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Wright in Racine
Wright for the Rest of Us
Posted by:
mhertzberg on
January 27, 2009 at
4:38PM CST
Photos (c) Mark Hertzberg. Text (c) Mark Hertzberg and Marshall Jones. Thank you to Eric O'Malley of the PrairieMod web site for suggesting this title for this piece.
 Take a look at the people in line with you at the next Wright Plus, Wright and Like, or Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy home tour. Most of us look alike. We are likely white, educated, and have some disposable income. I am on the board of Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin organization. These characteristics describe much of our membership and the people we see at our events. One of our challenges is to diversify our membership and customer base. One reason is for selfish economic reasons. We need as much money as we can get to help with our restoration of the properties we own on West Burnham Street in Milwaukee. But, a more important reason to diversify is because it is the right thing thing to do. ***** I grew up in New York City. We didn’t go to the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty as children, because they were part of everyday life in the city. That stuff was for tourists. I have long had the feeling it is the same in Racine, my adopted city. Four thousand people a year tour the SC Johnson Administration Building. I would guess that few people from Racine have been inside the building unless they work for SC Johnson.
That is what motivated me to push for a program to bring Racine’s school children to visit this great landmark. I wanted to help expose Racine’s children to our world-famous architecture, and maybe, just maybe, get one student interested in pursuing a career in architecture. The program started five years ago, with the help of Leadership Racine (a program though the local chamber of commerce) and SC Johnson. Now all fifth grade classes can tour the Administration Building after viewing the DVD which the company produced for us based on my “Wright in Racine” illustrated lecture. Their visit is followed by several days of classroom activities geared to Wright.
 The Johnson campus is near what are commonly referred to as “inner city” neighborhoods. I knew we had a winner when a teacher told me that he overheard one of this students tell a friend, “I’ve walked past this building everyday on the way to school. I never knew what it was until today.”
 ***** I had not thought about the program for awhile. It came to mind recently after I received a letter from Marshall Jones who had just read my “Wright in Racine” book. Jones’ letter is reproduced below, with his permission. His thoughts about Wright’s work are insightful, especially for someone without any of the Wright network shared by most readers of Wright web sites. I had sent him an inscribed copy of my book after I interviewed him for a book about the criminal justice system. Wright did not come up in our conversation, but I decided to send him the book after he told me how much he enjoys reading. He devours everything he can get his hands on at his local library. Jones did not get my book the first time I tried to send it to him. It was termed “contraband” and returned to me because it had been mailed by me, and not by my publisher or a bookstore. You see, there are very strict rules at the Waupun Correctional Institution where Jones is serving two consecutive life terms for a double murder that happened during a tavern robbery. Jones is 27, just a month younger than one of my sons. He was a 3.0 student until he dropped out of high school at the age 15 after a family dispute. He notes, ironically, that he had wanted to be an FBI agent. Jones is an articulate, affable young man. He knows how and where his life took bad turns. He does not duck responsibility for what he did. He knows he will never live outside of Waupun, but he is determined to make the most of every day he serves his sentence. That is why he reads.
 Marshall Jones, November 17, 2008
Marshall Jones will never be able to join us on a Wright and Like or Wright Plus home tour. That does not mean he cannot appreciate Wright’s work. Put aside the fact that Marshall Jones is behind bars. There are Marshall Joneses in everyone’s community: people, perhaps of color like him, people who are not part of our typical Wright circles of friends. That does not mean they cannot appreciate Wright’s work. Mr. Hertzberg, This correspondence is to thank you for sending me the book you’ve written. I tore into the pages almost immediately and it was a good read. I had no idea that Wright designed so many homes and businesses in Racine. He was quite arrogant and while his work was in a class of its own, his arrogance wouldn’t allow him to produce flawless results. It’s unfortunate that Wingspread is used as everything but a home because it is fabulous. What I liked most about Wright was 2 things. First, was his abstract vision. He was destined to see himself apart from other architects, and normal was abnormal to him. Second was his persistence and persuasiveness because he had to “twist arms” a little to get his projects approved. He also had a “me or bust” mentality, perceiving a second opinion or option other than his own was a form of discrediting his capabilities. Wright never seems to take any form of responsibility for his flaws and had a weird way of responding to complaints about his work. Overall one could not deny his vision or ability to capture someone’s immediate attention when they observe his works. It makes me look at Racine with a different set of eyes. I truly appreciate you for your generosity. I hope success continues to be with you and yours. God Bless. Respectfully, Marshall I wrote Jones to get permission to print his letter. His reply follows: I appreciate you for selecting my letter to be printed on your website. I also appreciate how well you spoke on my behalf. You were right when you stated that just because we’re not part of the Wright network doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate his work. All it takes is a door to be opened and maybe a seed to be planted to open an individual’s mind to something new. Many of us in here have realized at some point in our lives that there is a whole world of beauty we haven’t experienced. That’s why books are very important to me. Not to necessarily look at what I’m missing out on, but to welcome new perspectives and experiences to what I’ve started already. I thank you for giving me a voice and I give my permission for you to print my letter. Respectfully, Marshall Jones 
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