You have to love Marion Mahony Griffin. Born on Valentine's Day in 1871, she became the first woman to be officially licensed as an architect. Marion Mahony was also the first employee hired by Frank Lloyd Wright. She then married fellow-architect Walter Burley Griffin and formed a creative partnership that lasted 28 years.

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Some of the most beautiful houses have the saddest stories. From a heart-shaped island in upstate New York to a glass house in Illinois, wonderful and extraordinary architectural events do not always have happy endings. Here's the heartbreaking story of Five Heartbreak Houses...

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The spacious log "cabins" we build today are likely to include skylights, whirlpool tubs, and other luxuries. But, in the age of Abraham Lincoln, log cabins fulfilled more basic needs. The great American president was born on February 12, 1809 in a house that was sturdy but primitive.

More About Log Cabins:

• American Frontier Homes
• Log Cabin Building Plans
• Build Your Own Log Home
• The Amazing Smith Mansion in Wyoming

_{Photo: Cabin interior, from the PBS television series The Frontier House, © Audrey Hall/Thirteen/WNET New York}

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I love it when readers send photos and ideas for home building and home restoration projects. Check out this week's submissions.

New From Our Readers:

• Big, Beautiful, But Hard to Heat
• An Affordable, Energy-Efficient E-Crete Home
• New Colors For a Ranch House
• Colors For a Gray Ranch House
• Dreams For Neverland

Updated Pages:

• Oheka Castle on Long Island
• John Ruskin, Critic, Writer, and Philospher

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