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Conrad and Evelyn Gordon
Residence, Wilsonville/Silverton, Oregon (1956 - S.419) |
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Living in the great Northwest, I have had the
opportunity to visit the Gordon House many times. The first
was during the Gordon House move to the Oregon Gardens in
March 2001, and at the same time the abandoned site. Again
in September of 2001 during reconstruction, the grand
opening on March 2, 2002 and a number of times since then
when I am in the area.
Much has been written about the Gordon
House since its rescue and relocation. Located in Wilsonville from 1963 until 2001
until it was rescued from destruction and moved to the Oregon
Gardens in Silverton, Oregon. Originally designed in 1956
with a budget of $25,000, construction did not begin for
seven years, and construction estimates more than doubled to
$56,000. The 2,100-square-foot Gordon House was
completed in 1964 and was based on Wright’s "House
for a Family of $5-6,000 Income" plan, which was
published in a 1938 issue of Life magazine. E. J. Strandberg was the builder. Burton
Goodrich, who apprentice with Wright in the 1950s, oversaw
the construction. Who would have ventured a
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guess that nearly forty
years later Burton would again supervise the dismantling and
reassembling of the Gordon House in
Silverton.
There are many classic Wright details. The basic materials
are concrete blocks, local cedar and a red concrete floor with
radiant heat, designed on a seven foot grid. There are three
sets of double wood framed glass doors on the East and West
side of the Living Room. They open outward and are one and a
half stories tall. Two cantilevered balconies on the second
floor with walls that step inward as they rise. Cantilevered
and trellised roof overhangs. Rows of vertical block piers.
There are windows with perforated cut-wood light screens. The hidden
entrance. Flush vertical joints and raked horizontal joints.
The vertical cedar siding is the exact height of the
concrete block and lines up with the joints. Like many of
Wright’s homes, he designed the built-in seating, many of
the fixtures and some of the furniture.
Conrad Gordon pasted away in 1979. Evelyn continued to live
in the home until she passed away in 1997.
May 2007 |
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"House for Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Gordon". This is a
poster reproduction
of the original drawing for the Gordon's. The occasion was
for the saving of the Gordon House from destruction, by
relocating it to The Oregon Gardens, Silverton, Oregon.
Copyright 2001. |
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Detail from
original drawing. |
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Floor plan copyright 1993, “The
Frank Lloyd Wright Companion” Storrer, William Allin, page 451. |
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Date:
2000
Title:
Conrad and Evelyn Gordon Residence 2000 (1956 - S.419).
Description: Designed in 1956 by Frank Lloyd
Wright, construction did not begin until 1963. Located in
Wilsonville from 1963 until 2001 until it was rescued from
destruction and moved to the Oregon Gardens in Silverton, Oregon.
The original budget of $25,000, doubled to $56,000 because of
construction delays. The 2,100-square-foot Gordon House was
completed in 1964 and was based on Wright’s "House for a Family of
$5-6,000 Income" plan, which was published in a 1938 issue of Life
magazine. Photographed before the move. Hand Written on face:
"9/15/00, AE Wright, Cordell, 1-13A." Typed on verso: "House/Home -
W (Frank Lloyd Wright, Wilsonville)." Stamped on verso: "Dec 1
2000."
Size:
Original 10 x 8 color photograph.
ST#:
2000.83.0117 |
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Date:
2001
Title: The Gordon House
(Produced by The Oregon
Gardens).
Description: House for Mr. and Mrs. C.E.
Gordon. This is a reproduction of the original drawing for the
Gordon's, reproduced at 100%. The occasion was for the saving of
the Gordon House from destruction, by relocating it to The Oregon
Gardens, Silverton, Oregon.
Size:
36 x 25
ST#:
2001.09.0901 |
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Date:
2001 (March &
September)
Title:
Conrad and Evelyn Gordon Residence 2001 (1956 - S.419).
Description: Set of 24 - 4 x 6 color photographs.
Saved from destruction. The Move. The original 22 acre site that
once was home to the Gordon House, was sold by the Gordon's son
in September, 2000. The new owners were not interested in the
Home, but the property and slated it for destruction, not
knowing it was a Wright home. The Frank Lloyd Wright Building
Conservancy was notified. Agreements were reached. The interior
wood paneling, built-in furniture, doors, cabinets and shelves
were carefully removed, packaged and marked to assure an
accurate restoration and reassembly. The roof was removed, then
the upper story was cut from the lower. The concrete red floor,
many of... Continue...
Size:
Set of 24 - 4 x 6 color photographs.
ST#:
2001.83.1020 (1-24) |
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additional photographs... |
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Date:
2002
Title:
Conrad and Evelyn Gordon Residence 2002 (1956 - S.419).
Description: Set of 22 exterior 5 x 7 high res
digital images. The grand opening of the restored Gordon House
took place on March 2 - 3, 2002. Saturday included an in-depth
tour and a panel discussion including: Frank Mataro who worked
on the Guggenheim Museum; Jack Quinan, Director of the Darwin
Martin House in Buffalo, NY; Hetty Startup, Site Administrator
for the Zimmerman House in Manchester, NH; and Lynda Waggoner,
the Director of Fallingwater, Wright's most famous building. The
panel was moderated by Professor Neil Levine, a noted Wright
author and scholar, Gleason Professor, Department of the History
of Art and Architecture, Harvard University. "Restoring it
Wright", the panel discussion covered many aspects, challenges
and rewards, of restoring a Wright building and...
Continue...
Size:
Set of 22 high res 5 x 7 digital images.
ST#:
2002.146.1020 (1-22) |
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additional photographs... |
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Date:
2002
Title: The Gordon House: A Moving Experience
(Stiff Soft Cover) (Published
by Beyond Words Publishing)
Author: Woodin, Larry
Description: Cover is die-cut
in the shape of the window pattern. Original SC List Price $15.95. (Signed by
Author) (First Edition)
Size:
Pages: Pp 32
ST#:
2002.02.0302 |
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Date: 2002
Title:
Front: “The Gordon House - Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, at
the Oregon Garden” (Produced by The Oregon Gardens, Silverton, OR)
Description:
Back: “Gordon House. The Gordon House, designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright, is one of the best examples of a ‘Usonian’ home. It is the
only Frank Lloyd Wright home open to the public in the Pacific
Northwest. Completed in 1964, the house was relocated to the Oregon
Gardens in March 2001.” (Ten copies)
Size:
5.75 x 4.
ST#:
2002.63.0302, 2002.64.0302, 2002.65.0302, 2002.66.0302, 2002.67.0302,
2002.76.0507, 2002.77.0507, 2002.78.0507, 2002.79.0507, 2002.80.0507
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Date:
2007
Title:
Conrad and Evelyn Gordon Residence 2007 (1956 - S.419).
Description: Set of 23 exterior 10 x 7.5 high res
digital images. Living in the great Northwest, I have had the
opportunity to visit the Gordon House many times. There are many
classic Wright details. The basic materials are concrete blocks,
local cedar and a red concrete floor with radiant heat, designed
on a seven foot grid. There are three sets of double wood framed
glass doors on the East and West side of the Living Room. They
open outward and are one and a half stories tall. Two
cantilevered balconies on the second floor with walls that step
inward as they rise. Cantilevered and trellised roof overhangs.
Rows of vertical block piers. There are windows with perforated
cut-wood light screens. The hidden entrance. Flush vertical
joints and raked horizontal joints. The vertical cedar siding is
the...
Continue...
Size:
Set of 23 exterior 10 x 7.5 high res digital images.
ST#:
2007.92.1020 (1-23) |
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additional photographs... |
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See
additional photographs... |
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Date:
2020
Title:
Conrad and Evelyn Gordon Residence Exterior 2020 (1956 - S.419).
Description: Set of 131 high res 20 X 13.5
digital images. Designed in 1956 by Frank Lloyd Wright,
construction did not begin until 1963. Located in Wilsonville
from 1963 until 2001 until it was rescued from destruction and
moved to the Oregon Gardens in Silverton, Oregon. The original
budget of $25,000, doubled to $56,000 because of construction
delays. The 2,100-square-foot Gordon House was completed in 1964
and was based on Wright’s "House for a Family of $5-6,000
Income" plan, which was published in a 1938 issue of Life
magazine. There are many classic Wright details...
Continue...
Size:
Set of 131 high res 20 X 13.5 digital images.
ST#:
2020.02.1020 (1-131) |
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See
additional photographs... |
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additional photographs... |
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Date:
2020
Title:
Conrad and Evelyn Gordon Residence Interior 2020 (1956 - S.419).
Description: Set of 138 high res 20 X 13.5
digital images. Designed in 1956 by Frank Lloyd Wright,
construction did not begin until 1963. Located in Wilsonville
from 1963 until 2001 until it was rescued from destruction and
moved to the Oregon Gardens in Silverton, Oregon. The
2,100-square-foot Gordon House was completed in 1964 and was
based on Wright’s "House for a Family of $5-6,000 Income" plan,
which was published in a 1938 issue of Life magazine. There are
many classic Wright details. The basic materials are concrete
blocks, local cedar and a red concrete floor...
Continue...
Size:
Set of 138 high res 20 X 13.5 digital images.
ST#:
2020.03.1020 (1-138) |
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See
additional photographs... |
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See
additional photographs... |
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Text and Photographs by Douglas M. Steiner,
Copyright 2001 |
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- Related Books
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"Frank
Lloyd Wright Monograph 1951-1959", Text: Pfeiffer, Bruce
Brooks;
Edited and Photographed:
Futagawa, Yukio, 1990, page 282-283. |
| “The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion”,
Storrer, William Allin, 1993, page 451. |
| "Frank
Lloyd Wright: The Western Work", Legler, Dixie, 1999, page
96-99. |
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"The
Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright"
Heinz, 2000, page 265, 272. |
| "The
Gordon House: A Moving Experience" Woodin, Larry, 2002. |
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"Frank Lloyd Wright American Master",
Weintraub; Smith, 2009,
pages 346-347. |
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"Frank Lloyd
Wright, Complete Works 1943-1959", Pfeiffer; Gossel,
2009, page 454. |
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- Related Images and
Articles
- (Note, due to the fact that
the internet is constantly changing, and items that
are posted change, I have copied the text, but give all the
credits available.)
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| A) "Saving
Wright's Gordon House",
by Brian Libby, January 24, 2001. |
| B)
"Agreement saves Wright's Gordon
Residence from Demolition", by Richard Hovey, |
| C)
"Short Trips: Wright home a tribute
to preservation efforts", February 28, 2002, by Jeff Larsen. |
| D)
Photographs from original site.
Photographs © 2000 Kris Olson, Text © 2000 David Sides |
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