Phillip Johnson: architecture as procession PT.1  

Thank you Hudsonhonu...
I wonder if there are any pictures of the Columbus, NE house?

The Behlen House story and pic
Jack Savage of Leo Daly architects designed it.
http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/archives/arc_news_2006/042606.htm

Some thoughts on Behlen House in Columbus, NE...
Th 8500sf corrugated steel and electrically controlled louvered house seems quite extraordinary. It had an indoor pool before the dolts filled it in for a museum they never opened. And the governor is right to make the deal be done right, but how about a little help, gov? My god! Imagine what the furnishings were. Must have been some spectacular midcentury modern stuff. What a steal at $289,000. I suspect the price is way high for Columbus. But I bet one can pick it up much cheaper for cash. But I'd need the indoor pool reinstalled, winters being what they are there. 🙂
Would that there were a truly affluent art collector who decided to start buying up and collecting all the old mid century modern houses like this around the country instead of inflating the price of Picasso another 20 percent.

Thanks dc for posting that...
Thanks dc for posting that article/photo. I had heard they were having difficulty with the donation, but did not know it was going this poorly. That the family continues with its interest in preservation, after enduring such levels of governmental angst, is beyond commendable.
I truly do believe that much of what is great in this country is protected by neglect. One hopes that Connecticut will do a better job with Johnson's property, and I imagine they will.
There is a wonderful book out there right now, wish I could think of the title, which showcases a number of notable Mies influenced homes in that part of the US. Underneath photographs of several of the homes the demolition date is listed.
Here in Lincoln, just last year, a Graf designed home which came on to the market briefly was jacked up off its foundation and gone the next week when I drove by (moved to another location I presume/hope) shortly after the property sold. The modest but beautiful home was unfortunately built years ago on two acres which are now right in the center of Lincoln. What will be there next year I don't want to know, but guess it will most likely be a condo.

Pick it up for cash, dc, you...
Pick it up for cash, dc, you think! I've got a hundred bucks plus a few odd cents underneath the sofa cushions. And I will let them leave the pool as is.
Seriously, this news is very sad. I don't recall the details exactly, but if I remember correctly the family truly was invested in seeing their property preserved. They had even set up a sizeable endowment for upkeep and maintenance. The city of Columbus may have promised to chip in as well, as I recall. One of the things I do remember hearing is that State statute would require the installation of indoor sprinkler systems, new windows, etc., etc., And my guess is that kind of thing gets one into the million dollar territory, which isn't much when you have the pull of Philip Johnson, but out here on the Plains, that kind of money makes people very nervous, unless you are heading up the college football program.

Maybe it's not necessary but...
Maybe it's not necessary but I suppose we need to make certain to be fair to Johnson that he recanted his early fascist leanings, and in later years actually seemed to show concern with regard to atonement for such belief. It should be said as well that he not only sided with but was an active, although ineffective, member of the fascist regime. To be honest, I don't know how to feel about Johnson, what to finally think, but I do sense, while brilliant, there was something in him quite sad, maybe telling, in what I see as his insistence upon dominance over nature at his Connecticut home, his ultimate stage, that estate, as far as most folks see, and I admit he was as good an any great actor at finally getting things his way, some of what he accomplished is undeniably remarkable and, even whores, as he smugly made sure we knew he could be, will have their day.

dc, I can appreciate your...
dc, I can appreciate your description of "faux" architecture in California, and wonder if that is not going to be the final destination of most new buildings, at least those which someone may recogize. Here in the midwest, we find, amongst the McMansions, an occasional new Praire or Arts & Crafts style home, exterior driven, just as vacuous as the house next door usually, except we can attach a name to it, look at it strangely as if it might be something in and of itself actually actual, when I drive by one the PT Cruiser comes to mind.

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Exactly. The real thing has passed us by, now that almost everything about building a house has changed -- including but not limited to the genuineness of its owners.