Since I became CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation [“The Trouble With Taliesin,” March 31], we have taken steps to restore the magnificence of Taliesin. We have begun the process of hiring additional fundraising professionals, and are starting another fundraising board.
We also have broadened our educational program. The apprentices in the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture will spend the summer working on the designs and doing the actual labor to rehabilitate Taliesin, demonstrating firsthand Wright’s guiding notion of learning by doing. Also this summer, the foundation will bring youth from Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison to Taliesin to learn architecture as junior apprentices, living and studying where Frank Lloyd Wright designed many of his most important buildings.
As Ronald Litke wrote, Taliesin is a monument that requires significant new care to ensure that it stands for decades to come. We offer donors many opportunities to help, including endowing parts of the buildings, funding the planning and design work and becoming members of our support groups. Should any of your readers want to join our effort, they can contact me at 480-627-5344 or at jgoulka@franklloydwright.org.
James E. Goulka / President and CEO, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Architectural joke
It is indeed ironic that Taliesin draws a mere 33,000 visitors a year while the nearby House on the Rock draws more than a half-million-especially when one considers the historic connection between them.
The work of Alex Jordan Sr., a real-estate developer, reportedly was dismissed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who by some accounts told him: “I wouldn’t hire you to design a cheese crate or a chicken coop.” The House on the Rock, begun by Jordan and completed by his son, is a response–a parody of many of Wright’s ideas about architecture. Just one example: Wright boasted that his houses fit into their natural settings; House on the Rock clings to its rock in a way that verges on disorienting.
Perhaps Taliesin Preservation Inc. should offer a package deal: a tour of Taliesin featuring an explanation of Wright’s design ideas, followed by a quick shuttle-bus ride to House on the Rock, to see how the Jordans lampooned the master.
Daniel Starr / St. Charles
A vicious circle
Apply root cause analysis to the Alex Kotlowitz piece [Where Is Everyone Going?” March 10] and the hideous situation faced by public housing residents doesn’t come down to lack of decent housing, employment or even education. It stems rather from a ruthless cycle of ill-equipped teenagers having multiple babies and the inadequate parenting that naturally follows. No social welfare program will ever make a serious dent in the heartbreaking problem.
So, why not provide substantial economic incentives for at-risk teenage girls to take birth control injections? Reduce unplanned pregnancies of women completely unable to manage their lives, let alone raise children, and significantly reduce the suffering predictably passed from one generation to the next. Some say this suggestion is politically incorrect. I say it is intelligent, decent and caring.
Carolyn Laughlin / Evanston
The real thing
This is in response to the letter from Jamie Cole, who wrote asking about Cuban bread [In-box, March 24]. A restaurant in Naperville called Copa Cubano, 224 S. Main St., makes delicious Cuban sandwiches and other dishes. My husband, who lived in Cuba for many years, finds their food very authentic.
Cheryn Houston / Wheaton
More Cuban cooking
As a Cuban-American I want to congratulate you on your Magazine report on Cubans [“Cuba, Inside and Out,” Feb. 3]. It was very well done. Only one complaint: Your choices of Cuban restaurants, in my opinion, are not the best. I highly recommend Sabor a Cuba, 1833 W. Wilson Ave. It’s like having dinner at your Cuban mom’s house. They don’t have a liquor license so you need to bring your own bottle. You will love it!
Bibiana Eissler / Chicago
———-
Write us Send mail to The Editor, Chicago Tribune Magazine, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611, or to tribmag@tribune.com.
