Today marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the loss of an important portion of the legacies of Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan. Three structures linked to Wright were built in Ocean Springs, Mississippi — The Charnley Cottage, the Charnley Guest Cottage and the winter home of Louis Sullivan. At the time the homes were designed, Wright was a draftsman for Sullivan’s firm and he later claimed credit for them. At the very least, the homes were the result of a partnership between the two men (Jay Pridmore summarized the debate in _Chicago Magazine in 2008).
Of the three, the Louis Sullivan house fared the worst: nothing above the foundation remained standing. Just over a week after the hurricane, Blair Kamin wrote:
The destroyed bungalow was for two decades a vacation getaway for Sullivan, renowned for his Carson Pirie Scott store on State Street and his pioneering skyscrapers. A companion servant’s quarters a few paces away also was destroyed. Only a concrete pad indicates something sat there. From the bungalow’s veranda, Sullivan could gaze through overhanging white wisteria onto the waters of Davis Bayou, drawing inspiration for his urban high-rises from the rural paradise. Now the bungalow is a carpenter’s scrap pile, scattered as far as 100 yards away from its original location. Everything is gone except an urn planter, brick foundation pieces and the famous tree where, in a well-known photograph, Sullivan struck his iconic pose looking toward the sea. “This is like somebody coming into Independence Hall and burning the Declaration of Independence. It’s irreplaceable,” said Paul Minor, 59, a Biloxi personal injury lawyer who meticulously renovated the house after purchasing it in 1986.
Here are the tragic before & after photos. Some background on the Sullivan cottage can be found here, and many more images and information can be seen here in a 1905 article available on Google Books.
The other two, originally owned by the Charnleys, were badly damaged, but had the potential to be saved. As of early 2009, the two buildings had been stabilized, and the very early states of restoration were slowly grinding forward.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.