little quirk to dig down into. I cameacross a picture of me in Vietnam—theMardens had put it in a Frank Lloyd Wrightframe. I don’t even remember that picture!It’s me sitting with an AK-47 reading aPlayboy. It was 1965. A 41-year-old picture ofme—it was rather shocking when I saw it.They had found it somewhere.
It’s fascinating to see how this couplelived in this house for almost 50 years—youcan really just see how it worked for them.
MM: After you bought the Marden House, were
you besieged by preservationists and Wright afi-
cionados eager to tell you what to do with it?
JK: The article in The Washington Post[August 21, 2005] made it sound as if I hadthis Greek chorus behind me, but nobodyever sat me down and lectured me aboutthe house. Some people actually even saidthey had ideas of how I could change it.But if I renovated and changed it, overtime, it would lessen its value—and Idon’t mean monetary value. It would be aFrank Lloyd Wright house modified to suitmy taste. Well, nobody cares about mytaste. They all care about Frank LloydWright. So I made a very conscious deci-sion that I should restore it.
This became clear to me when I wouldgo over there and I would say, “Maybe Ishould turn the garage into a bedroom, ormaybe I should take this closet out and putin a window or cut a hole in this wall,”
and there were gasps of horror that Iwould even contemplate changing a line ofa Frank Lloyd Wright work. This was prob-ably a binary decision—either I wouldrestore it faithfully, or I would screw withit and risk the ire of a whole Frank LloydWright cadre. Well, the thing of it was,what’s the point of having a Frank LloydWright house if it’s not a true Frank LloydWright house?
So other than taking off the tar-and-gravel roof and putting the copper roof on,which I think was aesthetically good forme, because that’s what I look at everymorning when I shave, there have beenvery few changes. Friends gave me somecute metal birdhouses for the house,there’s been some general landscaping tobrighten it up with flowers, but mostly it’sfaithfully restored and I’m very happywith it. Obviously I have added some elec-tronic stuff that Wright couldn’t have con-ceived of. I put a TV in, but it’s behind acabinet. We had to find one that fit thecabinetry, which we did.
MM: Were you a Wright fan before you under-
took this project?
JK: I certainly knew who Frank LloydWright was, and had a sense that he wasthe inspiration for Howard Roark in TheFountainhead. This guy’s always been kindof fascinating to me, but I wasn’t anaddict. I made it a point to go to a coupleof exhibitions about Wright’s work—itwas kind of interesting to see his stuff.Now I’m beginning to understand the cultthat surrounds Frank Lloyd Wright.I am going up this summer sometime tosee Fallingwater, which I’ve never seen.I’ve seen the Pope-Leighey House. I diddeliberately go to Taliesin West when I wasout in Arizona, and I’m glad I did becauseI spent the whole day there. They werevery nice to me, showed me around, andtook a lot of time. Proximity has made meappreciate the Marden house, and though Iwasn’t involved hands-on in much of therestoration process, I found myself wantingto go over and see it more and more, andput in my two-cents’ worth here and there,but it was really in a delicate mode.
MM: How did you find Bailey Adams, the con-
tractor who oversaw the restoration?
JK: References, word of mouth. A numberof people said, “If you’re going to do that,here’s the guy who ought to do it.” I methim, he made a proposal, and clearly hewas the most knowledgeable. I think forhim it was more than just a job.
MM: How are you using the house, now that
the renovation is done? Have you had a chance
simply to enjoy it?
JK: I have special dinners over there. I’vehad some quiet time—an hour here andthere—and sometimes I’ll be like SquireWorthy and walk the properties. It’s not aconsuming passion of mine, but owning aFrank Lloyd Wright house is pretty cool, Ihave to say. Somebody I know was explain-ing my life to someone who didn’t knowme, and he went through the whole litanyof explanations and ended up saying that Ihave a Frank Lloyd Wright house, and theother guy looked at me and said, “Okay,that does it. Nobody has a Frank LloydWright house!”
Actually the first guest to spend thenight there was Patti Austin, the singer,who said it was a Zen experience for her.She lived there for about a week. You doget a different feeling when you’re in thathouse—certainly different from being inmy house. As I’m sure you know, Taliesin[the name of Wright’s compound inWisconsin] is Welsh for “shining brow,”and he loved to build on the brows of hills.The Marden House is sited that way, and itis so arranged as to really bring the riverinto the house. In pictures, you can seethat expanse of glass that sits right onLittle Falls, though you really have to see itfirst-hand to appreciate what Wright did.In short, for me, it’s been a joy, as it wasfor the Mardens. They had a wine cellardown in the basement with a little plaqueon the door that said Hic habitat felicitas—“Here resides happiness.” •
above / Living area. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
The Marden House:An Interview with James Kimsey
THE MARDEN HOUSE: AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES KIMSEY
12 Blueprintsblueprints 1312 blueprints
F EATU R E
Martin Moeller: How did your purchase of the
Marden House come about?
James Kimsey: The Marden House is hard bymy house. Every morning when I shaveI’m looking out my window at that house,which has been a constant reminder that Ineeded to do something with it. Whenattorneys for the Mardens approached meto buy the house, Luis had moved into anassisted-living facility, Ethel was still liv-ing in the house, and they were both intheir nineties. Given the amount of moneythat a house on the river costs, and giventhe amenities that were in that house,there was a concern that whoever wouldbuy it wouldn’t really live in it, so howwould that work? The fact that I happenedto live next door, and built a monument towretched excess, which was my ownhouse, made me the clear and logical buyerfor it. So before the [high-tech] bubbleburst, I said, “Sure, I’ll buy it.” “And canMrs. Marden live in it?,” they asked.“Sure,” I said.
I never saw the inside of the houseuntil maybe six months to a year after Ibought it. I went over to meet Ethel Marden,who I figured to be a very frail woman in hernineties, and instead I met this very robustwoman who showed me around, and endedup taking my house manager and me tolunch at the Cosmos Club.
MM: The Mardens themselves were clearly an
extraordinary couple — as fascinating as Wright
himself. In what ways did the house reflect their
character?
JK: I think if you did some kind ofFreudian study on the gene pool ofWright’s clients, the graphs would look dif-ferent from those of normal folks. I nevermet Luis Marden, and I’m sorry that I did-n’t get to know him a bit, but Ethel is real-ly interesting. She held the women’s
above / Living area, with bookshelvesat left. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
underwater diving record at one point.They were buddies with Jacques Cousteau—there’s a picture of him that Luis tookwhile diving. Philippe Cousteau, Jacques’sgrandson, spent a lot of his young child-hood in the Marden house.
The house was full of stuff when Iwalked in for the first time. I could tellthat Ethel went to some trouble to tidy itup to greet me, but the place was stillpacked with stuff. Not a square inch ofanything didn’t have stuff on it. Now, wehave put her husband’s picture up, andhave some of his possessions still on dis-play, so while it’s clearly a monument toFrank Lloyd Wright, I think secondarilyit’s a monument to the Mardens.
We also kept a lot of Luis’s books, sojust looking at the library he left, andwalking around the house, there is alwayssome little quirk to dig down into. I cameacross a picture of me in Vietnam—theMardens had put it in a Frank Lloyd Wrightframe. I don’t even remember that picture!It’s me sitting with an AK-47 reading aPlayboy. It was 1965. A 41-year-old picture ofme—it was rather shocking when I saw it.They had found it somewhere.
It’s fascinating to see how this couplelived in this house for almost 50 years—youcan really just see how it worked for them.
MM: After you bought the Marden House, were
you besieged by preservationists and Wright afi-
cionados eager to tell you what to do with it?
JK: The article in The Washington Post[August 21, 2005] made it sound as if I hadthis Greek chorus behind me, but nobodyever sat me down and lectured me aboutthe house. Some people actually even saidthey had ideas of how I could change it.But if I renovated and changed it, overtime, it would lessen its value—and Idon’t mean monetary value. It would be aFrank Lloyd Wright house modified to suitmy taste. Well, nobody cares about mytaste. They all care about Frank LloydWright. So I made a very conscious deci-sion that I should restore it.
This became clear to me when I wouldgo over there and I would say, “Maybe Ishould turn the garage into a bedroom, ormaybe I should take this closet out and putin a window or cut a hole in this wall,”
and there were gasps of horror that Iwould even contemplate changing a line ofa Frank Lloyd Wright work. This was prob-ably a binary decision—either I wouldrestore it faithfully, or I would screw withit and risk the ire of a whole Frank LloydWright cadre. Well, the thing of it was,what’s the point of having a Frank LloydWright house if it’s not a true Frank LloydWright house?
So other than taking off the tar-and-gravel roof and putting the copper roof on,which I think was aesthetically good forme, because that’s what I look at everymorning when I shave, there have beenvery few changes. Friends gave me somecute metal birdhouses for the house,there’s been some general landscaping tobrighten it up with flowers, but mostly it’sfaithfully restored and I’m very happywith it. Obviously I have added some elec-tronic stuff that Wright couldn’t have con-ceived of. I put a TV in, but it’s behind acabinet. We had to find one that fit thecabinetry, which we did.
MM: Were you a Wright fan before you under-
took this project?
JK: I certainly knew who Frank LloydWright was, and had a sense that he wasthe inspiration for Howard Roark in TheFountainhead. This guy’s always been kindof fascinating to me, but I wasn’t anaddict. I made it a point to go to a coupleof exhibitions about Wright’s work—itwas kind of interesting to see his stuff.Now I’m beginning to understand the cultthat surrounds Frank Lloyd Wright.I am going up this summer sometime tosee Fallingwater, which I’ve never seen.I’ve seen the Pope-Leighey House. I diddeliberately go to Taliesin West when I wasout in Arizona, and I’m glad I did becauseI spent the whole day there. They werevery nice to me, showed me around, andtook a lot of time. Proximity has made meappreciate the Marden house, and though Iwasn’t involved hands-on in much of therestoration process, I found myself wantingto go over and see it more and more, andput in my two-cents’ worth here and there,but it was really in a delicate mode.
MM: How did you find Bailey Adams, the con-
tractor who oversaw the restoration?
JK: References, word of mouth. A numberof people said, “If you’re going to do that,here’s the guy who ought to do it.” I methim, he made a proposal, and clearly hewas the most knowledgeable. I think forhim it was more than just a job.
MM: How are you using the house, now that
the renovation is done? Have you had a chance
simply to enjoy it?
JK: I have special dinners over there. I’vehad some quiet time—an hour here andthere—and sometimes I’ll be like SquireWorthy and walk the properties. It’s not aconsuming passion of mine, but owning aFrank Lloyd Wright house is pretty cool, Ihave to say. Somebody I know was explain-ing my life to someone who didn’t knowme, and he went through the whole litanyof explanations and ended up saying that Ihave a Frank Lloyd Wright house, and theother guy looked at me and said, “Okay,that does it. Nobody has a Frank LloydWright house!”
Actually the first guest to spend thenight there was Patti Austin, the singer,who said it was a Zen experience for her.She lived there for about a week. You doget a different feeling when you’re in thathouse—certainly different from being inmy house. As I’m sure you know, Taliesin[the name of Wright’s compound inWisconsin] is Welsh for “shining brow,”and he loved to build on the brows of hills.The Marden House is sited that way, and itis so arranged as to really bring the riverinto the house. In pictures, you can seethat expanse of glass that sits right onLittle Falls, though you really have to see itfirst-hand to appreciate what Wright did.In short, for me, it’s been a joy, as it wasfor the Mardens. They had a wine cellardown in the basement with a little plaqueon the door that said Hic habitat felicitas—“Here resides happiness.” •
above / Living area. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy ofLautman Photography.
The Marden House:An Interview with James Kimsey
M USE U M N EWSFEATU R E
blueprints 1514 blueprints
above / National Cherry BlossomFestival® Family Day and OpeningCeremony co-presented at theNational Building Museum onSaturday, March 25, 2006. Photo by F.T. Eyre.
above / Coonley House. Courtesy The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation,Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ.
My grandfather had horses to pull acarriage which was used for many purpos-es including trips to the train station forthe commute to work in Chicago. As thehouse neared completion, my grandfathertelephoned the architect to say that heneeded a large carriage step at the frontentrance in order for guests to be able tostep down from a carriage. At a meetingthe next afternoon, Wright said, “Now lis-ten, Coonley, I think you should live inthis house for a year and, if at the end ofthe year you still want the carriage step,I’ll design the most beautiful step you’veever seen.” He went on to describe specialprecast concrete planters that would beincluded and other amenities. When hefinished, my grandfather said, “Let me tellyou something, Wright. I want that car-riage step now, but if, at the end of theyear, I don’t like it, I promise I’ll have itremoved.” Wright left in some anger but,in a few weeks, the drawings for an elabo-rate arrival step, complete with planters,were delivered and it was constructed.
Avery Coonley waited patiently forexactly a year and then telephoned thearchitect, saying, “Wright, I think youwere right about the step, and I’m ready totear it out. I just wondered if you’d like tosee it before it goes.” Wright took the trainto Riverside the next day and pleaded with“Coonley” not to remove it. When Mr.Wright left, my grandfather, who was ahurdler in college, bounded up the steps tothe now famous second floor living roomwith howls of laughter and his first gen-uine sense of victory! •
THE AVERY COONLEY HOUSE, in Riverside,Illinois, was designed by Frank LloydWright and completed in 1908. The
Coonleys, who were my grandparents, hadspent considerable time going to architec-tural exhibitions at the Chicago ArtInstitute and to libraries before askingWright to be their architect.
The design process was long but inter-esting and involved a large residence, acaretaker’s house, and a stable with livingquarters above. Mr. Wright and my grand-father struggled, at times, over costs, butthe architect was creative and my grand-mother was clearly impressed with hisbrilliant and unique approach to space,decoration, lighting, and a host of otherissues which took time and money toresolve. The two men referred to oneanother by their last names: my grandfa-ther was “Coonley” and the architect was“Wright.” This may have been typical forthat era in the Midwest.
“Coonley” and “Wright”
Bridge BasicsRecognized by AAMThe National Building Museum’s new BridgeBasics Program Kit, a self-contained educa-tional curriculum package using bridgedesign as a tool for learning about math andother subjects, received an honorable men-tion in the Educational Resources categoryof the 2006 Museum Publications DesignCompetition of the American Association ofMuseums (AAM). The other winners in thiscategory for 2006 were the SmithsonianNational Museum of African Art, theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and theMetropolitan Museum of Art.
Based on the popular Bridge Basicsprogram that has been offered at theMuseum for a number of years, the kitpresents bridges as structural solutions tospecific design problems, and introducesstudents to basic bridge types such astruss, beam, arch, cable-stayed, and sus-pension. Students work in teams to buildmodel bridges that address hypotheticaltransportation problems while balancingissues of aesthetics, geography, materials,and cost. The kit contains everything ateacher needs to conduct activities for stu-dents in grades five through nine.
The annual National Cherry BlossomFestival® is a veritable rite of spring, cele-brating Washington’s famous Japanesecherry trees and their delicate flowers.This past March 25, for the first time, theNational Building Museum hosted theopening ceremonies for the festival, as partof an all-day family-oriented event thatoffered an array of activities based in parton the Museum’s popular OrigamiArchitecture programs from previousyears. The result was a highly successfulfestival that drew nearly 6,300 people tothe Museum, the fourth highest atten-dance for a single-day event in the institu-tion’s history.
Presented in cooperation with theNational Cherry Blossom Festival organiza-tion and managed by Linder andAssociates, an event planning firm, theprogram included various design-orientedactivities, such as one in which childrencreated miniature Japanese-style gardens.One long-time Museum volunteer reportedthat this particular program generated anunprecedented number of complimentsfrom excited parents.
The event also attracted a great deal oflocal media attention. WRC-Channel 4 did astory about the festival on the previous day,and WJLA-Channel 7 had a live video feedfrom the opening ceremony. Local cable newsoutlets covered the event extensively, and TheWashington Post and other print media alsoran prominent stories.
The Museum thanks all of the volun-teers and participants who made this won-derful family festival possible.
The Bridge Basics Program Kit is available to
educators across the country through the Museum’s
website, www.nbm.org. The cost is $110 per kit,
with a ten percent discount for teachers. The kit has
been produced in partnership with the Construction
Industry Round Table.
by Avery Coonley Faulkner
Avery Coonley Faulkner is an
architect with a long career in
the Washington area.
Museum Hosts 2006 Cherry Blossom Festival by Sarah Rice
M USE U M N EWSFEATU R E
blueprints 1514 blueprints
above / National Cherry BlossomFestival® Family Day and OpeningCeremony co-presented at theNational Building Museum onSaturday, March 25, 2006. Photo by F.T. Eyre.
above / Coonley House. Courtesy The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation,Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ.
My grandfather had horses to pull acarriage which was used for many purpos-es including trips to the train station forthe commute to work in Chicago. As thehouse neared completion, my grandfathertelephoned the architect to say that heneeded a large carriage step at the frontentrance in order for guests to be able tostep down from a carriage. At a meetingthe next afternoon, Wright said, “Now lis-ten, Coonley, I think you should live inthis house for a year and, if at the end ofthe year you still want the carriage step,I’ll design the most beautiful step you’veever seen.” He went on to describe specialprecast concrete planters that would beincluded and other amenities. When hefinished, my grandfather said, “Let me tellyou something, Wright. I want that car-riage step now, but if, at the end of theyear, I don’t like it, I promise I’ll have itremoved.” Wright left in some anger but,in a few weeks, the drawings for an elabo-rate arrival step, complete with planters,were delivered and it was constructed.
Avery Coonley waited patiently forexactly a year and then telephoned thearchitect, saying, “Wright, I think youwere right about the step, and I’m ready totear it out. I just wondered if you’d like tosee it before it goes.” Wright took the trainto Riverside the next day and pleaded with“Coonley” not to remove it. When Mr.Wright left, my grandfather, who was ahurdler in college, bounded up the steps tothe now famous second floor living roomwith howls of laughter and his first gen-uine sense of victory! •
THE AVERY COONLEY HOUSE, in Riverside,Illinois, was designed by Frank LloydWright and completed in 1908. The
Coonleys, who were my grandparents, hadspent considerable time going to architec-tural exhibitions at the Chicago ArtInstitute and to libraries before askingWright to be their architect.
The design process was long but inter-esting and involved a large residence, acaretaker’s house, and a stable with livingquarters above. Mr. Wright and my grand-father struggled, at times, over costs, butthe architect was creative and my grand-mother was clearly impressed with hisbrilliant and unique approach to space,decoration, lighting, and a host of otherissues which took time and money toresolve. The two men referred to oneanother by their last names: my grandfa-ther was “Coonley” and the architect was“Wright.” This may have been typical forthat era in the Midwest.
“Coonley” and “Wright”
Bridge BasicsRecognized by AAMThe National Building Museum’s new BridgeBasics Program Kit, a self-contained educa-tional curriculum package using bridgedesign as a tool for learning about math andother subjects, received an honorable men-tion in the Educational Resources categoryof the 2006 Museum Publications DesignCompetition of the American Association ofMuseums (AAM). The other winners in thiscategory for 2006 were the SmithsonianNational Museum of African Art, theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and theMetropolitan Museum of Art.
Based on the popular Bridge Basicsprogram that has been offered at theMuseum for a number of years, the kitpresents bridges as structural solutions tospecific design problems, and introducesstudents to basic bridge types such astruss, beam, arch, cable-stayed, and sus-pension. Students work in teams to buildmodel bridges that address hypotheticaltransportation problems while balancingissues of aesthetics, geography, materials,and cost. The kit contains everything ateacher needs to conduct activities for stu-dents in grades five through nine.
The annual National Cherry BlossomFestival® is a veritable rite of spring, cele-brating Washington’s famous Japanesecherry trees and their delicate flowers.This past March 25, for the first time, theNational Building Museum hosted theopening ceremonies for the festival, as partof an all-day family-oriented event thatoffered an array of activities based in parton the Museum’s popular OrigamiArchitecture programs from previousyears. The result was a highly successfulfestival that drew nearly 6,300 people tothe Museum, the fourth highest atten-dance for a single-day event in the institu-tion’s history.
Presented in cooperation with theNational Cherry Blossom Festival organiza-tion and managed by Linder andAssociates, an event planning firm, theprogram included various design-orientedactivities, such as one in which childrencreated miniature Japanese-style gardens.One long-time Museum volunteer reportedthat this particular program generated anunprecedented number of complimentsfrom excited parents.
The event also attracted a great deal oflocal media attention. WRC-Channel 4 did astory about the festival on the previous day,and WJLA-Channel 7 had a live video feedfrom the opening ceremony. Local cable newsoutlets covered the event extensively, and TheWashington Post and other print media alsoran prominent stories.
The Museum thanks all of the volun-teers and participants who made this won-derful family festival possible.
The Bridge Basics Program Kit is available to
educators across the country through the Museum’s
website, www.nbm.org. The cost is $110 per kit,
with a ten percent discount for teachers. The kit has
been produced in partnership with the Construction
Industry Round Table.
by Avery Coonley Faulkner
Avery Coonley Faulkner is an
architect with a long career in
the Washington area.
Museum Hosts 2006 Cherry Blossom Festival by Sarah Rice
M USE U M N EWS
16 blueprints blueprints 17
Liquid Stone: Read All About It (in English or French!)
In response to enthusiastic public demand,a catalog based on the Museum’s recentexhibition Liquid Stone: New Architecturein Concrete has been published byPrinceton Architectural Press. MartinMoeller, senior vice president and curatorat the National Building Museum, says the catalog is an “exploration of how acommon and seemingly banal material—concrete—can be used to create poetic andseductive structures.” Moeller served asboth the exhibition curator and co-editorfor the publication.
The book includes descriptive text,photographs, and drawings of all of thecontemporary architectural projects in theexhibition, which ran from June 2004 toJanuary 2006. It also features informationabout virtually all of the new technologiesand products that appeared in the show. Inaddition, the book contains several essaysby prominent historians, architects, andengineers with expertise in concrete designand technology. These essays expand uponthe content of a symposium hosted by theSchool of Architecture at PrincetonUniversity in October 2004. Jean-LouisCohen, of the Institute of Fine Arts at NewYork University, coordinated the sympo-sium, which was directly inspired by theLiquid Stone exhibition. Cohen also co-editedthe catalog with Moeller.
The Liquid Stone book was publishedsimultaneously in French under the titleArchitectures du béton: Nouvelles vagues, nou-velles recherches, by Editions Le Moniteurpress, through a cooperative agreementwith Princeton Architectural Press. TheFrench version of the book debuted at theopening of an exhibition called Bétons: éton-nez-vous! (which roughly translates as“Concrete; Surprise Yourself!”) at theMusée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. TheFrench exhibition includes a number ofmodels and material samples that alsoappeared in Liquid Stone, and which are onloan to the Musée from the NationalBuilding Museum.
The catalog is available through theMuseum Shop. Publication was made possi-ble by funding from Lafarge, the exhibi-tion’s sole sponsor.
by Bryna Lipper
The newest member of the NationalBuilding Museum Board of Trustees is HOLLIS S. McLOUGHLIN, who is senior vicepresident and chief of staff at Freddie Mac(the Federal Home Loan MortgageCorporation). Prior to joining Freddie Mac,he was chief operating officer of theHardware Corporation of America, andlater, of ISR Solutions. He also served as anassistant secretary of the U.S. Departmentof the Treasury from 1989 to 1993. A gradu-ate of Harvard College, McLoughlin hasserved on the boards of the NationalGallery of Art, the Pennsylvania AvenueDevelopment Corporation, and theMetropolitan Club of Washington, DC.
The Museum also recently welcomed several new ex officio trustees:
DIRK KEMPTHORNE was confirmed as the49th secretary of the U.S. Department ofthe Interior in May of this year. Before hisappointment to the president’s Cabinet,Kempthorne was twice elected governor ofIdaho. He also served one term in the U.S.Senate, before which he was mayor of theCity of Boise.
Also in May, LURITA ALEXIS DOAN was confirmed as the 18th administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration,making her the first woman to serve as theagency’s chief executive. She was previous-ly president, CEO, and sole owner of a tech-nology company that she founded in 1990.
CHRISTINE MCENTEE became executive vicepresident/CEO of The American Instituteof Architects in February 2006. FormerlyCEO of the American College of Cardiology,McEntee also worked with the AmericanHospital Association. She holds degrees innursing and health administration.
DAVID L. WINSTEAD was appointed as thecommissioner of the Public BuildingsService of the U.S. General ServicesAdministration (GSA) on October 3, 2005.Before joining GSA, he was a partner withthe law firm of Holland and Knight LLP,and previously served as the State ofMaryland’s Secretary of Transportation.Winstead holds a bachelor’s degree fromDenison University, a Master of BusinessAdministration from Columbia University,and a Juris Doctorate from the CatholicUniversity of America.
Hollis S. McLoughlin
M USE U M N EWS
New Trustees
M USE U M N EWS
16 blueprints blueprints 17
Liquid Stone: Read All About It (in English or French!)
In response to enthusiastic public demand,a catalog based on the Museum’s recentexhibition Liquid Stone: New Architecturein Concrete has been published byPrinceton Architectural Press. MartinMoeller, senior vice president and curatorat the National Building Museum, says the catalog is an “exploration of how acommon and seemingly banal material—concrete—can be used to create poetic andseductive structures.” Moeller served asboth the exhibition curator and co-editorfor the publication.
The book includes descriptive text,photographs, and drawings of all of thecontemporary architectural projects in theexhibition, which ran from June 2004 toJanuary 2006. It also features informationabout virtually all of the new technologiesand products that appeared in the show. Inaddition, the book contains several essaysby prominent historians, architects, andengineers with expertise in concrete designand technology. These essays expand uponthe content of a symposium hosted by theSchool of Architecture at PrincetonUniversity in October 2004. Jean-LouisCohen, of the Institute of Fine Arts at NewYork University, coordinated the sympo-sium, which was directly inspired by theLiquid Stone exhibition. Cohen also co-editedthe catalog with Moeller.
The Liquid Stone book was publishedsimultaneously in French under the titleArchitectures du béton: Nouvelles vagues, nou-velles recherches, by Editions Le Moniteurpress, through a cooperative agreementwith Princeton Architectural Press. TheFrench version of the book debuted at theopening of an exhibition called Bétons: éton-nez-vous! (which roughly translates as“Concrete; Surprise Yourself!”) at theMusée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. TheFrench exhibition includes a number ofmodels and material samples that alsoappeared in Liquid Stone, and which are onloan to the Musée from the NationalBuilding Museum.
The catalog is available through theMuseum Shop. Publication was made possi-ble by funding from Lafarge, the exhibi-tion’s sole sponsor.
by Bryna Lipper
The newest member of the NationalBuilding Museum Board of Trustees is HOLLIS S. McLOUGHLIN, who is senior vicepresident and chief of staff at Freddie Mac(the Federal Home Loan MortgageCorporation). Prior to joining Freddie Mac,he was chief operating officer of theHardware Corporation of America, andlater, of ISR Solutions. He also served as anassistant secretary of the U.S. Departmentof the Treasury from 1989 to 1993. A gradu-ate of Harvard College, McLoughlin hasserved on the boards of the NationalGallery of Art, the Pennsylvania AvenueDevelopment Corporation, and theMetropolitan Club of Washington, DC.
The Museum also recently welcomed several new ex officio trustees:
DIRK KEMPTHORNE was confirmed as the49th secretary of the U.S. Department ofthe Interior in May of this year. Before hisappointment to the president’s Cabinet,Kempthorne was twice elected governor ofIdaho. He also served one term in the U.S.Senate, before which he was mayor of theCity of Boise.
Also in May, LURITA ALEXIS DOAN was confirmed as the 18th administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration,making her the first woman to serve as theagency’s chief executive. She was previous-ly president, CEO, and sole owner of a tech-nology company that she founded in 1990.
CHRISTINE MCENTEE became executive vicepresident/CEO of The American Instituteof Architects in February 2006. FormerlyCEO of the American College of Cardiology,McEntee also worked with the AmericanHospital Association. She holds degrees innursing and health administration.
DAVID L. WINSTEAD was appointed as thecommissioner of the Public BuildingsService of the U.S. General ServicesAdministration (GSA) on October 3, 2005.Before joining GSA, he was a partner withthe law firm of Holland and Knight LLP,and previously served as the State ofMaryland’s Secretary of Transportation.Winstead holds a bachelor’s degree fromDenison University, a Master of BusinessAdministration from Columbia University,and a Juris Doctorate from the CatholicUniversity of America.
Hollis S. McLoughlin
M USE U M N EWS
New Trustees
SU PPORT
18 blueprints blueprints 19
The Museum thanks the fol-
lowing individuals, compa-
nies, associations and agen-
cies for gifts of $250 or more
received from December 2005
through May 2006. These gen-
erous gifts provide essential
support for the Museum’s
exhibitions, education pro-
grams, and endowment funds.
Some of the contributions
listed below are in partial
fulfillment of larger pledges.
$100,000 and aboveBenjamin Moore & Co.
The Nathan Cummings Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation
$50,000–$99,000Bosch home appliances
Clark Construction Group, LLC
Lafarge North America Inc.
Portland Cement Association
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Turner Construction Company
$25,000–$49,999The American Institute of Architects
The Associated General Contractors ofAmerica
The Bayport Foundation of the AndersonCorporation
The Morris and Gwendolyn CafritzFoundation
Oliver T. Carr, Jr.
Chevy Chase Bank
D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities
Marilyn and Michael Glosserman
Miller & Long Co., Inc.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
The Peterson Family Foundation
The Tower Companies
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of EnergyEfficiency and Renewable Energy
$10,000–$24,999The American Architectural Foundation
American Planning Association
Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.
Shalom Baranes Associates
Deborah Berke & Partners Architect
BFC Partners
Blake Real Estate, Inc.
Boston Properties/KEG Associates 1
CarrAmerica Realty Corporation
The Clark Charitable Foundation
The Conco Companies
Fannie Mae
Candy and Greg Fazakerley
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Mike Goodrich
Gould Property Company
Delon Hampton & Associates Chartered
Hardwood Manufacturers Association
Harmon, Inc.
Anne and Til Hazel
Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum. P.C.
Robert Holleyman, II
International Masonry Institute
International Union of Bricklayers and AlliedCraftworkers
Frederick A. Kober
A. Eugene Kohn, FAIA, RIBA, JIA/KohnPederson Fox Associates
Louis Dreyfus Property Group
The MARPAT Foundation
The McGraw-Hill Companies
McKissack & McKissack
Mead Family Foundation
Mesirow Financial Real Estate, Inc.
Will Miller and Lynne Maguire
Perkins + Will
Phillips Development Corporation
Pierce Associates
Abe Pollin
The Shooshan Company
Mr. and Mrs. C.J. Silas
Small/Gewirz/Kaplan Partnership
SmithGroup
Suman Sorg, FAIA
Robert A.M. Stern Architects LLP
Truland Group
A. James Clark School of Engineering,University of Maryland
WDG Architecture, PLLC
$5,000–$9,999Akridge
American Iron Works, Inc.
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Landscape Architects
Arent Fox PLLC
AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
BB&T
Carolyn and Kenneth D. Brody
Brophy Properties
Burt Hill
Cassidy & Pinkard
CB Richard Ellis
Component Assembly Systems, Inc.
Design Cuisine
Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA)
Dewberry
ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC
Federal Realty Investment Trust
Freddie Mac
FOX Architects, LLC
Future Force Now
Gensler
Grid Properties and Gotham Organization
Harris Nesbitt Corp.
The Haskell Company
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
HITT Contracting, Inc.
HSMM
The IDI Group Companies
Lt. Col. and Mrs. William K. Konze
Madison Homes, Inc.
Monument Realty
Melissa Moss
National Association of Real EstateInvestment Trusts
National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Occasions Caterers
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Perseus Realty Partners /Perseus RealtyCapital
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
The Prince’s Foundation for the BuiltEnvironment
Red Coats, Inc.
Rockwood Capital Corporation
Fred Schnider Co.,LLC
Shapiro & Duncan, Inc.
Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty, a divi-sion of Vornado Realty Trust
STV Incorporated
Thelen Reid & Priest LLP
Sharon and Jim Todd
Torti Gallas and Partners, Inc.
Trammell Crow Company
Washington Real Estate Investment Trust
Weidlinger Associates, Inc.
Wells Fargo
West*Group
West, Lane & Schlager/ONCORInternational
$2,500–$4,999Anonymous
Harold L. Adams, FAIA, RIBA, JIA
Arban & Carosi, Inc.
BDO Seidman, LLP
James H. Callard
Cannon Design
James G. Davis Construction Corporation
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred C. Eckert
Envision Design PLLC
Fentress Bradburn Architects Ltd.
Barbara and Herbert Franklin
Jacqueline and Marc Leland
Lerner Enterprises
National Architectural Trust
National Engineers Week Foundation
Reed Smith
J.E. Robert Companies
Victor O. Schinnerer & Co., Inc.
STUDIOS Architecture
Thank You!
SU PPORT
Tadjer-Cohen-Edelson Associates, Inc.
Tricon Construction, Inc.
Valleycrest Companies
Wachovia Bank, NA - Real Estate FinancialServices
Watt, Teider, Hoffar & Fitzgerald
The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership
$1,000–$2,499Anonymous
David Allen Company, Inc.
American Institute of Architecture Students
Atmosphere Inc.
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners
Bingham McCutchen LLP
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
The Bozzuto Group
Katherine B. and David G. Bradley
Daniel J. Callahan
Carfam II Associates L.L.C.
Carrier Johnson Architecture
Centex Construction Company, Inc.
Champion Title and Settlements, Inc.
The Christopher Companies
C.J. Coakley & Co., Inc.
Kathryn and Kent Colton
Committee of 100 on the Federal City
Janet and David Curtis
Davis Carter Scott
Margaret DeBolt and David Esch
Gilbert E. DeLorme, Esq.
The Honorable Robert W. and Louisa C. Duemling
Einhorn Yaffee Prescott
Lois and Richard England
Philip A. Esocoff, FAIA
Gary Garczynski
GHT Limited
Haley & Aldrich
Hanley Wood, L.L.C.
Hargrove, Inc.
Hickok Cole Architects
HKS Architects
HNTB Architecture, Inc.
Michael L. Horst
ICF Consulting, Inc.
Elise Jaffe and Jeffrey Brown
John J. Kirlin, Inc.
Johns Hopkins Medicine
KGD (Kishimoto.Gordon.Dalaya PC)
Jeffrey C. Landis, AIA and Julia Monk-Landis, AIA, ASID
Robert C. Larson
lee)sallee & company, inc.
Lessard Architectural Group, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Rafael V. Lopez
Barbara B. Macknick
Mancini Duffy
McDonough, Boylard, Peck, Inc.
McWilliams/Ballard, Inc.
Mona Electrical Group, Inc.
Morphosis Architects
National Concrete Masonry Association
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
National Society of Professional Engineers *
Parker Rodriguez, Inc.
PEER Consultants, Inc.
Polinger, Shannon & Luchs
Antoine Predock, FAIA
Quite a Stir in Catering!
Rathgeber/Goss Associates
Darrel D. Rippeteau, AIA
The Rogers Group
Ellen and Russell Rosenberger
Deborah L. Rosenstein
Moshe Safdie and Associates, Inc.
Bill Sawicki
Lois and Bruce Selfon
David W. Seltzer
Robert Silman Associates, PLLC
Barbara Spangenberg
Tetra Partnerships
Peggy and Ken Thompson
John Toups
United Arts Organization of GreaterWashington, Inc.
VIKA, Inc.
Walter P. Moore
R. Beverly Webb
Judith A. and Linden H. Welch
Wiley & Wilson
Wolfensohn Family Foundation
Deby and Robert Wulff
A. Thomas and Page H. Young
Leonard A. Zax
JM Zell Partners, Ltd.
$250–$999Anonymous
Brian Aitken and Andrea Evers
Tina Alster and Paul Frazer
Greg Barnard
Beery Rio Architects & Interiors
Richard C. Blumenstein
BOE Architects, PLLC
Bonstra Haresign Architects LLP
Sara Ann Bounds
Marcia Camarda
Capstone Communications, L.L.C.
Jan D. Carline
Patrick J. Caufield
Chernikoff and Company
CHJ3 Architecture, Inc.
Karen and Jim Cleveland
Ray Colbert
Kim Coletta
Columbia Woodworking, Inc.
Gianne Conard, AIA
Construction Industry Round Table
David E. Cooper
Jerome M. Cooper
Cox Graae + Spack Architects
Drury B. Crawley
CUH2A, Inc.
M. DeBlasio, Inc.
Brenda M. Derby
Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.
Edge Construction, Inc.
Laura Einstein and Helene Madonick
Jay Epstein
Theodore M. Fields
Nancy McElroy Folger
Phyllis Freedman
Christopher Fromboluti, AIA
David F. Furman, FAIA
Marian T. Gay
GCA Casey Trees Endowment
Robert J. Geniesse, Esq.
Giuliani Associates
Bobby Gladstein
GWWO Inc. Architects
Harvard Jolly Architects PA
Bruce Hayes and Jo Fleming
Josephine D. Hearld
Heller & Metzger, P.C.
Neal Evan Hodgson
Hord Coplan Macht, Inc.
Mary Ann C. Huey
J. Ford Huffman
Elise and Scott Hughes
Humanities Council of Washington
Catherine and W.T. Ingold
Rich Jensen and Beth Goodrich
Andrew Joskow
Paul Kalkbrenner
Keane Enterprises, LLC
Joanne M. Kelly
The Ira Kessler Memorial Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Austin H. Kiplinger
C.M. Kling & Associates, Inc.
Michael Kolakowski
Kvell Corcoran Architects, PC
Lacy, Ltd.
M.K. Lanzillotta, AIA and Lee Becker, FAIA
Joseph Lapan
Harold Leich
Richard H. Levy
Paula Loomis
Linda B. and Jonathan S. Lyons
Carolyn M. Mackenzie
Manhattan Construction Co.
J. Robert Mann, Jr., PE
David D. Marquardt, AIA
Joan Meixner
Theresa A. Meyer
John S. Milgram
Ewing H. Miller, FAIA and Donna Ari
J.C. and Neil Milner
Ann K. Morales
F. Joseph Moravec
The Honorable Alfred H. Moses
Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers
National Conference of State HistoricPreservation Officers
Priscilla Nelson
Edward J. Newberry
Robert K. Oaks
Henry Otto
The Charles Pankow Foundation
Susan and David Perry
Robert A. Peck and Lynn Palmer
PIP Printing
Plants Alive! Inc.
Andrew Potts
Project Management Services, Inc.
Quadrangle Development Co.
Rasevic Construction Co.
Re/Max Allegiance
William Regan
Emerson G. and Dolores G. ReinschFoundation
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Rigelsky
Danielle Roberts Interiors
Ruina Family Fund of the TriangleCommunity Foundation
Adrienne Schmitz
Susan W. Schwartz
Peter W. Segal
SGA Architects
Daniel K. Shogren and Jennifer L. Rise
Stephanie Zeldin and Robert K. Sigal
SK&A Structural Engineers, PLLC
SKB Architecture & Design
Shirley and Albert Small
Alvin Smith - POST Construction
Smith, Thomas & Smith, Inc.
Stanley Martin Commercial, Inc.
Ben S. Stefanski II
Hugo Subotovsky Architects LLC
Carolyn Tager
Keene Taylor
Stanley E. Taylor
Terra Nova Communications, LLC
Jessica and Henry Townsend
Trace, Inc.
Kristen and Christopher Ullman
University of Maryland, College ParkFoundation
Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates
Voorsanger & Associates
Boyd Walker
Warner Construction Consultants, Inc.
Sarah and Luke Wassum
Katy and Scott Weidenfeller
Gareth Wells and Janet Ziffer
Whitmore Print & Imaging
Laura Wirkkala
Caren L. Yglesias and John Livengood
Honor GiftsMr. and Mrs. Peter Aron
in honor of Bob Stern
Matching Gifts
The Morris and Gwendolyn CafritzFoundation
The Ford Foundation
* The Museum sincerely regrets omitting theNational Society of Professional Engineers’gift of $1,000 from the FY05 Annual Reportand is grateful for their steadfast support.
SU PPORT
18 blueprints blueprints 19
The Museum thanks the fol-
lowing individuals, compa-
nies, associations and agen-
cies for gifts of $250 or more
received from December 2005
through May 2006. These gen-
erous gifts provide essential
support for the Museum’s
exhibitions, education pro-
grams, and endowment funds.
Some of the contributions
listed below are in partial
fulfillment of larger pledges.
$100,000 and aboveBenjamin Moore & Co.
The Nathan Cummings Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation
$50,000–$99,000Bosch home appliances
Clark Construction Group, LLC
Lafarge North America Inc.
Portland Cement Association
Royal Netherlands Embassy
Turner Construction Company
$25,000–$49,999The American Institute of Architects
The Associated General Contractors ofAmerica
The Bayport Foundation of the AndersonCorporation
The Morris and Gwendolyn CafritzFoundation
Oliver T. Carr, Jr.
Chevy Chase Bank
D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities
Marilyn and Michael Glosserman
Miller & Long Co., Inc.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
The Peterson Family Foundation
The Tower Companies
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of EnergyEfficiency and Renewable Energy
$10,000–$24,999The American Architectural Foundation
American Planning Association
Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.
Shalom Baranes Associates
Deborah Berke & Partners Architect
BFC Partners
Blake Real Estate, Inc.
Boston Properties/KEG Associates 1
CarrAmerica Realty Corporation
The Clark Charitable Foundation
The Conco Companies
Fannie Mae
Candy and Greg Fazakerley
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Mike Goodrich
Gould Property Company
Delon Hampton & Associates Chartered
Hardwood Manufacturers Association
Harmon, Inc.
Anne and Til Hazel
Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum. P.C.
Robert Holleyman, II
International Masonry Institute
International Union of Bricklayers and AlliedCraftworkers
Frederick A. Kober
A. Eugene Kohn, FAIA, RIBA, JIA/KohnPederson Fox Associates
Louis Dreyfus Property Group
The MARPAT Foundation
The McGraw-Hill Companies
McKissack & McKissack
Mead Family Foundation
Mesirow Financial Real Estate, Inc.
Will Miller and Lynne Maguire
Perkins + Will
Phillips Development Corporation
Pierce Associates
Abe Pollin
The Shooshan Company
Mr. and Mrs. C.J. Silas
Small/Gewirz/Kaplan Partnership
SmithGroup
Suman Sorg, FAIA
Robert A.M. Stern Architects LLP
Truland Group
A. James Clark School of Engineering,University of Maryland
WDG Architecture, PLLC
$5,000–$9,999Akridge
American Iron Works, Inc.
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Landscape Architects
Arent Fox PLLC
AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
BB&T
Carolyn and Kenneth D. Brody
Brophy Properties
Burt Hill
Cassidy & Pinkard
CB Richard Ellis
Component Assembly Systems, Inc.
Design Cuisine
Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA)
Dewberry
ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC
Federal Realty Investment Trust
Freddie Mac
FOX Architects, LLC
Future Force Now
Gensler
Grid Properties and Gotham Organization
Harris Nesbitt Corp.
The Haskell Company
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
HITT Contracting, Inc.
HSMM
The IDI Group Companies
Lt. Col. and Mrs. William K. Konze
Madison Homes, Inc.
Monument Realty
Melissa Moss
National Association of Real EstateInvestment Trusts
National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Occasions Caterers
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Perseus Realty Partners /Perseus RealtyCapital
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
The Prince’s Foundation for the BuiltEnvironment
Red Coats, Inc.
Rockwood Capital Corporation
Fred Schnider Co.,LLC
Shapiro & Duncan, Inc.
Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty, a divi-sion of Vornado Realty Trust
STV Incorporated
Thelen Reid & Priest LLP
Sharon and Jim Todd
Torti Gallas and Partners, Inc.
Trammell Crow Company
Washington Real Estate Investment Trust
Weidlinger Associates, Inc.
Wells Fargo
West*Group
West, Lane & Schlager/ONCORInternational
$2,500–$4,999Anonymous
Harold L. Adams, FAIA, RIBA, JIA
Arban & Carosi, Inc.
BDO Seidman, LLP
James H. Callard
Cannon Design
James G. Davis Construction Corporation
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred C. Eckert
Envision Design PLLC
Fentress Bradburn Architects Ltd.
Barbara and Herbert Franklin
Jacqueline and Marc Leland
Lerner Enterprises
National Architectural Trust
National Engineers Week Foundation
Reed Smith
J.E. Robert Companies
Victor O. Schinnerer & Co., Inc.
STUDIOS Architecture
Thank You!
SU PPORT
Tadjer-Cohen-Edelson Associates, Inc.
Tricon Construction, Inc.
Valleycrest Companies
Wachovia Bank, NA - Real Estate FinancialServices
Watt, Teider, Hoffar & Fitzgerald
The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership
$1,000–$2,499Anonymous
David Allen Company, Inc.
American Institute of Architecture Students
Atmosphere Inc.
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners
Bingham McCutchen LLP
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
The Bozzuto Group
Katherine B. and David G. Bradley
Daniel J. Callahan
Carfam II Associates L.L.C.
Carrier Johnson Architecture
Centex Construction Company, Inc.
Champion Title and Settlements, Inc.
The Christopher Companies
C.J. Coakley & Co., Inc.
Kathryn and Kent Colton
Committee of 100 on the Federal City
Janet and David Curtis
Davis Carter Scott
Margaret DeBolt and David Esch
Gilbert E. DeLorme, Esq.
The Honorable Robert W. and Louisa C. Duemling
Einhorn Yaffee Prescott
Lois and Richard England
Philip A. Esocoff, FAIA
Gary Garczynski
GHT Limited
Haley & Aldrich
Hanley Wood, L.L.C.
Hargrove, Inc.
Hickok Cole Architects
HKS Architects
HNTB Architecture, Inc.
Michael L. Horst
ICF Consulting, Inc.
Elise Jaffe and Jeffrey Brown
John J. Kirlin, Inc.
Johns Hopkins Medicine
KGD (Kishimoto.Gordon.Dalaya PC)
Jeffrey C. Landis, AIA and Julia Monk-Landis, AIA, ASID
Robert C. Larson
lee)sallee & company, inc.
Lessard Architectural Group, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Rafael V. Lopez
Barbara B. Macknick
Mancini Duffy
McDonough, Boylard, Peck, Inc.
McWilliams/Ballard, Inc.
Mona Electrical Group, Inc.
Morphosis Architects
National Concrete Masonry Association
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
National Society of Professional Engineers *
Parker Rodriguez, Inc.
PEER Consultants, Inc.
Polinger, Shannon & Luchs
Antoine Predock, FAIA
Quite a Stir in Catering!
Rathgeber/Goss Associates
Darrel D. Rippeteau, AIA
The Rogers Group
Ellen and Russell Rosenberger
Deborah L. Rosenstein
Moshe Safdie and Associates, Inc.
Bill Sawicki
Lois and Bruce Selfon
David W. Seltzer
Robert Silman Associates, PLLC
Barbara Spangenberg
Tetra Partnerships
Peggy and Ken Thompson
John Toups
United Arts Organization of GreaterWashington, Inc.
VIKA, Inc.
Walter P. Moore
R. Beverly Webb
Judith A. and Linden H. Welch
Wiley & Wilson
Wolfensohn Family Foundation
Deby and Robert Wulff
A. Thomas and Page H. Young
Leonard A. Zax
JM Zell Partners, Ltd.
$250–$999Anonymous
Brian Aitken and Andrea Evers
Tina Alster and Paul Frazer
Greg Barnard
Beery Rio Architects & Interiors
Richard C. Blumenstein
BOE Architects, PLLC
Bonstra Haresign Architects LLP
Sara Ann Bounds
Marcia Camarda
Capstone Communications, L.L.C.
Jan D. Carline
Patrick J. Caufield
Chernikoff and Company
CHJ3 Architecture, Inc.
Karen and Jim Cleveland
Ray Colbert
Kim Coletta
Columbia Woodworking, Inc.
Gianne Conard, AIA
Construction Industry Round Table
David E. Cooper
Jerome M. Cooper
Cox Graae + Spack Architects
Drury B. Crawley
CUH2A, Inc.
M. DeBlasio, Inc.
Brenda M. Derby
Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.
Edge Construction, Inc.
Laura Einstein and Helene Madonick
Jay Epstein
Theodore M. Fields
Nancy McElroy Folger
Phyllis Freedman
Christopher Fromboluti, AIA
David F. Furman, FAIA
Marian T. Gay
GCA Casey Trees Endowment
Robert J. Geniesse, Esq.
Giuliani Associates
Bobby Gladstein
GWWO Inc. Architects
Harvard Jolly Architects PA
Bruce Hayes and Jo Fleming
Josephine D. Hearld
Heller & Metzger, P.C.
Neal Evan Hodgson
Hord Coplan Macht, Inc.
Mary Ann C. Huey
J. Ford Huffman
Elise and Scott Hughes
Humanities Council of Washington
Catherine and W.T. Ingold
Rich Jensen and Beth Goodrich
Andrew Joskow
Paul Kalkbrenner
Keane Enterprises, LLC
Joanne M. Kelly
The Ira Kessler Memorial Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Austin H. Kiplinger
C.M. Kling & Associates, Inc.
Michael Kolakowski
Kvell Corcoran Architects, PC
Lacy, Ltd.
M.K. Lanzillotta, AIA and Lee Becker, FAIA
Joseph Lapan
Harold Leich
Richard H. Levy
Paula Loomis
Linda B. and Jonathan S. Lyons
Carolyn M. Mackenzie
Manhattan Construction Co.
J. Robert Mann, Jr., PE
David D. Marquardt, AIA
Joan Meixner
Theresa A. Meyer
John S. Milgram
Ewing H. Miller, FAIA and Donna Ari
J.C. and Neil Milner
Ann K. Morales
F. Joseph Moravec
The Honorable Alfred H. Moses
Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers
National Conference of State HistoricPreservation Officers
Priscilla Nelson
Edward J. Newberry
Robert K. Oaks
Henry Otto
The Charles Pankow Foundation
Susan and David Perry
Robert A. Peck and Lynn Palmer
PIP Printing
Plants Alive! Inc.
Andrew Potts
Project Management Services, Inc.
Quadrangle Development Co.
Rasevic Construction Co.
Re/Max Allegiance
William Regan
Emerson G. and Dolores G. ReinschFoundation
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Rigelsky
Danielle Roberts Interiors
Ruina Family Fund of the TriangleCommunity Foundation
Adrienne Schmitz
Susan W. Schwartz
Peter W. Segal
SGA Architects
Daniel K. Shogren and Jennifer L. Rise
Stephanie Zeldin and Robert K. Sigal
SK&A Structural Engineers, PLLC
SKB Architecture & Design
Shirley and Albert Small
Alvin Smith - POST Construction
Smith, Thomas & Smith, Inc.
Stanley Martin Commercial, Inc.
Ben S. Stefanski II
Hugo Subotovsky Architects LLC
Carolyn Tager
Keene Taylor
Stanley E. Taylor
Terra Nova Communications, LLC
Jessica and Henry Townsend
Trace, Inc.
Kristen and Christopher Ullman
University of Maryland, College ParkFoundation
Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates
Voorsanger & Associates
Boyd Walker
Warner Construction Consultants, Inc.
Sarah and Luke Wassum
Katy and Scott Weidenfeller
Gareth Wells and Janet Ziffer
Whitmore Print & Imaging
Laura Wirkkala
Caren L. Yglesias and John Livengood
Honor GiftsMr. and Mrs. Peter Aron
in honor of Bob Stern
Matching Gifts
The Morris and Gwendolyn CafritzFoundation
The Ford Foundation
* The Museum sincerely regrets omitting theNational Society of Professional Engineers’gift of $1,000 from the FY05 Annual Reportand is grateful for their steadfast support.
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20 blueprints
Mystery Building
?MYSTE RY B U I LD I N G
THE MYSTERY BUILDING from the Winter2005–06 issue was the ManhattanBuilding, which is actually in Chicago.
Designed by William LeBaron Jenney, andcompleted in 1891, it was one of the earli-est tall buildings supported entirely by asteel structural frame. A set of decorativeelevator shaft grills from the building,removed during a renovation, is on viewin the Museum’s ongoing exhibitionCityscapes Revealed: Highlights from the Collection.
The Manhattan Building was correct-ly identified by: Karla Barber, of Lansing,Michigan; Erin Blake, of Washington, DC;Gregory Boshart, of McLean, Virginia;John Morris Dixon, of Old Greenwich,Connecticut; Wilbert R. Hasbrouck, ofChicago (whose firm worked on the reno-vation of the Manhattan Building in the1980s); Eric Jenkins, of Washington, DC;Kyle Johnson, of Brooklyn, New York;Mike Larson and Jerry Maready, ofWashington, DC; Lawrence Eric Levine, ofNew Castle, Delaware; and former NationalBuilding Museum staff member Michelle
Rinehart. Two respondents pointed out thatcritics have not always viewed the buildingfavorably. One (now outdated) edition ofChicago’s Famous Buildings dismissed thedesign of the Manhattan Building as “notparticularly impressive,” thanks to the pro-fusion of materials and bays that “producean effect of disunity.” Current opinions ofthe structure are generally more favorable.
This issue’s Mystery Building boasts abold, Greek Revival façade. Can you namethe building, its architects, and its location?Send responses to:
Mystery Building, National Building Museum,401 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
above / Manhattan Building Photo: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic AmericanBuildings Survey, HABS ILL, 16-CHIG, 53-2, Harold Allen, photographer
TR USTE ES AN D STAFF
B O A R D O F TR U STE E S
Officers
ChairCarolyn Brody
Chair ElectMichael J. Glosserman
Vice ChairsGilbert E. DeLormeDavid C. EvansWill MillerRobert A.M. Stern
SecretaryDavid C. Evans
TreasurerRobert H. Braunohler
PresidentChase W. Rynd
Trustees
William B. Alsup IIIFrank AntonThomas N. Armstrong IIIDavid S. BenderDeborah BerkeWilliam M. BrennanJoan Bagget CalambokidisDonald A. CapocciaKent W. ColtonDennis J. CotterChristopher DorvalJohn P. Gleason, Jr.Mike GoodrichDelon HamptonGary HaneyRobert W. Holleyman, IIJoseph F. Horning, Jr.Gerald M. HowardMercy JiménezFrederick A. KoberA. Eugene KohnStephen S. LashTerrence M. McDermottDeryl McKissackHollis S. McLoughlinBrian T. McVayMelissa A. MossRobert A. PeckWhayne S. QuinPhilippe RollierRichard M. RosanStephen M. RossDeborah Ratner SalzbergStephen E. SandherrEric ThorkilsenJames W. ToddNorbert W. Young, Jr.
Honorary Trustees
Harold L. AdamsHoward M. BenderM. Arthur Gensler Jr.Thomas J. KlutznickStuart A. McFarlandRobert McLean IIIElizabeth B. MoynihanMarilyn PerryMallory WalkerLeonard A. Zax
Founding Trustees
Cynthia R. FieldHerbert M. FranklinEdward T. HallNancy Stevenson Beverly Willis
Ex Officio Trustees
The Honorable Dirk KempthorneSecretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
The Honorable Alphonso JacksonSecretary, U.S. Department ofHousing and Urban Development
The Honorable James M. Inhofe Chairman, Senate Committee onEnvironment and Public Works
The Honorable Don YoungChairman, House Committee onTransportation and Infrastructure
Lurita DoanAdministrator, General ServicesAdministration
David L. WinsteadCommissioner, Public BuildingsService, General ServicesAdministration
The Honorable Alan M. HantmanArchitect of the Capitol
Allen WeinsteinArchivist of the United States
The Honorable James H. BillingtonLibrarian of Congress
Lawrence M. SmallSecretary, Smithsonian Institution
Richard MoePresident, National Trust forHistoric Preservation
Christine McEnteeExecutive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer The American Institute ofArchitects
STA F F
Administration
Jennifer BertschExecutive Assistant and Manager of Board Relations
Don HolstromSystems Administrator
Betsy May-SalazarVice President for Finance and Administration
G. Martin Moeller, Jr.Senior Vice President and Curator
Chase W. RyndExecutive Director
Rebecca WarwickHuman Resources Manager
Finance
Diane BeckhamController
Laura LeonardAccounting Coordinator
Curatorial
Chrysanthe B. BroikosCurator
Shelagh M. ColeRegistrar/ Manager of TravelingExhibitions
Catherine Crane FrankelDirector of Exhibitions and Collections
Cecelia GibsonRegistrar
William H. C. GriffithExhibitions Coordinator
Reed HaslachCuratorial Associate
Matthew KuhnertCuratorial Associate
Christopher MaclayPreparator
Susan Piedmont-PalladinoCurator
Laura SchiavoCurator
Deborah SorensenCuratorial Associate
Dana TwerskySenior Registrar
MaryJane E. ValadeExhibitions Designer andPreparator
Education
Corinne CannonYouth Groups Coordinator
Liz GuthrieAssistant Outreach ProgramsCoordinator
Mary HendrickseAssistant Youth GroupsCoordinator
Paul F. KillmerDirector of Public Programs
Scott KratzVice President for Education
Ann LambsonDirector of Youth Education
Kathryn McGillOutreach Programs Coordinator
Jennifer MichaelreeAssociate Youth GroupsCoordinator
Sarah Petty RiceFamily Programs Coordinator
Sarah SmithYouth Education Assistant
Jaime Van MourikPublic Programs Coordinator
Development
Suzanne BissellDirector of Individual Giving
Sangita ChariFoundation and GovernmentRelations Manager
Michael DunaganDirector of Institutional Giving
Elika HemphillDirector of Development Events
Melinda HungermanCorporate and AssociationRelations Manager
Caitlin IrvinDevelopment Assistant
Melissa SlaughterMembership Manager
Shar TaylorVice President for Development
Mary ZeheAssistant Director of Development
Marketing & Communications
Jennifer ByrnePublications Designer
Bryna LipperDirector of Marketing andCommunications
Kevin MorseWebsite Administrator
Julia NeubauerEditor/Writer
Lauren SearlMarketing and CommunicationsAssociate
Museum Shop
Leslie BradshawAssistant Manager
Marcia DiehlOperations Manager
Scott GlasscoeInventory Specialist
Michael HigdonRetail Manager
Tom ZiolkowskiAssociate
Special Events
Christopher FrameDirector of Special Events
Charles ShelbySpecial Events Coordinator
Bill SnitzerSpecial Events Coordinator
Visitor Services
Kristi CotnerTour and Volunteer Coordinator
Barry EdmundsWeekend Assistant MuseumServices Manager
Danielle FloresAdministrative Assistant/Receptionist
Ronald Keith FulwoodInformation Desk Specialist
David KaplanInformation Desk Specialist
Annie KalinowskiTour and Volunteer Assistant
Rose Marie KirwinInformation Desk Specialist
Doris LandauInformation Desk Specialist
Susan MittlemanInformation Desk Specialist
Bryan NormanMuseum Operations Coordinator
Allen TravitzVisitor Services Manager
Gallery Representatives
Monique AndersonWilliam BarnesPatricia CunninghamHarriet CywinskiBarry EdmundsBeverly FennellJessie HarleyJennifer HeimbeckerLouise JohnsonNathaniel KulykBarry LustbergJana MartinNanci McCollumCarla PattersonErma PersonSeymour SeligMatthew SeymourCrystal WatsonMary West Shamika WhiteKaren WhitehairSarah WhitelowEvelyn WilsonFred WilsonViktor Zavadsky
Contents
1 Message from the Executive Director
3 The Pope-Leighey House
8 No Ordinary Clients:
The Story of Luis and Ethel Marden
12 The Marden House:
An Interview with James Kimsey
14 “Coonley” and “Wright”
15 Museum News
18 Support
20 Mystery Building
The NationalBuildingMuseumexplores
the world we build
for ourselves—from our homes,
skyscrapers and public buildings to our parks, bridges, and cities. Through exhibitions, education programs, and publications, the Museum seeks to educate the public about achievements in architecture, design, engineering, urban planning, and construction.
The Museum is supported by contributionsfrom individuals, corporations, foundations,associations, and public agencies.
cover / The main living area of theMarden House, in McLean, Virginia, by Frank Lloyd Wright. Photo by Robert C. Lautman, courtesy of Lautman Photography.
BLUEPRINTS VOLUME XXI, NO. 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: • The Pope-Leighey House
• No Ordinary Clients:The Story of Luis and Ethel Marden
• An Interview with James Kimsey
• “Coonley” and “Wright”
Volume XXIV, No. 3 Summer 2006
NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM
Prairie Skyscraper: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower
through September 17, 2006
The only true skyscraper
designed by Wright that was
actually constructed, the Price
Tower is a glimmering jewel
of a building. The exhibition
includes original drawings,
fascinating samples of corre-
spondence between Wright and
the project’s client, furniture,
and a large model of the tower.
The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design
through June 3, 2007
The second in a series of major
National Building Museum
exhibitions on sustainable
design, The Green House begins
with a full-scale, furnished
replica of an environmentally-
friendly house. Also featured
are photographs and models
of exemplary houses and
apartment buildings from
around the world, plus a
resource room with many
examples of materials that are
both green and attractive.
Cityscapes Revealed:Highlights from the Collection
Long-term
The first exhibition presenting
a cross-section of items from
the Museum’s own collection,
including drawings, photo-
graphs, material samples,
and artifacts from National
Historic Landmarks.
Washington: Symbol and City
Long-term
A seminal exhibition about
the complex city that the
Museum calls home.
Spectacular, large-scale historic
and contemporary models
give visitors an intimate
understanding of the city’s
past and possible future.
curre
nt ex
hibitio
ns
M US E U M HOU RSMonday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day
NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM401 F Street NW Washington, DC 20001202.272.2448 / www.NBM.orgRed Line Metro, Judiciary Square
Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage PaidWashington, DCPermit No. 488
Blueprints is the quarterly journal of the
National Building Museum. Subscriptions
are a benefit of Museum membership.
Blueprints ©2006
All rights reserved
ISSN 0742-0552
editor / G. Martin Moeller, Jr.
designer / Jennifer Byrne
blueprints