Sometimes we accomplish life-long goals when we least expect it. Today was that kind of day for me. On a whim I decided to drive back to Crystal Lake from Starved Rock State Park on the "backroads" of Illinois. These were uncharted waters for me and as often as not I found myself consulting a map with too little detail. But about half way into my trip I noticed that with almost no effort I could drive through Plano, IL, a town famous for the work of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In this little out-of-the-way town he'd built one of the icons of American design, the Farnsworth House.
Although I knew I could find Plano, I had no confidence I could find the Farnsworth House since the town was much bigger than I'd anticpated as I rolled into the west side on Rte 34. At one of the first major intersections my eye barely caught a sign that pointed in the right direction and with a quick lane change I was headed south on a city street that quickly gave way to a winding country road. About two miles out I figured I'd missed a key turn off and was about to turn around when I saw yet another discreet sign pointing to the left. I quickly slowed to pull over much to the dismay of the local resident who was riding my bumper at 50 mph but I managed to get off the road, collect my thoughts, and aim in the direction the sign pointed.
About a mile down the road was a little gate leading to a small shop with books, artifacts, and tickets to see the house. Barely 3 years ago this would have been impossible but for the work of the National Trust for Historic Preservation which purchased the home at auction for a mere $7 million to save it for geeks like me who really enjoy looking at cool things like this. I arrived just in time for the last tour of the day and it was only me and the guide when I started but we were soon joined by a delightful couple also visiting for the first time. It was a beautiful spring day in Plano and the house was magnificent. The late afternoon light was perfect for pictures (only on the outside, please) and I shot away with the new Nikon D70s. What fun.
I never really wrote down my list of lifetime accomplishments but in my mind this place has always been on the list. This summer I promised Jourdan a return visit and I'm really looking forward to it. While the house was never a really habilable place for humans, the design and execution is one of my favorites of all time.
