GLENCOE, Ill. (AP) - A suburban Chicago home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was relocated about 800 feet down the road - a short move that’s part of a local saga over the historic structure.
The one-story frame house known as the Booth Cottage was built in 1913 and designed by Wright as a temporary home for Sherman and Elizabeth Booth, according to Landmarks Illinois, a state historic preservation organization. Sherman Booth was an attorney and Elizabeth an influential suffragist.
The home was threatened with demolition last year after it was purchased by a couple who wanted to build a new home on the property, the Chicago Tribune reported.
After local preservation activists raised concerns, the Glencoe Park District agreed to a 99-year land lease with the Glencoe Historical Society for a nearby park site, with the historical society paying $1 per year in rent.
Last Tuesday, the home was hoisted onto dollies and moved down the street to a temporary spot in Park 7N, where it will remain for a few weeks until a foundation is ready for the home to be placed permanently.
People gathered to watch the move, which took about an hour.
“That was too exciting to miss,” said Mark Sussman of Chicago, who traveled to Glencoe with his wife. “This is just fascinating to me and the fact that they are going to do it in one hour is unreal.”
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