State: Historic Wright house slips into disrepair

Shaped like a ship rising from a thick North Florida forest, the unique house on a red-clay road north of the state capital is deteriorating. Even the spring that gave the home its name has run dry, a metaphor for how this architectural treasure has lost the luster of its past.

But owner Clifton Lewis isn't ready to give up Spring House, her home of nearly 50 years. And she doesn't want any outside help, despite offers from a variety of groups and Wright aficionados to take over the property and restore it.

"Mr. Wright said there's nothing more beautiful than a space for gracious living," Lewis said. "That's what this home is really. It's a room with a view."

The home, built in what was then wilderness, now sits a short distance from bustling motels and fast-food restaurants on the north side of Interstate 10 a few miles from the state Capitol.

Lewis and her late husband, George, persuaded Wright to build their 1,500-square-foot home during a chance meeting in 1948. The Lewises were members of a prominent banking family.

Wright had designed some of the most famous buildings of the 20th century, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and Fallingwater, a private home perched above a waterfall in rural Pennsylvania. The display of near-perfect harmony between nature and residence at Fallingwater had led many to call it the greatest architectural achievement in an American home.

The couple's first meeting with Wright came while they attended a conference on World Federalism -- one of their many causes -- at Florida Southern College in Lakeland.

Wright, who at the time was 81 and in the twilight of a spectacular career, was there to dedicate one of his buildings on the campus, the only other place where Wright's designs can be found in Florida.

Afterward, in a receiving line, George Lewis suggested to his wife that she ask Wright "if he'll do us a house."

Wright insisted that the Lewises first find the location, "But not on a lot. Find your ground and get in touch."

A year later, they did.

Although foundations, universities and conservancy groups have talked with Lewis about taking over the property, no deal has been reached. Lewis doesn't want to give up the home that served as a base for her many social causes, including the years during which the Lewises helped lead the civil-rights movement in Florida. But neither does she have the means to restore it.

Six years after they bought the property, the house was completed. The family moved into the stone and cypress house in 1954, five years before Wright's death.

The home is noted for its curves -- a circular, free-standing brick fireplace and two-story, floor-to-ceiling windows that line the bending back wall. But it needs a new roof that Lewis, 82, cannot afford.

"I've never heard of a Frank Lloyd Wright house that doesn't have a roof that leaks," said Lewis' oldest son, George Edward Lewis, a Tallahassee lawyer. In 1999, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy newsletter warned that Spring House is at risk from decay and surrounding development that is blamed for drying up a natural spring that gave the home its name.

"The preservation of this unique and important structure can no longer be ignored," the letter said.

Restoring the home with its untended yard would be costly. Most estimates are in the range of $200,000.

"Each home was handmade," said Kevin Schweizer, son of the building supervisor at Spring House. "When Wright's work was done, it was a lot easier to get quality craftsmen. Now they're out there, but you've got to pay for them."

Although Wright homes on the market are normally quite expensive, the Lewis home is appraised for taxes at $157,000.

But the Lewis family doesn't want any outside financial help.

"It's not a community project," said Byrd Mashburn, a Lewis daughter. "This is our private house."

-- Information from the Orlando Sentinel contributed to this report.

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