News & Resources

This live event has concluded. All registrants have access to the HD tours and live session recordings in the Event Hub through June 20 (extended to allow one additional weekend for viewing). If you need help accessing the recordings in the Event Hub, please email [email protected].

If you missed the live event but would like to view the HD tours and session recordings, you can purchase access via the button below. You will receive access immediately upon confirmation of your purchase, and may watch the HD tours and videos anytime through June 20.

May 14-16, 2021

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy’s spring tour program embraces a virtual format to showcase six Wright-designed structures dispersed widely across the country – three of which are the only ones built in their respective states. Transcend geography to see five private homes and one church, all in places where it might be more challenging to visit during our in-person events. Tours will couple the beauty of Wright’s designs with the compelling personal narratives of those who occupy, love and work hard to preserve these important buildings.

How this event works: There will be two tour sessions each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Sessions will take place at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. CDT each day; see the list of tour destinations below for the schedule. Each session, featuring a single building, will take place live via Zoom, with time for interactive questions and discussion. A recording will be available to view shortly afterward. Only one registration per household is necessary. Registrants will receive access to an online event hub with links to all live sessions and recordings. If you have any questions or require assistance registering, please email [email protected].

Registration rates:
Members $80
Non-Members $130 (includes a one year Friend-level membership)
Students $35

AIA Credit: Each session has been approved for 1 LU (so this event offers up to 6 LUs). In order to receive credit for a session, you must attend when it happens live. LUs are not available for viewing the recordings. An AIA credit request form will be made available online to all registrants.

The full schedule, with details on each tour destination, can be found below. All times are CDT (Central Daylight Time).

Thursday, May 13

• 6:00 p.m. CDT: Leadership Circle Tour of Walker House (Carmel-by-the-Sea, California). This event is by invitation only for members of the Leadership Circle. Learn more about membership levels.

Friday, May 14

• 12:00 p.m. CDT: Dorothy Ann and Sterling Kinney House (Amarillo, Texas)
• 2:30 p.m. CDT: Zeigler House (Frankfort, Kentucky)

Saturday, May 15

• 12:00 p.m. CDT: Pilgrim Congregational Church (Redding, California)
• 2:30 p.m. CDT: Sutton House (McCook, Nebraska)

Sunday, May 16

• 12:00 p.m. CDT: Shavin House (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
• 2:30 p.m. CDT: Margaret and Patrick Kinney House (Lancaster, Wisconsin)

Friday, May 14 at 12:00 p.m. CDT
Dorothy Ann and Sterling Kinney House
Amarillo, Texas
1957

The Dorothy Ann and Sterling Kinney House in Amarillo, Texas, comprises two bedroom wings flanking a central living area. To the north and east of the living area is the master suite, which includes a bedroom, two baths and a study. To the south of the living area are three more bedrooms. Surrounded by trees and far removed from main roads, the house deliberately turns its back on nearby development. Our tour will be led by Robin Gilliland, who bought the house from the Kinney Family in 2004 and then undertook a comprehensive restoration. Gilliland will share some of her experiences from the restoration.

Friday, May 14 at 2:30 p.m. CDT
Zeigler House
Frankfort, Kentucky
1910

Wright designed this variation on the “Fireproof House for $5,000” for Presbyterian minister Jesse Zeigler. Located in a historic residential district near the Kentucky State Capitol, the house’s distinctive Prairie-period design clearly sets it apart from its more traditional neighbors. The production of drawings for the house was overseen by Marion Mahony, who contributed a number of details for the interior. When Wright visited in 1948, he noted what he viewed as “liberties” taken with the design. Owners Alicia and Timothy Harnois, who bought the house in 2018, will lead our tour.

Saturday, May 15 at 12:00 p.m. CDT
Pilgrim Congregational Church
Redding, California
1958

One of Wright’s last designs, Pilgrim Congregational Church employs Wright’s “rubble stone” masonry in combination with concrete framing that carries the roof of the space now used as the sanctuary. The row of angled concrete frames, exposed above the roofline, gives the building a distinctive exterior rhythm and provides some hint of the design for the main sanctuary, which was never realized. Services take place in what was originally intended to be the church’s Fellowship Hall, an exciting space in its own right. Congregation member and docent Larry Solberg will lead our tour of the church, which will include views of a 3-D model of Wright’s complete design.

Saturday, May 15 at 2:30 p.m. CDT
Sutton House
McCook, Nebraska
1905

While a majority of Wright’s Prairie period designs were built in the Midwest, particularly suburban Chicago, there were a handful of outliers, including the Sutton House in McCook, a small city in southwestern Nebraska. Wright developed three design schemes for the house, each cruciform, with their major spaces projecting out from a central chimney mass. Client Harvey Sutton accepted the third and final scheme. Over the decades, the house suffered from a number of unsympathetic alterations, as well as a fire. Current owners Jan and Van Korell, who will lead our tour, have restored both the interior and exterior of the house. In acknowledgement of their dedicated stewardship, the Conservancy presented the Korells with a Wright Spirit Award in 2019.

Sunday, May 16 at 12:00 p.m. CDT
Shavin House
Chattanooga, Tennessee
1950

In 1949, Gerte and Seamour Shavin commissioned Wright to design a house for their property on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga. Wright unusually sited the house along the top of the ridge, taking advantage of the panoramic view to the north, sweeping across the Tennessee River to the mountains beyond. The distinctive “butterfly” roof of the living room slopes dramatically up to a high eave at its outside edge. Owned by Gerte Shavin until her passing last year at age 99, the house now belongs to her three children. Karen Shavin will lead our tour, sharing fond memories of growing up there and her parents’ love for the house.

Sunday, May 16 at 2:30 p.m. CDT
Margaret and Patrick Kinney House
Lancaster, Wisconsin
1951

The Margaret and Patrick Kinney House is located on a 2.5 acre lot in Lancaster, Wisconsin, about 50 miles southwest of Taliesin. Wright based its plan on a diamond-shaped unit module, creating a hexagonal main living area which includes the living room, dining area, workspace and master bedroom. Additional bedrooms extend in-line from this structure, linked by a gallery. Pieces of limestone randomly project from the house’s masonry, characteristic of Wright’s work, while exterior walls display a less-typical battered or sloped face. John Howe sensitively enlarged the house in 1964. Archie Kinney, grandson of the original clients and a current student at The School of Architecture founded by Frank Lloyd Wright, will share his experience of the home through a video production entitled “A House Lived In”.

The Conservancy is grateful for the support of KPF.

Learn more about our Corporate Partners program.