Frank Lloyd Wright's Seth Peterson Cottage: Rescuing a Lost Masterwork by Eifler, John, Visser, Kristin (September 1, 1999) Paperback

by John Eifler

The Seth Peterson Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright's last Wisconsin commission and one of his smallest residential designs, has a poignant and dramatic history. Both Peterson and Wright died before it was completed, and it was then purchased, completed, and occupied by another person before it was purchaed by the State of Wisconsin. The state wanted the building only because it occupied land that was needed for a new state park (Mirror Lake State Park, in Sauk County). The state, unable to find a park-related use for the cottage, simply boarded it up and left it to decay. Some twenty years later, a citizens group raised money to restore the cottage and designed a plan to fund its maintenance through overnight rentals. Today, it is the only Wright-designed house in the world that is available for the public to rent.The story of the Seth Peterson Cottage, its design and construction, the efforts to save it from ruin, and its eventual rescue and rehabilitation, is told in words and photographs in this new book.Originally intended as a residence for Seth Peterson and his financee, the cottage was designed by Wright in 1958. The modest size of the building (less than 1,000 square feet) does not diminish its significance, however, as the late William Wesley Peters of Taliesin Archsitects described the cottage as containing "more architecture per square foot than any building I know". Through a unique partnership, state government and a non-profit private group launched a major campaign to rescue the cottage. John Eifler, who led the architectural rehabilitation effort, describes how he approached work on a Wright-designed building, how he met the many challenges and unexpected problems ofrehabilitation, and how the work was eventually completed.This book will appeal to anyone interested in the buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright, architectural preservation and history, and innovative ways to finance and preserve historic structures.

Unknown Binding

First published February 1, 1997