Flutterby™! : Ars Too Longa, Vita too Brevis Est

We've talked a bit about Frank Lloyd Wright over time, and from the Chicago suburbs comes another sad story about living in a work of art. According to the Chicago Tribune, a couple saved a Wright-designed mansion in the 1950s and made it a showplace. Now, the owner is a 91 year-old lady with Alzhiemers and the roof is falling in. She wishes to live out her time at home, and the county's Public Guardian, who looks after her affairs, will ante up $14,000 to give it a standard issue asphalt roof. Local preservationists want to do the roof with Wright's fired clay tiles, which would cost $250,000! The Guardian says that if they want it, they gotta pay for it.

We have seen this problem in Illinois for a while now. People who bought Wright houses for a song in the 50s, when he was considered little better than a crank, can't afford to fix them up now that he's revered. Since many are listed as landmarks, even fixing the bathroom needs special approval and authentic restoration. Tradesmen hear Wright's name and triple their rates. The story of the curse of the White Elephant comes readily to mind.

Of course, Wright houses are more prone to this, since he did a lot of private residences. Its not likely that a century from now we will have scads of Frank Gehry bungalows needing their tinfoil redone.