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Farnsworth House, Plano
RETURN
The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois and
the National Trust for Historic Preservation announce the Mies van der
Rohe’s historic Farnsworth House has been saved.
Chicago
(December 12, 2003) - The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois (LPCI), the
National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) and Friends of the Farnsworth
House bought Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House for $ 6.7 million on December
12 at
Sotheby’s in New York. The group successfully outbid several interested parties.
David Bahlman, president of LPCI, and Richard Moe, president of the National
Trust, said in a joint statement, “The Farnsworth House is one of the most
significant houses built in the United States in the 20th Century. We are happy
that it will be protected forever and made available to the public, particularly
to architects and students of architecture.”
There are many people to thank and we will do so personally and publicly later,”
said John Bryan, president of the Chicago-based Friends of the Farnsworth. “I do
want to acknowledge Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and State Representative
Tom Cross for their commitment and interest in keeping the Farnsworth House in
Illinois.”
At a subsequent press conference, LPCI announced the house would open for tours
in Spring 2004. However, it will be open earlier, by special arrangement, for
educational groups.
Completed in 1951, this all glass marvel of modern architecture was originally
built for its namesake, the late Dr. Edith Farnsworth who commissioned Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe to design it as a weekend retreat for her. Arguably one of the
most architecturally significant houses of the twentieth century, the Farnsworth
House is a luminous rectangular home overlooking the Fox River just outside of
Plano, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago. The revolutionary house is only one
of three Mies van der Rohe residential designs in existence in the United
States.
The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois is the state's leading voice for
historic preservation. The Chicago-based Friends of the Farnsworth House are
individuals who are dedicated to saving the international modernist masterpiece.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit membership
organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable.
Individuals interested in helping the
Farnsworth House can contact LPCI at (312) 922-1742 or the National Trust at
(202) 588-6105. To visit the Farnsworth House, please go to
farnsworthhouse.org. Please use the
following link to view a donation form in PDF format:
Farnsworth
House Fund Form.
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