Frank Lloyd Wright Falling Down

The Ennis-Brown House by Frank Lloyd Wright is on the brink of ruin. After many years of gradual disintegration, the textured concrete blocks and stepped walls have been ravaged by rainstorms. The house was a highlight of Frank Lloyd Wright's career and it has been featured in many movies, including Blade Runner. Now, America's National Trust is calling the house one of the world's most endangered sites - a distinction that is awarded to such places as the ancient Great Wall of China.

The Trust for Preservation of Cultural Heritage (TPCH), a private non-profit corporation, has been working with several public and private organizations to rehabilitate the Ennis-Brown House. But the building has been in disrepair for many years. The concrete blocks absorbed moisture and cracked. The steel reinforcement rusted. Then, the Northridge Earthquake in 1994 did damage that was too expensive to repair.

To raise money, the TPCH has hired an engineering firm and is collaborating with organizations such as the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Conservancy, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. The Trust needs to raise $1,000,000 before they can begin work on the estimated $5,000,000 first phase of operations to structurally secure the house.

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