Rockford’s only home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is a step closer to becoming a museum. A community group was the winning…and only…bidder in yesterday’s auction of the Laurent House. Jerry Heinzeroth says members of The Laurent House Foundation have worked very hard over the past four years to get to this point. He says they’re extremely happy with the fact that the house will become a permanent part of the community, thanks to the support of donors, including the state, the city of Rockford, and Winnebago County.
The foundation is paying $578,500 for the historic house and its furnishings. The group closes on the Laurent House February 17th. The wheelchair-accessible home was designed for World War Two veteran Ken Laurent: he and his family have lived in it for nearly sixty years. The foundation will continue its fundraising efforts to cover repairs and the cost of opening the house to the public. Heinzeroth says the next step is to expand the foundation’s board to include a wide array of people with the talents needed to preserve and promote the home Wright called his “little gem.”
