Love all things Frank Lloyd Wright? Can't get enough of the fascinating quirks and foibles of Minnesota's history? Wishing you could go "back to the Fifties" again? Then be sure to put Aug. 7 on your calendar.
In conjunction with the upcoming 50th anniversary celebration of the world's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed service station in Cloquet, the Minnesota Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA-MN), along with the AIA-Northern Chapter, is planning an afternoon symposium on Thursday, Aug. 7, that is guaranteed to satisfy all of those longings - and more.
Set to run from 1-4 p.m. that afternoon, the symposium will take place at Fond du Lac Community College, with continuing education credits offered for registered AIA architects. The symposium is open to the general public as well, and the $75 registration fee includes commemorative items from the 50th anniversary as well as a $10 food and drink voucher for the evening's celebration event at the fabled Frank Lloyd Wright service station itself.
On hand for the by-registration-only event will be Taliesin fellow Robert Pond, who apprenticed under Frank Lloyd Wright during the design and construction of the locally owned Lindholm Service Station. Pond not only worked hand-in-hand with Wright during the conception of the station, but he lived in Cloquet and supervised the entire construction phase of the forward-thinking service station.
Pond will share reminiscences of his days working under Wright, the challenges of turning a never-before-attempted design into reality, and his thoughts on how Wright's works impacted the face of the American landscape.
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Also on the docket for the afternoon's symposium will be Jennifer Webb, PhD and assistant professor of art history at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Webb will set the mood for the era in which the Lindholm Station was built by defining the popular culture of the 1950s, featuring examples of other gas stations and transportation structures of the time as well as the key role they played - and continue to play - in popular Americana.
AIA member Tim Quigley, past president of the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy and board member of the Minnesota Society of Architectural Historians, will treat symposium attendees to a fascinating glimpse into the life and design philosophy of the renowned and controversial architect, sharing insights into how Wright helped shaped the architecture of not only an era - but the enduring quality of his influence on building design yet today.
Finally, Wendy Johnson, publisher of the Pine Journal newspaper in Cloquet, will moderate a round-table conversation with members of the local McKinney/Lindholm family. The family shared a personal acquaintance with Wright but also commissioned the construction of a family home in Cloquet (as well as another that was never built).
In addition, they will share reminiscences of Wright's involvement in building what remains arguably one of the most unique service stations - both then and now - to be built on the face of the American landscape.
For more information on the symposium, or to register to attend, visit the AIA-Minnesota Web site at: www.aia-mn.org/continuing_ed/opportunities.cfm or call Deanna Christiansen at 612-338-6763 or Ken Johnson at 218-724-8578.
