I learned recently that the Dana/Thomas house in Springfield will be closed as a cost-cutting measure. This decision cannot be justified.
The house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Susan Lawrence Dana is one of the great monuments of architecture in America and one of the most accurate restorations ever completed in Illinois. (It was my privilege to direct it.)
It had more than 100,000 visitors in 1991, many from out of state.
The house is a tremendous asset to our state and is part of the solution to our fiscal situation.
The Dana/Thomas house is simply too important to ignore. Our state reputation for excellence in architecture rests on structures of this quality. Closing the house will result in losses, in addition to dollars, that may never be recovered.
