Monday morning we started out to find the Joe Applegate House for a visit. (Thank goodness we had a great GPS, a Magellan unit we named “Maggie”.) Applegate is my favorite Fay Jones residence. It is a large house, lots of gorgeous stone work (by the way – Northwest Arkansas has GREAT rocks!) using indigenous stone, built on a curvilinear line – not something for which Fay was noted. Fay’s first teaching position was at Oklahoma University when Bruce Goff was teaching there. It is said that Fay looked to Goff’s Bavinger House for inspiration because Goff did circular designs and Fay didn’t. I’ve not seen Bavinger House (and it now seems that I will never see it ) but when you study pictures of Bavinger and then see Applegate, you can definitely see the influence. Inspired by Goff, translated into Jones. The house sits on about 16 acres, overlooking a lake. There are features of the Applegate House that remind me of the bows of boats. I wonder if that was a nod to its lakeside setting?
The Applegate House is currently for sale. We were met at the house by local architect Dave McKee and a local banker as the house has been foreclosed. It is currently priced at $1,400,000. It would cost $4,000,000 to build it today – not including the property. What a bargain for the right people!
I must acknowledge that we owe quite a debt to Dave McKee for his assistance in helping us access many of the wonderful architectural jewels we saw on this trip. Dave worked with Fay Jones and his partner Maurice Jennings before opening his own office. Thank you Dave!! More about Dave later . . .
Applegate House is not your average family home. It’s beautiful, unique and interesting - you walk in the front door and you're greeted by the sight and sound of an indoor pool with a waterfall. There are balconies overlooking the pool and there is nearly direct access to the pool from the master bedroom, both enticing you to throw caution to the wind and just jump in. To carry the theme further, the shower is a waterfall. The house has a protected and sheltered feel on one side and is open with lake view vistas and balconies on the other. It is “of” its site (to borrow from Frank Lloyd Wright who said “No house should be on a hill, it should be of a hill”). It is organic architecture.
Next we visited a couple of Dave's works in the Rogers/Bentonville area - the Museum of Native American History, the Chastain Office Building and a drive-by of a private residence. Dave’s association with Fay Jones is most apparent. The details of his work have that same special mark – the windows and doors and skylights, the stone floors, the custom designed light fixtures. He designed an incredible sign for Chastain Farms. Fay’s influence is evident but, as Fay did with Goff’s inspiration, Dave has transformed it into his own.
After lunch at Crabby’s, Dave spontaneously decided to accompany us on our scheduled daytime visit to Cooper Chapel. He had recently handled some renovation work on the chapel - what a coup to have him with us! This time we were able to visit the chapel office which Fay also designed – another building that is of a hill. After some time there, we all headed up to see the chapel in the daytime. No matter how many times I visit this site, I’m always amazed at how hidden it is until you’re almost right in front of it. Again, as in the night before, I just couldn't seem to absorb enough of the ambiance created by this magnificent building. Once more, I sat and gazed and contemplated upon the chapel, attempting to commit it all to memory. When you enter, your eyes immediately lift upward into the lofty heights of the chapel. Was this Fay’s way of getting us to look up toward heaven? Probably. Heavenly is an apt description of Cooper Chapel. Reluctantly we left, headed for our next stop – the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville.
Dave had mentioned that we really should see the museum at twilight – it is another one of those lighted marvels. Fortunately I had gotten us tickets for a 4:00 pm admission which meant we would be there to see that transformation.
Crystal Bridges is the result of the generosity of Alice Walton, heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune. The museum is built on the Walton property – amidst the woods where Alice and her brothers played as children – in fact, the museum is north of Sam Walton’s home which was designed by Fay Jones (some refer to it as Fay’s Fallingwater). Alice also donated a tremendous number of pieces of art from her personal collection to the museum. In addition, Wal-Mart donated $20,000,000 to the museum in order to provide free admission. Alice wants to make art accessible to the people of the area, to provide a place to see such masterpieces without having to travel to New York.
The museum was designed by world renown architect Moshe Safdie. This was my first visit to one of his structures. The name of the museum represents the multiple buildings of the museum that are actually bridges over the streams of the wooded hillside site. It’s a combination of concrete, glass, wood and metal. The waters of the created ponds reflect the buildings that circle them. Some buildings are more open, some are more closed, depending upon the art housed within them.
We arrived a little early and spent that time in the museum store - which just happens to be designed by Marlon Blackwell. Our first Marlon Blackwell viewing! The rear wall and ceiling are made of cherry plywood ribs which undulate and flow creating an organic and cascading feel that relates to the museum and its surroundings. Again I found myself sitting and gawking upward into the heights of another architectural gem.
Upon our entry into the museum’s main entry, our eyes were immediately drawn to the museum café in front of us. There's wood and glass, views of water and a ceiling of soaring heights. Quite an incredible structure. From there we start our tour of the museum’s extensive collection of American Art, from Colonial to Contemporary, all while traveling counterclockwise from one bridge building to another. Galleries are connected by glass bridges, each one offering ever changing views of the display of marvelous architecture before us. There is one word to describe this museum . . . spectacular!
Twilight arrived and the museum began to glow, creating a warmth in the wooded ravine. Again, we were awed by a magnificent sight.
An amazing day was completed with a wonderful dinner at Petit Bistro. It was going to be difficult to top this day.
The Applegate House is currently for sale. We were met at the house by local architect Dave McKee and a local banker as the house has been foreclosed. It is currently priced at $1,400,000. It would cost $4,000,000 to build it today – not including the property. What a bargain for the right people!
I must acknowledge that we owe quite a debt to Dave McKee for his assistance in helping us access many of the wonderful architectural jewels we saw on this trip. Dave worked with Fay Jones and his partner Maurice Jennings before opening his own office. Thank you Dave!! More about Dave later . . .
Before we even enter the house, we see not one – but two – walking sticks! I had only ever seen one walking stick before this and it was at Thorncrown Chapel when I visited it in 2002. What is it about Fay Jones works and walking sticks? One was a young specimen as it was still green.
Applegate House is not your average family home. It’s beautiful, unique and interesting - you walk in the front door and you're greeted by the sight and sound of an indoor pool with a waterfall. There are balconies overlooking the pool and there is nearly direct access to the pool from the master bedroom, both enticing you to throw caution to the wind and just jump in. To carry the theme further, the shower is a waterfall. The house has a protected and sheltered feel on one side and is open with lake view vistas and balconies on the other. It is “of” its site (to borrow from Frank Lloyd Wright who said “No house should be on a hill, it should be of a hill”). It is organic architecture.
Next we visited a couple of Dave's works in the Rogers/Bentonville area - the Museum of Native American History, the Chastain Office Building and a drive-by of a private residence. Dave’s association with Fay Jones is most apparent. The details of his work have that same special mark – the windows and doors and skylights, the stone floors, the custom designed light fixtures. He designed an incredible sign for Chastain Farms. Fay’s influence is evident but, as Fay did with Goff’s inspiration, Dave has transformed it into his own.
After lunch at Crabby’s, Dave spontaneously decided to accompany us on our scheduled daytime visit to Cooper Chapel. He had recently handled some renovation work on the chapel - what a coup to have him with us! This time we were able to visit the chapel office which Fay also designed – another building that is of a hill. After some time there, we all headed up to see the chapel in the daytime. No matter how many times I visit this site, I’m always amazed at how hidden it is until you’re almost right in front of it. Again, as in the night before, I just couldn't seem to absorb enough of the ambiance created by this magnificent building. Once more, I sat and gazed and contemplated upon the chapel, attempting to commit it all to memory. When you enter, your eyes immediately lift upward into the lofty heights of the chapel. Was this Fay’s way of getting us to look up toward heaven? Probably. Heavenly is an apt description of Cooper Chapel. Reluctantly we left, headed for our next stop – the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville.
Dave had mentioned that we really should see the museum at twilight – it is another one of those lighted marvels. Fortunately I had gotten us tickets for a 4:00 pm admission which meant we would be there to see that transformation.
Crystal Bridges is the result of the generosity of Alice Walton, heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune. The museum is built on the Walton property – amidst the woods where Alice and her brothers played as children – in fact, the museum is north of Sam Walton’s home which was designed by Fay Jones (some refer to it as Fay’s Fallingwater). Alice also donated a tremendous number of pieces of art from her personal collection to the museum. In addition, Wal-Mart donated $20,000,000 to the museum in order to provide free admission. Alice wants to make art accessible to the people of the area, to provide a place to see such masterpieces without having to travel to New York.
The museum was designed by world renown architect Moshe Safdie. This was my first visit to one of his structures. The name of the museum represents the multiple buildings of the museum that are actually bridges over the streams of the wooded hillside site. It’s a combination of concrete, glass, wood and metal. The waters of the created ponds reflect the buildings that circle them. Some buildings are more open, some are more closed, depending upon the art housed within them.
We arrived a little early and spent that time in the museum store - which just happens to be designed by Marlon Blackwell. Our first Marlon Blackwell viewing! The rear wall and ceiling are made of cherry plywood ribs which undulate and flow creating an organic and cascading feel that relates to the museum and its surroundings. Again I found myself sitting and gawking upward into the heights of another architectural gem.
Upon our entry into the museum’s main entry, our eyes were immediately drawn to the museum café in front of us. There's wood and glass, views of water and a ceiling of soaring heights. Quite an incredible structure. From there we start our tour of the museum’s extensive collection of American Art, from Colonial to Contemporary, all while traveling counterclockwise from one bridge building to another. Galleries are connected by glass bridges, each one offering ever changing views of the display of marvelous architecture before us. There is one word to describe this museum . . . spectacular!
Twilight arrived and the museum began to glow, creating a warmth in the wooded ravine. Again, we were awed by a magnificent sight.
An amazing day was completed with a wonderful dinner at Petit Bistro. It was going to be difficult to top this day.
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