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A haze of frost clung to bare trees on the 800-acre Taliesin estate on a recent afternoon, sending glints of light across the waterfall and pond - and on the sprawling residence on the hill above. Seen from the road, the home that Frank Lloyd Wright began building in 1911 appears ageless.
But up close, a jolt of cold, wet reality hits. As sun melts the sparkling frost, water pours off the roof, soaking the heads of unsuspecting visitors who don't know the safe places to stand. And that's just a hint of the epic difficulties being faced in restoring the legendary estate.
In the 20 years since preservationists sounded the alarms about the dire condition of the six main buildings at Taliesin, $11 million has been spent on them. Some critical projects have been accomplished, including resolving major roof and drainage problems.
But a Herculean endeavor remains. The three-story wing that contains the Wrights' bedrooms is collapsing. Crumbling utility tunnels - choked with rubble and infested with bats and woodchucks - run below the graceful residence. An analysis of the buildings, now in the works, likely will reveal even more problems at the national landmark estate, which draws some 21,000 visitors a year to the picturesque hillside 40 miles northwest of Madison.
Meanwhile, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which owns the estate (along with Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Ariz.) and copyrights of Wright's designs, is reviving fundraising efforts for the urgent work of saving the estate of the Wisconsin-born architect, who died in 1959 and is widely considered the most innovative thinker in the history of American architecture. A high-profile kickoff for the fundraising will begin in May at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum in New York. At it, an animated video being produced by Madison Area Technical College students will be exhibited (see related story).
"Wright and Wisconsin have a long and checkered history," said Phil Allsopp, the CEO...