Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1925-04-23
SERIOUS FIRE,
WRIGHT PLACE


On Monday night the Frank
Lloyd Wright bungalow near
Spring Green was partly destroyed
by fire The eastern portion of
the. structure, the residence sec
tidn, is a complete ruin. The loss
on the building is estimated at
$4,000 or $4,000 and to the fur
nishings nearly a quarter of a
million dollars Many of the dec
orations and pieces Of furniture
we're Of rare oriental make, run
ming into many thousands Of dol
laEs Mr. Wright had collected
these at great expense while in
Japan supervising the erection Of
theyImperial hotel, one of the Won
deffuI structures Of the orient.
Many Of his rare prints he kept in
a large iron vault and these were
nots damaged. The vault is in the
st8dio section which was not de-
stfoyed.
The origin Of the fire is supposed
to lflve been from telephone buzz
zefS this being struck by light
ming during the storm. When dis
covered there was a mass Of flames
abbht it and this could not be
extmGuishcd until the loss has been
great The building is in the form
of D rectangle, with an opening
on3 ione side and a court in the
center.
The structure was made of lime
stone from q neighboring quarry
ana. stood on a hill, yet SO sunken
anAs hidden by trees that it was
not prominent on the landscape.
The architecture was peculiar
purely Mr. Wright's idea. Our
correspondent, who sent the above
information, reports that the work
Of rebuilding will be pushed at
once. Clearing away the debris
has already begun.
In building the bungalow every
modern idea was employed. The
great fireplaces had steam pipes
beneath the heathstones that they
might always be warm. There
were beautiful bookcases filled
with rare volumes and other OBJ
jects not often seen in a secluded
place like that occupied with the
bungalow
There is some insurance.
Owner There At The Time
Mr.. Wright has been at Spring
Green for some time and was at
the bungalow at the time of the
fire. The place is less than a mile
west Of the south end Of the bridge
which spans the river south of the
village
Hillside school, no longer Oper-
ated and the Tower Hill Congress
grounds, now a state park, are not
far away. The old Helena shot tow
or is a part of the state park.
Tragedy There in 1914
On August Is, 1914, seven per-
sons lost their lives at the bun
galow-dIled by a negro named
Julian Carlton. He became angry,
set fire to the building and as the
persons emerged from a door
struck them with a Ratchet. Be
sides killing the seven he wound
cd two others. The dead were:
Mrs. Mamah Bothwick, who was
making her home there at the
time. She il buried in Unity Cha
pei cemetery, about q mile away.
Mrs. Bothwick's son and daugh-
ter, John and Martha Cheney, ag-
ed respectively II and years. The
home of the three had been Chi
cago. The children were cremated
in Chicago,
Emil Brodelle, an architect, ag-
ed so. He was buried in Milwau
Zee.
Thomas Bunker. a hostler, bur
led at Ridgeway.
Ernest Weston, aged Is, buried
in the Spring Green cemetery.
David Iindlom, gardner, buried
at Unitey Chapel.
The injured were William H.
Weston and Herbert Fritz.
Carlton, the murderer, was found
in the firebox of the boiler in the
basement, undoubtedly insane He
took muriatic acid and later died
in the Dodgeville Jail. His body
was dissected by the medical stu
dents at the University of Wis
consin.
The owner of the property was in
Chicago at the time Of the tragedy.
He at once rebuilt the bungalow
more costly than before.
ET Il O.