June/July 2010
In this issue:
Glass Art Exhibition & Sale
Wright Remembered in Time Magazine
Happy Birthday Mr. Wright!
Annual Fundraiser Fest Coming in August
Visit the Gordon House for a Tour or Event
Volunteers: Opportunities & News
The Gordon House Historic Site Mission
JOIN, DONATE, VOLUNTEER, AND VISIT!
Your support in every way is appreciated!
See our website at www.thegordonhouse.org
Guided Tours every day with reservations.
SPECIAL & PUBLIC EVENTS:
Glass Art Exhibition & Sale in June
Wright’s use of stained and leaded glass windows is well known. The Wright Elements glass show and sale will be on display from June 5 through July 5. The public is also invited to join the artists at a reception on June 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the Gordon House. Art show admission is $3, and Gordon House members are free. This is a MUST SEE show!
The show is sponsored by the Oregon State University Memorial Union Craft Center Glass Guild from the Mid-Willamette Valley. Over twenty glass artists will be represented. The glass art shows the abstraction of the four elements of air, fire, earth, and water and complements and contrasts the natural design elements demonstrated throughout the building including wood, glass, concrete, and space.
The artists enjoyed creating art within an art structure and viewing glass through glass through the sensitive “eye” of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Gordon House is a particularly excellent example of Wright’s use of indoor-outdoor space punctuated by natural light through window glass. You are invited to see it through art glass all month long.
Dateline June 1955, TIME Magazine
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, long in the habit of addressing himself boldly to posterity, celebrated his 86th birthday by spouting pronouncements on everything from the skyscraper ("Ought to go out into the country . . . cast its shadow on its own ground") to the drift toward equalitarianism ("Going to be the death of democracy"). Then, with boyish glee, he burbled: "As for me, if I felt any better I couldn't stand it!"
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Birthday Celebration on June 19
Plan to visit the Gordon House to celebrate and commemorate Wright’s birthday month. You’re invited to tour and enjoy his only building in Oregon, an example of what Wright would later call the only truly American architectural style. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Birthday entry fee for the house is $2 per person or free for members. Take a walk around the house through the oak savannah park restoration project. You can enjoy an exciting view of the house from every direction surrounded by a developing native landscape.
A Taste of Wright at the Gordon House on August 1
Local chefs will team up with Willamette Valley farmers, wineries, and brewers to provide a culinary grazing extravaganza at the Gordon House on August 1. Plan to spend this summer afternoon exploring the best partnerships of farm, food, family, friends, and Frank. Silent and oral auctions, a restaurant raffle, and wine grab will add to the festivities that benefit the preservation of Oregon’s Wright design.
You’re invited to join us for live music and tours of the Gordon House with displays and children’s activities celebrating Wright’s legacy in Oregon. Tickets are $30 for individuals, $50 per couple, or $250 for your own party of 12. Buy your tickets on line at www.thegordonhouse.org or by phone with a charge card at 503/874-6006.
MEMBERS & GUESTS:
Visit or Rent the Gordon House & Stay Overnight
Planning a trip to the Gordon House for the June Glass Art Show, Wright’s Birthday Celebration, the annual fundraiser on August 1, or just to bring family and friends to visit? Please plan to stay longer to see The Oregon Garden and Historic Downtown Silverton. Drive to see the Historic Gallon House Covered Bridge, Mount Angel Abbey and Alvar Aalto Library, Silver Falls State Park, and Antiques Powerland featuring 14 different museums with tractors, cars, stationary engines, and much more.
In addition, you can experience the Gordon House as the site for your next special event. Wright’s design is ideally suited for business meetings and retreats, wine and brew tastings, dinner parties and receptions, reunions, and weddings. Fee schedule and more information on our website.
Stay overnight at the Oregon Garden Resort, a Moonstone Hotel Property. Relax surrounded by natural and designed gardens; enjoy Northwest cuisine and a panoramic view of the Willamette Valley and the Coast Range. Resort reservations can be made by calling 503/874-2500. www.moonstonehotels.com/Oregon-Garden-Resort
The GH is open for guided tours with knowledgeable docents from 11 am to 4 pm. Make reservations by calling 503/874-6006 or e-mail gordonhouse1957@verizon.net. Tours last an hour, but stay to enjoy the spaces, buy a memento, or walk the paths to enjoy Wright’s architectural sculpture from every viewpoint. Bring your family and friends and summer guests for a week in a wonderful part of the Willamette Valley.
GORDON HOUSE VOLUNTEER CIRCLE NEWS:
Gordon House Volunteer Circle
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend meetings usually scheduled for the third Monday of each month at the GH. Please contact Efrain Diaz Horna for more information at 503/874-6006. Next meeting will be on July 19 at 10 a.m. at the Gordon House in Silverton. Your participation is valuable.
The Gordon House Mission
To educate the public on Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural approach and principles of organic architecture by preserving the only house in Oregon designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Intent of Interpretation: The full experience that represents a home, the relationship of landscape to the natural surrounds, and interior representation shall be provided. Interpretation shall further the understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright's holistic approach. Design year to be represented shall be 1964 when the Gordon House was completed. The Gordon House shall be restored as a house museum with adaptive reuse as required to accommodate the public. Exhibits shall include a permanent, though selective, collection reflecting the Gordons’ lifestyle, together with educational exhibits illustrating Frank Lloyd Wright’s body of work and continuing influence particularly from the Usonian period.
