Open House Sunday at California’s only Frank Lloyd Wright Residence
The Fawcett Ranch House, near Los Banos, Calif., is the state’s only Frank Lloyd Wright residence in the context of a working farm. Listed for $2,700,000, the house is sited on approximately 80 acres of fertile farmland, which support produce and a walnut orchard, in San Joaquin Valley and would make an excellent executive retreat, gentlemen’s farm or single-family home.
A long private drive leads to a flowering parking court in front of the five-bedroom, four-full- and one-half-bath home. The complementary pool, Koi pond and palms create an oasis amongst the valley’s many farms. A separate studio with bath, wine cellar, tractor bay, Japanese garden, aviary, workshop and three-car carport complete the luxurious grounds.
For more information about the event, or to become only the second owner of this sprawling property, contact listing agent Crosby Doe at 310.428.6755 (cell) or 310.275.2222 (office).
– Sarah Binder
There is some misunderstanding, however, especially about the apparently huge and elaborate places that ambassadors appear to occupy. What you need to understand is that these residences are primarily meant for – and are used constantly for – representational purposes: receptions, meetings, congresses, etc that engage and involve American political, social, cultural and business interests with local authorities, businesspeople, rulers, despots, charitable organizations, NGOs, artists, cultural icons, etc. It is not unusual for there to be two or three such events every single day. As you can imagine, it is considered very prestigious to have attended an event at the US Ambassador’s house, and this prestige is used for good effect to support American interests.
For these purposes, a large part (usually the ground floor of the building) is large, open, and usually decorated with art produced (and often donated) by American or local artists. Many Ambassadors have also collected and then donated local arts and crafts to the residences they have occupied only temporarily.