A Letter from our Chair, Board of Directors

Dear Wright and Westcott Enthusiasts,

A century ago, in 1908, a Springfielder traveling east on High Street to the edge of town might very well have thought that an H. G. Wellsian spaceship had landed on the empty lot across from Greenmount Cemetery. For it was there that Burton and Orpha Westcott were building their new house, a house whose radically new design elements seemed, indeed, to come from another world. While its Victorian, Georgian and Queen Anne style neighbors were all about solidly grounded verticality and self-conscious decoration, the Westcott House was lean and spare, a coiled, crouching bird, spreading its wings as it prepared to launch into flight. No one had seen anything quite like it, and for decades to come it continued to surprise those passing by with its modernity, its energy and its visionary daring.

Passing by the House today, I, too, continue to be amazed by all of these things, and another as well. Now open to the public for just three years, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Westcott House has very rapidly become one of the shining stars in Springfield’s remarkable array of cultural offerings. Visitors from around the state, the country and the world regularly come to tour this seminal example of Wright’s organic, Prairie Style home, bringing with them dollars to our local economy, and taking with them the story of Springfield’s “can-do” community spirit.

Popular legend has it that Frank Lloyd Wright stood on the sidewalk across High Street, proudly surveying his creation as it was being built, confident in the belief that he and the Westcott’s were collaborating to design and build a house exemplifying the very latest in contemporary architectural trends. We can easily visualize him doing likewise today, watching as it is being enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year. And it is that awareness of his spiritual oversight that continues to guide the volunteers, the staff and the board of the Westcott House Foundation in their stewardship of this remarkable gift.

Sincerely,

Mark Chepp

The Westcott House Foundation, Chair, Board of Directors