© Mark Hertzberg (2025)
Tower Tumult: On August 14 I posted about the critical situation facing Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma (I do not know why the URL mentions the unrelated SC Johnson Research Tower). The post includes a variety of photos of Price Tower:
https://wrightinracine.net/tag/sc-johnson-research-tower/
On January 16 a judge ordered that utilities (heat) be restored to the building. On January 21 he ordered the sale to a responsible party from Tulsa that is known for their restoration of an historic hotel there. On January 22 the current owners filed for bankruptcy. They have still not turned the utilities back on, and so this saga drags on. The question of Wright artifacts from the building that were given to an auction house in Dallas, in spite of an easement prohibiting that has not been resolved, either. Among the heroes in this story are the staff and legal counsel of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. Their continuing updates on the story are at:
https://savewright.org/endangered-price-tower-in-bartlesville-oklahoma/
The Building Conservancy is going deep, deep into their funds set aside for legal work as the battle to save the building drags on. Please don’t let the sunset on the building, as I literally did when I took this photograph in 2014. Hint: they would welcome your financial support at:
Remembering Ann MacGregor: On November 23 I posted a tribute to the late Ann MacGregor, one of the heroes in Mason City, Iowa’s successful quest to save Wright’s only extant hotel commission, the then-dilapidated Park Inn Hotel and adjoining City National Bank building. The hotel is now a successful boutique hotel:
https://wrightinracine.net/2024/11/23/remembering-ann-macgregor/
Ann MacGregor with Scott Perkins of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, 2012
My tribute to Ann mentioned her long-term correspondence with Marshall Jones, a friend of mine, who is serving two consecutive life terms for homicide in Wisconsin. He became interested in Wright after I interviewed him for a project about the criminal justice system.
I wrote Marshall to tell him about Ann’s passing, and sent him a copy of my story. He wrote me back last week (mail to the prison system faces interminable delays while it is sent to a place in Maryland that copies incoming letters and then sends the copies to inmates) with his own tribute to Ann:
“I appreciate you for sending me the news of Ann’s passing. A part of me was deeply saddened, but another part of me was greatly appreciative that I had the privilege of being considered her friend, She was so much more than someone that I corresponded with. She was someone who brought unconditional love, unconditional positive regard, she allowed me to peer into her beautiful family, and she gave me priceless guidance. She didn’t see me by my conviction, nor did she allow me to accept my worst decision as the resounding theme for my life. She was ruthless when it came to goals, and when you said that you wanted to accomplish something, she pressed you until it was done. She was amazingly supportive and she encouraged me with gentleness and love. You knew that Ann had your back. We talked about Mr. Wright, religion (we were both Christians), politics, family, and life. Her disposition increased in positivism even in the face of diminishing health. So, I am grateful for her life, and for her presence in my life. I was so blessed by her, and I am better because of her friendship. It was much deeper than correspondence. With Ann and Bruce (Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer also corresponded with Marshall), I was family. I now carry her with me everywhere I go.”
Well, Marshall, my story was more of the nuts and bolts of her life, as we used to say in the newsroom. You captured her essence. Thank you.
This photograph and the one below were taken looking up on the external staircase.
Price Tower reflected in a nearby building
The living room of one of the original apartments
The sitting room on the lower floor of one of the two-story hotel rooms
Wright in Racine 