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Como Orchard Summer Colony (University Heights), Darby, Montana (1909) (S.144)
Como Orchard Summer Colony Fireplaces, Photographed by Douglas M. Steiner, 2009 The Como Orchard was marketed to University of Chicago Professors as a "Summer Colony." Perfect for a professor. Vacation for three months and enjoy the Bitterroot Valley. As a summer Cottage, there was no need to go to the expense of central heating. But evenings could get chilly. And with Wright's philosophy that “the hearth is the center of the home”, a fireplace was an integral part of the design.
The Clubhouse contained three fireplaces. It was conceived as the center of the community. It contained two communal Dining Rooms with a fireplace in each, and a two story lounge in thecenter for gathering which included a fireplace. But with the loss of the clubhouse in 1945, and so few images available, it is possible to gain a glimpse of what the clubhouse fireplaces may have looked like by studying the two that remain. The three-bedroom Cottage was designed with a mantle and the Manager’s Office without.
Both fireplaces where constructed using rocks gathered from the property, a technique Wright used years later of Taliesin West when building walls applying his organic principles. Both fireplaces were built with an arched opening, using long vertical rocks.
Text by Douglas M. Steiner, Copyright September 2009.
Three Bedroom Cottage Fireplace Viewed from the Southeast. Original stone Fireplace, insert was not. The fireplace was constructed using rocks gathered from the property. The three-bedroom Cottage was designed with a mantle and the Manager’s Office without. Both fireplaces were constructed with an arched opening, using long vertical rocks. Detail of the original stone Fireplace which was constructed using rocks gathered from the property. The three-bedroom Cottage was designed with a mantle and the Manager’s Office without. Both fireplaces were constructed with an arched opening, using long vertical rocks. Viewed from the Northeast. Original stone Fireplace, insert was not. The fireplace was constructed using rocks gathered from the property. The three-bedroom Cottage was designed with a mantle and the Manager’s Office without. Both fireplaces were constructed with an arched opening, using long vertical rocks.
The Fireplace and Chimney was constructed of rocks gathered from the property. The original chimney was increased in height before 1982. Manager's Office Fireplace Viewed from the front door. The original stone Fireplace was constructed using rocks gathered from the property. The three-bedroom Cottage was designed with a mantle and the Manager’s Office without. Both fireplaces were constructed with an arched opening, using long vertical rocks. Detail of the original stone Fireplace constructed using rocks gathered from the property. Both fireplaces were constructed with an arched opening, using long vertical rocks. The Fireplace and Chimney was constructed of rocks gathered from the property. Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona Both fireplaces at the Como Orchard Summer Colony where constructed using rocks gathered from the property. Years later Wright used this concept when building the walls of Taliesin West applying his organic principles, gathering rocks from the property in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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