The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy announced its annual awards which this year includes a few local homes and preservationists.

There are two categories of awards. Wright Spirit Awards have been given annually since 1991 and recognize those who make an extraordinary commitment to preserving the built works of Frank Lloyd Wright and enriching his legacy. The Conservancy Award is given selectively on the initiative of Conservancy staff to honor those who have provided special assistance in carrying out the education and preservation mission of the organization.

John Waters, preservation programs director with the Conservancy, says there are four categories for Spirit Awards: public, private, special honors and professional. He says, “Conservancy Awards are different. They honor people who have gone above and beyond in relation to our mission.”

Oak Parkers William and Frederick Grier are among the private homeowners awarded a Wright Spirit Award. The couple is being recognized for their work restoring Wright’s Lucy and George Smith House. (See our coverage of the home here: https://www.oakpark.com/2024/08/22/frank-lloyd-wrights-george-smith-house-revived/

George Smith House, 404 Home Ave., Oak Park (Cris Cunningham)

Waters says the couple has taken extraordinary steps to preserve one of Wright’s earlier designs in Oak Park. “We had no connection with the previous, long-term owners,” Waters says of the home. “It was really a question mark and a concern for us. The village had at one point declared the house uninhabitable.”

When the Lucy and George Smith House was first put on the market in 2023, Waters visited the home with Barbara Gordon, the organization’s executive director. He recalls, “We went over and created a model of the home because there weren’t even floor plans. It needed so much. It needed someone who really had a vision. While the home was protected in a historic district, it wasn’t safe in that condition.”

According to Waters, the Grier’s had the vision to save the house and the ability to act quickly. He says Frederick Grier had a special interest in Wright, having trained in architecture at Taliesin. Today, the couple are raising their family in the restored home.

One of this year’s Conservancy Awards honors attorneys John J. Lydon and Michael Rachlis who were instrumental in saving another dilapidated Wright house: the Walser House in Austin.

Waters says, “These awards really honor what goes on behind the scenes, what the public doesn’t really see.”

The J.J. Walser House at 42 N. Central Ave. in Austin. (FLW Building Conservancy)

The Walser House was particularly vulnerable because the house was in bad physical shape and in foreclosure. Waters says the situation was like an iceberg — there might not have been a lot to see above surface, but a lot was happening underneath the surface to save the house.

Lydon was appointed to represent the estate of the late owner of the home. Waters credits him with having the knowledge and expertise in navigating a challenging situation. Rachlis served pro bono to represent the family to make sure that the heirs and the home were best served.

Waters says that throughout the drawn-out legal process the attorneys attended every hearing and were incredibly generous with their time and skills. The Walser House was purchased by Austin Coming Together, an Austin-based nonprofit, which is working on a restoration plan to make the home a community hub.

The awards will be presented on Nov. 7 at the Conservancy’s annual conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.