Restoration - Crafts People

Participants in Westcott Restoration Express Satisfaction with Result

"To be part of the Westcott House restoration project was an honor," says D. Shawn Beckwith, project manager from The Durable Slate Company of Columbus, Ohio, the contractor in charge of the effort. He speaks for the workers who "imbue[d] life into one of the overlooked works of a master," Frank Lloyd Wright. Referring to colleagues, Beckwith says that "We, along with expert trades people sharing the same vision, cleaned off the dust and uncovered the inherent beauty of the house. We delivered to the public and the Westcott House Foundation a fully functional restored treasure to spearhead the renaissance of Springfield."

Cherie Downey, director of public relations of Durable Slate, notes that "Obviously this was a labor of love, and the object of that passion was loved by many people. There was virtually universal agreement that the Westcott House be restored with faithful accuracy and extreme care. Just how that result would be accomplished was occasionally subject to debate and discussion. Probably the biggest challenge of all was steering the project through the crosscurrents of opinion which arose from time to time, as everyone involved, from the Westcott House Foundation to the architects to the contractors, strove to accomplish what each felt was crucial to the final outcome."

"In the end, what was achieved is a remarkably accurate and beautiful restoration. And since we thrive on challenge, it could be said that the challenges encountered along the way made the project uniquely interesting," says Downey.

Gary Howes, executive vice president of Durable Slate, remarks that the chief challenges to the restoration were structural. "In the original design Frank Lloyd Wright really pushed the structural materials past what [they were] designed to carry long-term. This was particularly difficult to correct and still not change the finish[ed] look," he says. To this end he praises Shawn Beckwith and also Charlie Troyer, job superintendent, who "really understood early on that this was a very special project that required much more care and research than any other project we had done. They did an incredible job in personally selecting the crew and sub-contractors that they felt were best qualified to handle such a delicate project. The craftsmen took so much care in handling the original material as well as have the patience while trying to get all of the modern features into tight spaces so that the original look was not disturbed. Shawn spent much of his personal time searching the internet and calling salvage suppliers trying to find the missing pieces of the house. This was time well spent. Shawn was able to find many parts that were made in the period by the same manufacturer[s] so the finished product looks like it was always there."

Indeed, every worker on the restoration seemed to bring a passion to the project, recognizing its uniqueness—as well as the frequent need for creative thinking and intelligent problem-solving. For example, Elwin Robison, a structural engineer preservationist who is now senior associate with Wiss, Janney, and Elstner Associates of Cleveland, quickly became aware of the need to repair the extensive termite damage to make the house safe. Such a task was anything but easy—particularly on the "aggressive cantilevers," he notes, since again using only wood could—over time—replicate the problem. Therefore, a laminated veneered lumber (resembling a thick piece of plywood) was used because of its strength. Frank Lloyd Wright did not have access to such a material but presumably would have approved its use, because it provided an adequate level of safety.

Guiding all aspects of the three-phase restoration was the Historic Structure Report prepared by Chambers, Murphy & Burge, an Akron, Ohio-based architectural firm that concentrates on historic preservation. This report provided specific details about every aspect of the project, both external and internal. According to Lauren A. Pinney Burge, principal with the firm, its staff used Wright's drawings and specifications, as well as early photographs and other kinds of documentation, to prepare the report. It stipulated ways of using contemporary technology to restore the main house and the carriage house or garage to their original 1908 appearance.

Carol Yetken, principal with CYLA Design Associates of Oak Park, Illinois, faced the task of maintaining or reconstructing the Westcott House landscape in as similar a form to the original as possible. Guiding her efforts were a few photographs and Wright's unique site plan sketch with pencil scribbles and notes about plantings—relatively little first-hand information. "Wright had a specific technique of providing levels or tiers upon which his architecture was sited. This emphasized the horizontal lines of the structure and organized the topography, which in the case of the Westcott House was most dramatic, to enhance and unify the elements. Therefore, maintaining or reconstructing those original planes, with the garage, retaining wall and connecting pergola [was...] essential to the restoration," reports Yetken.

Initially it was difficult to locate the specific varieties of plantings that were typical just after the turn of the twentieth century. "Restoring the grass planes and their embankments at the front and rear of the house was also a challenge and original photographs had to be used for reference to get the pitch of the slope correct," adds Yetken. Photographs of the landscaping from owners after the Westcotts furnished information that coincided with Wright's plan; therefore, they could be used authoritatively to guide specific areas on the site. Furthermore, Yetken knew that Mrs. Orpha Westcott loved flowers and frequently had bouquets in the house. So it was logical to plant a variety of species in a cutting garden. Since greenhouses and plant nurseries contributed significantly to the economy of the local area at the time the Westcott House was built, plant lists were available to determine what may have been in commercial cultivation.

Yetken hopes that the Westcott House landscaping has met her objectives. "The primary goals were to prepare and provide a setting for the house that was consistent with the original design and construction of the house—a landscape that not only enhanced the design of the house itself but was an extension of and an enhancement to the pleasure of living there," she says. Now she trusts that the neighbors and the visitors to the house will receive similar pleasure.

The craftspeople working on the house confronted numerous other challenges in their assignments. The challenge for Springfield, Ohio, woodworker Terry VanAuker meant first adjusting to the numerous steps inherent in the project (i.e., obtaining approval by restoration architects before proceeding). Most of his previous projects had been for business or homeowners; in other words, the transactions had been two-person, whereas the enormity of the Westcott project called for considerable flexibility in the process.

For example, VanAuker constructed the large birdhouse that sits on the wall near the main entrance to the house. Frank Lloyd Wright's plans pictured the birdhouse but gave no construction or installation detail for the two-to-three-hundred-pound structure. Shawn Beckwith and Durable Slate colleagues solved the installation problem by bringing in a bobcat that hoisted the birdhouse to the desired height. Then they slid it to the top of the wall and secured it—all in a very brief time, reports VanAuker.

VanAuker also made the library table with ends set at forty-five-degree angles resembling a ship's prow. (Wright used this feature frequently in his Prairie Style structures, says VanAuker.) This design made the doors' near-perfect alignment very difficult to achieve.

To construct the children's playset—a low table with two matching chairs, VanAuker again used Wright's plans, including dimensions, but —until I started to get the pieces together, I couldn't get a sense of how cute it would be,— he says. The center of the table top features seven-eighth-inch square scoring, surrounded by a two-inch mitered outer frame. The total dimensions of the table are approximately twenty-two inches by forty-seven inches. The challenge here came from the weather: how to design a table that would adjust to seasonal climatic changes, i.e., how to allow for expansion and contraction without dislocating the outside frame. VanAuker solved this problem by using a tongue-and-groove system that thus far has worked well. In fact, he believes that all work done in the house is "really of the highest level."

Swiss master carpenter J. P. Schmid of Ted Bolle Millwork of Springfield discovered a different challenge: obtaining the accurate dimensions of the wood units that he was expected to build when the only apparent evidence was photographs. Minute observation of walls and windows was necessary to determine the sizes of the original buffet, small fireplace bookcases, and benches. Matching old hardware, colors, and finishes also proved arduous. Fortunately, one original bench lid was located and served as a model: the result was "perfect," says Schmid. Now these pieces "look like they were there forever....The entire...project became a work of art. What a part of history!"

Tim Gifford, project manager of Mock Woodworking Company, Zanesville, Ohio, was careful to repair rather than replace the original artifact kitchen cabinets. Nonetheless, he did reproduce an icebox that included "a custom wall-to-wall fit with a special opening for the exterior door, insulation lining the walls of the ice box, and galvanized metal for the exterior." Undoubtedly the cleverest piece that his company fabricated was a laundry room cabinet concealing a toilet. While appearing to be a piece of period furniture, this installation permits the Westcott House to meet modern code regulations.

Gifford, too, is gratified by the success not only of his firm's projects but also of the total restoration: "I believe the Westcott House is a tremendous landmark which conveys a lot of history, both of the Westcotts and Springfield, as well as the architectural design and handiwork of Frank Lloyd Wright. It's a place for people of all ages to come, learn, and appreciate the historical significances of the Westcott House as well as admire the beauty of the restoration."

According to Gary Keener, owner of G. Keener Company of Springfield, building the Westcotts' rectangular dining table called for research on other Wright tables since drawings for the Westcott table were vague. An even more frustrating part of the project, however, was matching the stain color and sheen with what were prescribed. Furthermore, to make the table authentic, Keener needed to use several different kinds of oak, for example, red and white. When he finished creating both the table and straight-backed chairs, he was pleased with their striking horizontal lines and, indeed, with "what Frank Lloyd Wright had envisioned." Keener finds the transformation of the Westcott property truly "unbelievable."

Working on the same table, glazier Peter Billington and his colleagues at Whitney Stained Art Glass of Cleveland, Ohio, were challenged to design the four dining table leg lamps in sections that would properly "line up," i.e., that would make all vertical lines consistent. Fabricating the prototype took weeks, says Billington, but once it was made, then creating the other lamps was relatively simple. He is quite proud of them: "They came out dynamite...the design has a nice rhythm," he says. He is also proud of the hanging lamps and bookcase panels that his firm produced.

Wendy Warren Joliet, co-owner of Studio Arts and Glass, North Canton, Ohio, faced many obstacles, particularly in duplicating the Westcott House light fixtures. Chief, perhaps, was securing materials to match the original glass and the zinc channels—a process that took nearly three months. Only then could the exterior fixtures be fabricated. Furthermore, the leaded glass skylight on the second floor was difficult to remove because the years-old build-up of water and dirt had rotted the wood frames. Nonetheless, working on the skylights was Joliet's favorite part of the project, because she could readily see the "before and after" versions. "What an extreme difference!" she says, adding, "The satisfaction of saving a historic part of all of our heritage is a great feeling."

Amy Ringler Calaway, a Dayton, Ohio, artisan who worked months using an encaustic process on the Westcott House walls, is hard put to select a single over-riding challenge. The whole project proved to be a test—from removing the many layers of paint to mixing the batches of paint in colors that "would work" to securing pigments to match the wood trim. Now, however, she is "thrilled with the outcome of all of it." She is particularly proud of the children's playroom because of the unique graining of its walls and of its distinctive green-brown color, created after locating only a small scrap of the original to guide her palette. Calaway pronounces the Westcott House restoration "a huge success."

Both interior and exterior walls of the house needed considerable repair. The chief challenge to that job was matching contemporary materials with the historic ones used on the house but no longer available, reports Seth Pymer, president of Pymer Plastering, Inc., of Columbus, Ohio. Since the porosity differs between older and newer materials, to prepare the walls to accept Calaway's application as well as that used on the stucco outside, Pymer workers had to spend considerable time researching. Pymer praises their accomplishments, noting that "What Springfield has not it can be very proud of."

Robert D. Loversidge, Jr., vice president and chief executive officer of Schooley Caldwell Associates, an architectural and engineering firm in Columbus, Ohio, suggests that the biggest physical design challenge for his company was "incorporating an appropriate heating and air conditioning system...invisibly. The original house was heated in typical turn-of-the-century fashion, with steam radiators around the perimeter. In the front rooms of the first floor they were designed into cabinets for a cleaner look. On the second floor there were also a few ceiling grills leading to a ventilated attic. Of course, historic air conditioning was a function of the large overhangs and generous, operable windows. And, there was no outside air conditioning mechanical unit....So, our solution for this [was] a geothermal heat pump system that draws water from a series of underground wells (the water temperature underground is constant) to create hot and cold water that is distributed to a number of air handlers subtly located in the attic and basement. Fresh, conditioned air is delivered to the spaces via ductwork cleverly hidden in tiny wall cavities, in the original radiator cabinets, and within casework. Only a few grills were added, in inconspicuous places. The radiators were re-piped and added perimeter heat just as they always [had. A computerized system uses] tiny 'sniffers' that constantly monitor air temperature quality, etc., rather than...unsightly thermostats. Effective, energy-efficient and practically invisible."

Kevin R. Matthies, vice president of Hauck Brothers Heating and Air Conditioning of Springfield, agrees that applying current technology to a nearly hundred-year-old structure presented specific problems, particularly when the application needed to be as invisible as possible. Therefore, his craftspeople had to custom-make ductwork to fit odd spaces, e.g., those between irregularly placed studs, and to camouflage it in unexpected places such the benches in the inglenook by the first-floor fireplace.

Clayton Hays, president of Hays Fabriacating and Welding Company, also of Springfield, faced a similar dilemma in making the large awning that spans the reflecting pool in the front yard, the heavy gates leading to the Greenmount Avenue entrance, and particularly the many window regulators. The first two projects were "routine and fun," says Hays, but for the windows, artisans had to replicate pieces stamped out by long-gone manufacturers. Now they had to custom-make each item to create "the part that nobody sees." In fact, at times Hays' craftspeople needed to design and make their own tools to manufacture the desired parts.

Beckwith notes that in all of these cases, as well as others, "the primary challenge...was to raise one's ability to observe, to look for evidence of [the] original structure, to recognize what was original and what was not—all the while recreating the past, which had a recorded history similar to Swiss cheese."

Beckwith sums up the perception of the workers responsible for the remarkable transformation of the Westcott House in this way: "In the end we achieved the vision originally created by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Westcott family—a vision which was rekindled by the Westcott House Foundation and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, communicated through the drawings and specifications from Chambers, Murphy & Burge Restoration Architects and Schooley Caldwell Associates, and then orchestrated through the efforts of The Durable Slate Company and brought to life by the many splendid craftspersons who participated on the project."

Downey pronounces the restoration "remarkably accurate and beautiful." Robison is happy that visitors do not, in fact, "see what I did"—a sign that his involvement was successful. "It is very nice to walk through the house to [view] what Mr. and Mrs. Westcott would have seen when they walked through it on their first day there," says Robison. He particularly enjoys standing inside the main entrance bathed with the clerestory light and also standing underneath the pergola observing the relationship between the main home and the garage. The way in which the pergola and the flying cantilever interact...gives a nice sense of closure," he says.

Howes, too, praises "the finished product," labeling it "impressive." He acknowledges that he originally "underestimated how aesthetic the property was when it was new. There is so much more detail in the house now than [seemed to be] there at the start. I really understand now why so many people are fans of Frank Lloyd Wright."

Loversidge is proud of the Westcott House restoration and adaptive use design-- "as true as we could get...to Frank Lloyd Wright's design (I believe he would recognize the place!), but now structurally repaired and enhanced, surrounded by a restored landscape, complete with modern systems, accessible (first floor) to people with disabilities, and ready to function as a house museum."

"I believe that Wright fans from all over the world are about to re-discover a 'lost' treasure. [The] Westcott House will take its rightful (Wright-ful?) place in Wright scholarship, and, in researching and restoring this house we have added to the body of knowledge of this preeminent architect's work. In [the] Westcott House, we not only see a fully developed example of Wright's early work, but we [also] see a piece of the puzzle showing the evolution of his practice and design ideas. Of particular significance is the juxtaposition of [Wright's] advanced design [of] contemporary spaces and concepts of structure and natural light with typical turn-of-the-century bathrooms, kitchen and heating/electrical systems. At [the] Westcott [House], this combination illustrates the degree to which Wright was 'ahead of his time,' better than most other examples."