Frank Lloyd Wright's Auldbrass

Auldbrass11.08.09

Click on photo for slide show

Sunday was a totally relaxing, enjoyable day.  The weather was perfect and the company was nice.  Janeen is low-key, pleasant and unpretentious, with a good sense of humor.....thus good company.  We met up and got to the site (literally in the middle of nowhere) by opening time (10AM).  It was so nice that we shed our coats before heading into the grounds, which were expansive and beautiful.  Upon seeing the modern, sprawling building, it's hard to believe that it was begun in 1939.  We headed straight for the main house as we had learned that the wait was longer later in the day since only a certain number of people were allowed in at one time.  The wait wasn't too long but, once inside, we weren't allowed to take pictures.  Surprisingly, the rooms seemed small by modern standards, but the attention to detail, angles, functionality, etc. was unbelieveable.  Hexagonal shapes and inward-sloping walls were the main design features of the house and the entire complex. The interior was too dark for my taste (and too much "stuff" making up the decor), but I loved the full windows throughout the house. CLICK HERE to see photos of the buildings that show the design features much better than mine - so please don't miss them.

According to the brochure, Wright had an intense interest in Auldbrass and worked on it for over 20 years, from 1939 to 1959.  It fell into disrepair in the 1960s after its owner's death and very little was known about it for a long time.  In 1986, film director Joel Silver ("Die Hard", "Lethal Weapon", "Matrix", etc), who must have more money that God has dirt, purchased it and has restored it to this point, with the help of Wright's grandson.  He also plans to build Wright's design for a guest house and floating dining barge (someone had better tell him about the bugs!).  It is shown only every other year for 2 days by the Beaufort County Open Land Trust.  More detailed information can be found HERE.  It was very interesting to see both the buildings and the grounds, with the exotic animals, though I was concerned that the hippos didn't have a water pool (unless there was water in their house/barn).

After our leisurely stroll through Auldbrass, we moved on to Twickenham Plantation for lunch.  We could only tour the grounds, but they did have fantasctic live oaks, which my photos really don't represent well.  They also had some noisy turkeys (and peacocks that we never found).  From there we stopped for dessert on our way home, full and content after an enjoyable day.

Once home, I watched "Food Inc.", which I would highly recommend as a "must see".  It is mind-boggling and scary on so many levels that it's hard to explain. Just this morning there is another E-coli story in the news.  Want to know how that happens?  Think we have an open capitalistic system?  Watch "Food Inc".  I'm not sure what the food production is like in other parts of the world, but this is an eye opener for how our process works.  I really recommend this and it's available through Netfix.  One of the statements that stuck with me is "that we have become profficent at hitting the bullseye of the wrong target".  That appears to be true as it pertains to our food industries and I wonder how other industries shape up.  If you've seen it, let me know your thoughts.