DECEMBER 14, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Yesterday was very beautiful at Spring House! It was chilly, so dress warm in the winter months if you plan to attend our tours. We will have a fire when we can, but we always want the house open for your enjoyment, it's the best way to experience it at this time. We had the privilege of meeting a local architect and his wife, she attended Florida Southern and she said she loved going to school there. Nice to hear and encouraging to have them be enthusiastic about what Spring House Institute is doing. We talked and walked with good friends of a good friend, and had the chance in answering their questions to say exactly what SHI needs to accomplish the essential step of acquiring Spring House, and then what the estimate is for restoring the house. Very nice to have time to spend with people and do complete tours of Spring House and grounds! Thank you to those who attended!
DECEMBER 5, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute joined the fun by having our table and staff available to make new friends and answer questions about Spring House and the Institute. We took our Spring House t-shirts, books, bags and cards for donations, and our handouts with a brief history and website address. It gets dark about the time we're set up and the 5th was chilly but very nice if you had a light jacket! The moon was beautiful, almost full, we saw it through the trees behind the Railroad Square office where we set up our table. Lots of people come and go and many friends stop by. We're right across from some terrific smelling food so sooner or later one of us got cheese fries and a plate of sweet plantains or maduros, yummm! Another plate came from around the corner at the Hare Krishna food wagon, delicious! Thank you everyone, for the great food, music, and fun!
NOVEMBER 9, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE – Great weather yesterday; cool, lots of blue sky, and many people came from talking with us at our table at Railroad Square1st Friday. Bryan and Linda came from Miami Thursday and spent four nights up here. The reason they came to Tallahassee was to see Spring House! They have visited many of Mr. Wright's homes but said we were the first original owners they have met! It was really good to meet them! They are so enthusiastic, shared photos and had many good ideas about ways to promote Spring House! Thank y'all! Childhood friend John and his friend Lynn visited! It was wonderful to see him and remember growing up at the coast near their big happy family. Come spend the afternoon and sit with us on the cypress seating and be part of the woods, walk the trails and share some stories!
NOVEMBER 7, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute had our table with information about who we are, what Spring House is, and what we are doing. These are really fun evenings, pay attention to the weather! Thousands of people gathered for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
OCTOBER 25, 2014
60th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BUILDING OF SPRING HOUSE! SHI had the celebration of 60 years of joyous living and sharing this marvelous space designed by Mr. Wright. Fall gives us many perfect days and Saturday was one, beautiful! Sligo Line was outstanding and had some young dancers enjoying their lively music! Thank you for the great music, y'all! Food and drink was a blessed plenty and friends and family enjoyed each other, the weather, food, music, the trail (we saw wood ducks on the pond!) and Spring House! Thank you all who joined us!
OCTOBER 12, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE, 2 pm - 4 pm. This was a perfect day! The weather was FINE, the house and grounds looked beautiful and most of our board members were there! Mary Byrd and Scott greeted people at our entrance table, and Seth, Tim, Frost, Patsy, Karen and Byrd gave tours and told family stories. It seems like these days get better and better...every single one of them has been wonderful! Come enjoy Spring House with us!
OCTOBER 3, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute had our table with information about who we are, what Spring House is, and what we are doing. These are really fun evenings where thousands of people gather for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
FSU HISTORY INSTRUCTOR, Laura Lee Corbett is teaching an introductory class on Historic Preservation and brought her class to SPRING HOUSE today. Information about the building of Spring House and what it was like to live there, SHI efforts to raise the funds to match an acquisition grant in October, what information is included in being added to the National Register of Historic Places, the importance of Spring House by being listed on the register when it was only 25 years old, and Spring House being chosen to be on America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2014, were all part of the discussion today. It was a pretty day outside and the house was cool inside. We were happy to have this class visit Spring House and learned some new things ourselves!
SEPTEMBER 14, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE, we SOLD OUT for this day! We didn't turn away anyone who came because a few reservations were not filled. We are doing away with reservations. Please pay on our website or at the door. It was a FUN day, great people from Tennessee, Montgomery, Atlanta, Miami, St. George Island and all around Tallahassee, and the good weather was beautiful! Thank you everyone who came!
SEPTEMBER 5, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute had our table with information about who we are, what Spring House is, and what we are doing. Great night at RRSquare! Carolyn Henne was with us, and it was the largest crowd we've seen out there! It did NOT rain and the STUDENTS ARE BACK!!! These are really fun evenings where literally thousands of people gather for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
AUGUST 10, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE was a great success, lots of fun even in the rain! New stories about living in the house came to memory with the rain; the copper spouts from the balconies used to be repeated every 6 or 7 feet around the edge of the main roof, and every spout poured water down like a waterfall! People were happy and laughing, part of the elements.
AUGUST 1, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute had our table with information about who we are, what Spring House is, and what we are doing. We sold t-shirts and tickets to the next 2nd Sunday Tour August 10! These are really fun evenings where thousands of people gather for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
JULY 13, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE, what a fun day this was! The humidity of the morning dropped and the sun came out about the time people began to arrive. It turned into a very pretty day! We all enjoyed it thoroughly! There was a great turnout, just about sold out! People were amazed at how cool the house was inside. There was time to visit and answer questions. A very excellent day at Spring House! Join us August 10 for our next 2nd Sunday, 2-4 pm. Reservations required. Thank you everyone who visited with us!
JULY 4, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute enjoyed being at the park for July 4th! These are really fun evenings where thousands of people gather for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
JUNE 20, 2014
CAMP SPARK - Igniting Knowledge! visited Spring House and grounds as part of the culmination of a week long summer camp focused on architecture! It was a really fun time with the campers, counselors-in-training, and three architectural students from Auburn University! Lots of whooping and laughter from the campers in the airy, open spaces in Spring House, as the students made drawings of Spring House! Many people commented on how comfortable the house was, cool even, without air-conditioning!
"Architecture 101
This week focused on architecture, environment and design in the context of Frank Lloyd Wright. Found geometric shapes in nature and everyday objects, created patterns and origami art, compared styles and experimented with color, read architectural plans, made a textile brick, and even created an edible model of Fallingwater! On Friday, campers had the privilege of touring the only private residence Mr. Wright designed that was built in Florida!"
http://www.tallymolab.org/
JUNE 12, 2014
THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO DONATED TO SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE JUNE 12, MATCH DAY!
JUNE 8, 2014
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. WRIGHT! What a terrific turnout for this 147th Birthday Celebration of America's greatest architect! Thank you everyone who attended, for your interest in Spring House, your good humor in the heat and waiting in line to see upstairs, your questions and fun! It was AWESOME! It was inspiring to see how many people came out in the middle of a summer day, with probable showers forecast (there was actually hail not long after most everyone left!) no air-conditioning, but great music by Langtry, great folks from all around, fun children, good drinks, cake and ice cream! AMAZING BIRTHDAY Party for a true American genius! Thank you again everyone, for making it a great day!
JUNE 7, 2014
WORK DAY AFTERNOON AT Spring House. Doug, Sandra, Wyatt, Sebrina, and Max helped Pat and Byrd prepare for Sunday afternoon's 147th Birthday Party for Frank Lloyd Wright. The amount of work people can do when they decide to is incredible! Wyatt, Sebrina, and Max put out new wood chips where our neighborhood armadillos dug up the terrace looking for breakfast, re-chipped the trail to the pond and on the south end of Spring House. Doug and Sandra scrubbed the north balcony cypress with Murphy's Oil Soap outside and inside the walls. The wood looks like wood again! Wyatt, Sebrina, and Max scrubbed the south balcony, outside and in! Wonderful! Pat and Byrd cleaned the kitchen drawers, shelves, washed all the wood in the kitchen, living room, built-in table, and back shelf of the seating with Murphy's Oil Soap, vacuumed upstairs and down, washed bowls, cutlery, moved firewood to the washhouse...on and on! great day of work! Who slept good?
JUNE 6, 2014
1ST FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute took our table with handouts and information about out who we are and what we're doing. We made new friends and visited with old ones. Gabe Jager-Sumner and Regan were with us and Gabe sold his delicious desserts to raise funds for SHI! It rained but not for long. We took down, set back up and told lots of folks about our 147th Birthday Party for Frank Lloyd Wright Sunday! These are amazing evenings! Come on to 1st Friday at Railroad Square!
MAY 14, 2014
OWAC - OUTDOOR WOMEN ADVENTURE CLUB toured Spring House and grounds! It was a very nice day in the woods, cool inside Spring House, a fun group and tour! The women asked many questions and everyone had a good time. A light shower didn't last long during the history and family stories, and you could really hear the rain. Then the sun came back out! It's dynamic in Spring House in any weather conditions. Photo to come!
APRIL 26, 2014
The NEW 76ers ROCKED Spring House with their great Americana, and Folk music for our April fundraiser for Spring House Institute! It was a GREAT evening. THANK YOU SO MUCH to the New 76ers, and everyone who attended our event. It is YOU, and other people like you, who will be responsible for saving Spring House for future events like this, and classes, seminars, and community gatherings of all kinds. The New 76ers played inside, and outside on the terrace at Spring House and it was amazing! The weather was perfect! Thank you all for your encouraging, generous, continuing support!!!
APRIL 19 & 20, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE had a table at LeMoyne's Chain Of Parks Art Festival! Ahh the ART, the ART and the Children's Art Festival, NEW this year! The weather cooperated at least by not raining and everyone was grateful for that! It was cold, but people came out both days, even Easter Sunday! There was the new Children's Festival down by the May Oak stump and children enjoyed the different projects available to them at the non-profit tables there. Our Spring House floor plan fans, and foldable houses were a hit and some parents enjoyed helping color as well! We saw many people walking around with art purchases in bags, and artist friends told us they did well this year, better than last, so it was a great weekend, and FUN! Thank you LeMoyne! What a great effort!!!
APRIL 12 & 13, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE had a table at ALT*CON 2014! What OUTRAGEOUS FUN! This was the second year for ALT*CON, and it was two-day event, which is also good for hotels, restaurants, and many other businesses in Tallahassee! There were many adults and children in really great costumes. About 3000 people attended over the weekend! All ages enjoyed the many characters, recognizable and not, and there were many artists selling their jewelry, drawings, paintings, made creations of all kinds. It was great to see people creating their art right there! This is a great community platform, and Spring House Institute was given a prime location! We very much appreciate being invited to be part of this new and important, FUN festival! THANK YOU ALT*CON for your new addition to the Tallahassee community!
APRIL 9, 2014
THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GROUP had its spring fundraiser at SPRING HOUSE! We are very honored to have been their choice of venue. It was a great success! The weather was beautiful, the group had a selection of the Stanley E. Gontarski Grove Press Collection of 20th century avant-garde literature arranged in the three bedrooms upstairs. Attendees enjoyed the great music by the Leon Anderson Group and the wonderful food by Catering Capers. Dr. Gontarski spoke about Grove Press's contribution to fighting censorship in our country and the many important books that were published through its work and courageous, progressive stand. It was a fascinating and inspiring evening with readings from the collection by guest readers. Photos now in SET 16 on our photo page!
APRIL 6, 2014
3RD FSU ART HISTORY AND INTERIOR DESIGN CLASSES visited SPRING HOUSE with another full tour! Many interested and enthusiastic students learned some Spring House history and heard family stories about growing up in Spring House and in the woods on the property. It was a nice day; sunshine, butterflies, and the red buckeye tree on the terrace that hummingbirds love is in full bloom!
APRIL 4, 2014
4TH OLLI TOUR, FSU OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE visited Spring House with another full tour! OLLI's enthusiastic response to the opportunity to visit Spring House has been a wonderful part of the beginning of 2014 for Spring House Institute. They have filled up four tours and we've met many great folks who have been so encouraging to us in what we are working towards. We hope many of the people who attended will become Friends Of Spring House and support us in a larger way. People have signed up to become volunteers in many of the areas we need help, so thank you for your interesting in working with us! See you in the Fall !
MARCH 30, 2014
2ND FSU ART HISTORY AND INTERIOR DESIGN CLASSES visited SPRING HOUSE on a beautiful, perfect day for being inside and outside! The students asked lots of questions and enjoyed Lewis family stories, the tour and tales of the bedrooms and fireplaces and the trail around Spring House Pond. Many spring flowers are blooming; white azaleas Mrs. Lewis loved, three, two-winged silver bell trees that were another of her favorites, Cherokee roses up in the large oak across the stream where the Lewis children had a long croaker-sack swing they would sail out over the stream on, from near the top of a 12' ladder! A–YA–BA–YAAAAAAA!!!!!!
MARCH 28, 2014
3RD OLLI TOUR, FSU OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE – Friday looked like it was going to be a stormy day but was much better than forecast, just a light sprinkle out at Spring House, so it didn't keep us from walking around the house and some people walked the trail after our talk about Spring House and Lewis family stories. A storm at Spring House is a dynamic experience, so it won't be a terrible thing if you happen to have a tour when the weather doesn't cooperate so nicely. OLLI tours have been full of interesting questions from people, and many folks want to help us as volunteers. Thank you! We need you, and please become Friends Of Spring House from this website!
MARCH 23, 2014
FSU ART HISTORY AND INTERIOR DESIGN CLASSES visited SPRING HOUSE. The sun came out just before the students arrived and it turned into a very nice day in the woods. Instructor Jen Pride and Dr. Lauren Weingarden gave time for a brief history and family stories of Spring House by SHI board members, and then small groups toured the upstairs while others enjoyed the long bench seating looking out into the woods, and some walked the trail around the pond. People had lots of interesting questions. For what started out as a rainy day, we were very happy to have such a perfect part of it for their visit.
2ND OLLI TOUR, FSU OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE – The second tour from OLLI was another great day for Spring House Institute. We are so pleased to be sharing Spring House with this great group of people and we are looking forward to the third tour with OLLI on March 28. Thank you for your interest in Frank Lloyd Wright, Spring House, and the Lewis family.
February 26, 2014
Clifton Van Brunt Lewis, original owner of Spring House with her husband George, who died in 1996, joined him on 2-26-14. Clifton created Spring House Institute, and instructed us to carry out their vision for their home as a place to nurture humanity, nature, and the arts for the benefit of the public as a teaching institute, and other public and private uses. We will continue that work towards their vision.
February 22, 2014
FSU Interior Design Class visited Spring House! It was a beautiful spring day out in the woods and a great day to visit the cool spaces of Spring House. Yelena McLane, Ph.D., Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Interior Design, FSU, shared this with us: "Thank you very much for the opportunity to visit the Spring House. My students and I thoroughly enjoyed our tour and had very powerful experiences and impressions of the house.This is a truly remarkable and unique place! We also saw how much work it takes to maintain and restore it. Please let us know if we could share our enthusiasm, talents and time to help the Institute! Best regards,Yelena." Thank you Yelena! It will take many people sharing, working, contributing, and letting potential donors know about Spring House Institute and our efforts!
February 22, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE board meeting! We covered much business as tours, classes and opportunities are ramping up in 2014, a very exciting year looking forward! Come join us for the FUN and WORK!
February 21, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE hosted its 1st 2014 Fireside Chat at Spring House. We had a great oak fire in the living room fireplace and enjoyed refreshments while people arrived. Most of those who attended were either already architects, or in the process of becoming one. The azaleas are in bloom out in the woods around Spring House, the birds are singing! Spring and the mosquitos are upon us!
February 12, 2014
Mechanical engineer Curt Wilsey, from Albany, New York, visited Spring House and donated his knowledge and skills for the completion of a historic structure report on Spring House for Spring House Institute. We are grateful for his expertise evaluating the systems at the house, and making recommendations. What he contributes will complete the report and will give us specific information for individuals, corporations, or governments who are considering helping us with large donations, or grants, and will be required for them to make informed decisions.
February 8, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE hosted the 3rd Invasive Plant Removal workday at Spring House. The weather cooperated with an end to the early morning rain about an hour before start time, the day warmed up, blue sky with clouds made a great day for work outside. The rain softened the soil and made it easier to dig the plant and roots of the very invasive coral ardisia! Volunteers from the Florida Native Plant Society, Habitat for Humanity, Master Gardeners, Florida Trail Associates, FAMU School of Architecture, FSU Urban and Regional Planning and FSU English Dept, in conjunction with efforts by the City of Tallahassee to address this problem in city parks, all came and worked hard on plant removal and spreading wood chips on the completed Northwest Trail along Spring House Pond. Thank you everyone for your good work!!!
February 7, 2014
FSU OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE, OLLI, visited Spring House for the first time! We're very happy that they did, it was a PERFECT day, BEAUTIFUL, and we all enjoyed being inside the wonderful open space of Spring House, and then outside on the newly cleared and completed Northwest Trail along Spring House Pond and back through the woods to the house. History and information about where Spring House fits in Frank Lloyd Wright's legacy was shared, as well as some of the contributions George and Clifton Lewis made in the community during the Civil Rights era, and Lewis family stories. A wonderful day!
January 18, 2014
The Magnolia Chapter OF THE FLORIDA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY and the Apalachee Chapter of the FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION, with SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE hosted a workday to remove invasive Coral ardisia from Spring House property. This effort was in conjunction with the City of Tallahassee's efforts to address the same problem in its parks. The early morning was very cold, but people dressed for the weather and there was a great fire in the Spring House fireplace until the afternoon for anyone who needed more than hard work to warm them up! There was great coffee, tea, hot chocolate and homemade breakfast food. Over the day so much ardisia was cleared between Spring House and the pond, that you can once more see the water of the pond from downstairs. Lunch was served and then people continued working until later in the afternoon, when everyone gathered tools, moved all the large trash bags to the road and then shared beverages and conversation. A great day! Thank you everyone for all of your hard work!!!
January 11, 2014
Workday and our 1st FOSH Party at Spring House we worked in the rain, pulling dead limbs out of the land between Spring House and Okeeheepkee, picking up litter on Okeeheepkee, cleaning inside the house, wiping the cypress inside with Murphy's Oil Soap, and washing the windows on the east side of the house. The rain stopped by the time the band arrived and people started walking in from the road. The party was great! Everyone enjoyed the music by Smooth Sailing, the delicious food by Spring House Institute, the great beverages, the wonderful warm fire on the damp, cool night. Thank you for joining us!
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Yesterday was very beautiful at Spring House! It was chilly, so dress warm in the winter months if you plan to attend our tours. We will have a fire when we can, but we always want the house open for your enjoyment, it's the best way to experience it at this time. We had the privilege of meeting a local architect and his wife, she attended Florida Southern and she said she loved going to school there. Nice to hear and encouraging to have them be enthusiastic about what Spring House Institute is doing. We talked and walked with good friends of a good friend, and had the chance in answering their questions to say exactly what SHI needs to accomplish the essential step of acquiring Spring House, and then what the estimate is for restoring the house. Very nice to have time to spend with people and do complete tours of Spring House and grounds! Thank you to those who attended!
DECEMBER 5, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute joined the fun by having our table and staff available to make new friends and answer questions about Spring House and the Institute. We took our Spring House t-shirts, books, bags and cards for donations, and our handouts with a brief history and website address. It gets dark about the time we're set up and the 5th was chilly but very nice if you had a light jacket! The moon was beautiful, almost full, we saw it through the trees behind the Railroad Square office where we set up our table. Lots of people come and go and many friends stop by. We're right across from some terrific smelling food so sooner or later one of us got cheese fries and a plate of sweet plantains or maduros, yummm! Another plate came from around the corner at the Hare Krishna food wagon, delicious! Thank you everyone, for the great food, music, and fun!
NOVEMBER 9, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE – Great weather yesterday; cool, lots of blue sky, and many people came from talking with us at our table at Railroad Square1st Friday. Bryan and Linda came from Miami Thursday and spent four nights up here. The reason they came to Tallahassee was to see Spring House! They have visited many of Mr. Wright's homes but said we were the first original owners they have met! It was really good to meet them! They are so enthusiastic, shared photos and had many good ideas about ways to promote Spring House! Thank y'all! Childhood friend John and his friend Lynn visited! It was wonderful to see him and remember growing up at the coast near their big happy family. Come spend the afternoon and sit with us on the cypress seating and be part of the woods, walk the trails and share some stories!
NOVEMBER 7, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute had our table with information about who we are, what Spring House is, and what we are doing. These are really fun evenings, pay attention to the weather! Thousands of people gathered for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
OCTOBER 25, 2014
60th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BUILDING OF SPRING HOUSE! SHI had the celebration of 60 years of joyous living and sharing this marvelous space designed by Mr. Wright. Fall gives us many perfect days and Saturday was one, beautiful! Sligo Line was outstanding and had some young dancers enjoying their lively music! Thank you for the great music, y'all! Food and drink was a blessed plenty and friends and family enjoyed each other, the weather, food, music, the trail (we saw wood ducks on the pond!) and Spring House! Thank you all who joined us!
OCTOBER 12, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE, 2 pm - 4 pm. This was a perfect day! The weather was FINE, the house and grounds looked beautiful and most of our board members were there! Mary Byrd and Scott greeted people at our entrance table, and Seth, Tim, Frost, Patsy, Karen and Byrd gave tours and told family stories. It seems like these days get better and better...every single one of them has been wonderful! Come enjoy Spring House with us!
OCTOBER 3, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute had our table with information about who we are, what Spring House is, and what we are doing. These are really fun evenings where thousands of people gather for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
FSU HISTORY INSTRUCTOR, Laura Lee Corbett is teaching an introductory class on Historic Preservation and brought her class to SPRING HOUSE today. Information about the building of Spring House and what it was like to live there, SHI efforts to raise the funds to match an acquisition grant in October, what information is included in being added to the National Register of Historic Places, the importance of Spring House by being listed on the register when it was only 25 years old, and Spring House being chosen to be on America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2014, were all part of the discussion today. It was a pretty day outside and the house was cool inside. We were happy to have this class visit Spring House and learned some new things ourselves!
SEPTEMBER 14, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE, we SOLD OUT for this day! We didn't turn away anyone who came because a few reservations were not filled. We are doing away with reservations. Please pay on our website or at the door. It was a FUN day, great people from Tennessee, Montgomery, Atlanta, Miami, St. George Island and all around Tallahassee, and the good weather was beautiful! Thank you everyone who came!
SEPTEMBER 5, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute had our table with information about who we are, what Spring House is, and what we are doing. Great night at RRSquare! Carolyn Henne was with us, and it was the largest crowd we've seen out there! It did NOT rain and the STUDENTS ARE BACK!!! These are really fun evenings where literally thousands of people gather for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
AUGUST 10, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE was a great success, lots of fun even in the rain! New stories about living in the house came to memory with the rain; the copper spouts from the balconies used to be repeated every 6 or 7 feet around the edge of the main roof, and every spout poured water down like a waterfall! People were happy and laughing, part of the elements.
AUGUST 1, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute had our table with information about who we are, what Spring House is, and what we are doing. We sold t-shirts and tickets to the next 2nd Sunday Tour August 10! These are really fun evenings where thousands of people gather for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
JULY 13, 2014
2nd SUNDAY TOUR at SPRING HOUSE, what a fun day this was! The humidity of the morning dropped and the sun came out about the time people began to arrive. It turned into a very pretty day! We all enjoyed it thoroughly! There was a great turnout, just about sold out! People were amazed at how cool the house was inside. There was time to visit and answer questions. A very excellent day at Spring House! Join us August 10 for our next 2nd Sunday, 2-4 pm. Reservations required. Thank you everyone who visited with us!
JULY 4, 2014
1st FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute enjoyed being at the park for July 4th! These are really fun evenings where thousands of people gather for the good music, fine food, great art and crafts, and making new friends and visiting with old ones. Come join the FUN!
JUNE 20, 2014
CAMP SPARK - Igniting Knowledge! visited Spring House and grounds as part of the culmination of a week long summer camp focused on architecture! It was a really fun time with the campers, counselors-in-training, and three architectural students from Auburn University! Lots of whooping and laughter from the campers in the airy, open spaces in Spring House, as the students made drawings of Spring House! Many people commented on how comfortable the house was, cool even, without air-conditioning!
"Architecture 101
This week focused on architecture, environment and design in the context of Frank Lloyd Wright. Found geometric shapes in nature and everyday objects, created patterns and origami art, compared styles and experimented with color, read architectural plans, made a textile brick, and even created an edible model of Fallingwater! On Friday, campers had the privilege of touring the only private residence Mr. Wright designed that was built in Florida!"
http://www.tallymolab.org/
JUNE 12, 2014
THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO DONATED TO SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE JUNE 12, MATCH DAY!
JUNE 8, 2014
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. WRIGHT! What a terrific turnout for this 147th Birthday Celebration of America's greatest architect! Thank you everyone who attended, for your interest in Spring House, your good humor in the heat and waiting in line to see upstairs, your questions and fun! It was AWESOME! It was inspiring to see how many people came out in the middle of a summer day, with probable showers forecast (there was actually hail not long after most everyone left!) no air-conditioning, but great music by Langtry, great folks from all around, fun children, good drinks, cake and ice cream! AMAZING BIRTHDAY Party for a true American genius! Thank you again everyone, for making it a great day!
JUNE 7, 2014
WORK DAY AFTERNOON AT Spring House. Doug, Sandra, Wyatt, Sebrina, and Max helped Pat and Byrd prepare for Sunday afternoon's 147th Birthday Party for Frank Lloyd Wright. The amount of work people can do when they decide to is incredible! Wyatt, Sebrina, and Max put out new wood chips where our neighborhood armadillos dug up the terrace looking for breakfast, re-chipped the trail to the pond and on the south end of Spring House. Doug and Sandra scrubbed the north balcony cypress with Murphy's Oil Soap outside and inside the walls. The wood looks like wood again! Wyatt, Sebrina, and Max scrubbed the south balcony, outside and in! Wonderful! Pat and Byrd cleaned the kitchen drawers, shelves, washed all the wood in the kitchen, living room, built-in table, and back shelf of the seating with Murphy's Oil Soap, vacuumed upstairs and down, washed bowls, cutlery, moved firewood to the washhouse...on and on! great day of work! Who slept good?
JUNE 6, 2014
1ST FRIDAY AT RAILROAD SQUARE Spring House Institute took our table with handouts and information about out who we are and what we're doing. We made new friends and visited with old ones. Gabe Jager-Sumner and Regan were with us and Gabe sold his delicious desserts to raise funds for SHI! It rained but not for long. We took down, set back up and told lots of folks about our 147th Birthday Party for Frank Lloyd Wright Sunday! These are amazing evenings! Come on to 1st Friday at Railroad Square!
MAY 14, 2014
OWAC - OUTDOOR WOMEN ADVENTURE CLUB toured Spring House and grounds! It was a very nice day in the woods, cool inside Spring House, a fun group and tour! The women asked many questions and everyone had a good time. A light shower didn't last long during the history and family stories, and you could really hear the rain. Then the sun came back out! It's dynamic in Spring House in any weather conditions. Photo to come!
APRIL 26, 2014
The NEW 76ers ROCKED Spring House with their great Americana, and Folk music for our April fundraiser for Spring House Institute! It was a GREAT evening. THANK YOU SO MUCH to the New 76ers, and everyone who attended our event. It is YOU, and other people like you, who will be responsible for saving Spring House for future events like this, and classes, seminars, and community gatherings of all kinds. The New 76ers played inside, and outside on the terrace at Spring House and it was amazing! The weather was perfect! Thank you all for your encouraging, generous, continuing support!!!
APRIL 19 & 20, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE had a table at LeMoyne's Chain Of Parks Art Festival! Ahh the ART, the ART and the Children's Art Festival, NEW this year! The weather cooperated at least by not raining and everyone was grateful for that! It was cold, but people came out both days, even Easter Sunday! There was the new Children's Festival down by the May Oak stump and children enjoyed the different projects available to them at the non-profit tables there. Our Spring House floor plan fans, and foldable houses were a hit and some parents enjoyed helping color as well! We saw many people walking around with art purchases in bags, and artist friends told us they did well this year, better than last, so it was a great weekend, and FUN! Thank you LeMoyne! What a great effort!!!
APRIL 12 & 13, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE had a table at ALT*CON 2014! What OUTRAGEOUS FUN! This was the second year for ALT*CON, and it was two-day event, which is also good for hotels, restaurants, and many other businesses in Tallahassee! There were many adults and children in really great costumes. About 3000 people attended over the weekend! All ages enjoyed the many characters, recognizable and not, and there were many artists selling their jewelry, drawings, paintings, made creations of all kinds. It was great to see people creating their art right there! This is a great community platform, and Spring House Institute was given a prime location! We very much appreciate being invited to be part of this new and important, FUN festival! THANK YOU ALT*CON for your new addition to the Tallahassee community!
APRIL 9, 2014
THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GROUP had its spring fundraiser at SPRING HOUSE! We are very honored to have been their choice of venue. It was a great success! The weather was beautiful, the group had a selection of the Stanley E. Gontarski Grove Press Collection of 20th century avant-garde literature arranged in the three bedrooms upstairs. Attendees enjoyed the great music by the Leon Anderson Group and the wonderful food by Catering Capers. Dr. Gontarski spoke about Grove Press's contribution to fighting censorship in our country and the many important books that were published through its work and courageous, progressive stand. It was a fascinating and inspiring evening with readings from the collection by guest readers. Photos now in SET 16 on our photo page!
APRIL 6, 2014
3RD FSU ART HISTORY AND INTERIOR DESIGN CLASSES visited SPRING HOUSE with another full tour! Many interested and enthusiastic students learned some Spring House history and heard family stories about growing up in Spring House and in the woods on the property. It was a nice day; sunshine, butterflies, and the red buckeye tree on the terrace that hummingbirds love is in full bloom!
APRIL 4, 2014
4TH OLLI TOUR, FSU OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE visited Spring House with another full tour! OLLI's enthusiastic response to the opportunity to visit Spring House has been a wonderful part of the beginning of 2014 for Spring House Institute. They have filled up four tours and we've met many great folks who have been so encouraging to us in what we are working towards. We hope many of the people who attended will become Friends Of Spring House and support us in a larger way. People have signed up to become volunteers in many of the areas we need help, so thank you for your interesting in working with us! See you in the Fall !
MARCH 30, 2014
2ND FSU ART HISTORY AND INTERIOR DESIGN CLASSES visited SPRING HOUSE on a beautiful, perfect day for being inside and outside! The students asked lots of questions and enjoyed Lewis family stories, the tour and tales of the bedrooms and fireplaces and the trail around Spring House Pond. Many spring flowers are blooming; white azaleas Mrs. Lewis loved, three, two-winged silver bell trees that were another of her favorites, Cherokee roses up in the large oak across the stream where the Lewis children had a long croaker-sack swing they would sail out over the stream on, from near the top of a 12' ladder! A–YA–BA–YAAAAAAA!!!!!!
MARCH 28, 2014
3RD OLLI TOUR, FSU OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE – Friday looked like it was going to be a stormy day but was much better than forecast, just a light sprinkle out at Spring House, so it didn't keep us from walking around the house and some people walked the trail after our talk about Spring House and Lewis family stories. A storm at Spring House is a dynamic experience, so it won't be a terrible thing if you happen to have a tour when the weather doesn't cooperate so nicely. OLLI tours have been full of interesting questions from people, and many folks want to help us as volunteers. Thank you! We need you, and please become Friends Of Spring House from this website!
MARCH 23, 2014
FSU ART HISTORY AND INTERIOR DESIGN CLASSES visited SPRING HOUSE. The sun came out just before the students arrived and it turned into a very nice day in the woods. Instructor Jen Pride and Dr. Lauren Weingarden gave time for a brief history and family stories of Spring House by SHI board members, and then small groups toured the upstairs while others enjoyed the long bench seating looking out into the woods, and some walked the trail around the pond. People had lots of interesting questions. For what started out as a rainy day, we were very happy to have such a perfect part of it for their visit.
2ND OLLI TOUR, FSU OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE – The second tour from OLLI was another great day for Spring House Institute. We are so pleased to be sharing Spring House with this great group of people and we are looking forward to the third tour with OLLI on March 28. Thank you for your interest in Frank Lloyd Wright, Spring House, and the Lewis family.
February 26, 2014
Clifton Van Brunt Lewis, original owner of Spring House with her husband George, who died in 1996, joined him on 2-26-14. Clifton created Spring House Institute, and instructed us to carry out their vision for their home as a place to nurture humanity, nature, and the arts for the benefit of the public as a teaching institute, and other public and private uses. We will continue that work towards their vision.
February 22, 2014
FSU Interior Design Class visited Spring House! It was a beautiful spring day out in the woods and a great day to visit the cool spaces of Spring House. Yelena McLane, Ph.D., Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Interior Design, FSU, shared this with us: "Thank you very much for the opportunity to visit the Spring House. My students and I thoroughly enjoyed our tour and had very powerful experiences and impressions of the house.This is a truly remarkable and unique place! We also saw how much work it takes to maintain and restore it. Please let us know if we could share our enthusiasm, talents and time to help the Institute! Best regards,Yelena." Thank you Yelena! It will take many people sharing, working, contributing, and letting potential donors know about Spring House Institute and our efforts!
February 22, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE board meeting! We covered much business as tours, classes and opportunities are ramping up in 2014, a very exciting year looking forward! Come join us for the FUN and WORK!
February 21, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE hosted its 1st 2014 Fireside Chat at Spring House. We had a great oak fire in the living room fireplace and enjoyed refreshments while people arrived. Most of those who attended were either already architects, or in the process of becoming one. The azaleas are in bloom out in the woods around Spring House, the birds are singing! Spring and the mosquitos are upon us!
February 12, 2014
Mechanical engineer Curt Wilsey, from Albany, New York, visited Spring House and donated his knowledge and skills for the completion of a historic structure report on Spring House for Spring House Institute. We are grateful for his expertise evaluating the systems at the house, and making recommendations. What he contributes will complete the report and will give us specific information for individuals, corporations, or governments who are considering helping us with large donations, or grants, and will be required for them to make informed decisions.
February 8, 2014
SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE hosted the 3rd Invasive Plant Removal workday at Spring House. The weather cooperated with an end to the early morning rain about an hour before start time, the day warmed up, blue sky with clouds made a great day for work outside. The rain softened the soil and made it easier to dig the plant and roots of the very invasive coral ardisia! Volunteers from the Florida Native Plant Society, Habitat for Humanity, Master Gardeners, Florida Trail Associates, FAMU School of Architecture, FSU Urban and Regional Planning and FSU English Dept, in conjunction with efforts by the City of Tallahassee to address this problem in city parks, all came and worked hard on plant removal and spreading wood chips on the completed Northwest Trail along Spring House Pond. Thank you everyone for your good work!!!
February 7, 2014
FSU OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE, OLLI, visited Spring House for the first time! We're very happy that they did, it was a PERFECT day, BEAUTIFUL, and we all enjoyed being inside the wonderful open space of Spring House, and then outside on the newly cleared and completed Northwest Trail along Spring House Pond and back through the woods to the house. History and information about where Spring House fits in Frank Lloyd Wright's legacy was shared, as well as some of the contributions George and Clifton Lewis made in the community during the Civil Rights era, and Lewis family stories. A wonderful day!
January 18, 2014
The Magnolia Chapter OF THE FLORIDA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY and the Apalachee Chapter of the FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION, with SPRING HOUSE INSTITUTE hosted a workday to remove invasive Coral ardisia from Spring House property. This effort was in conjunction with the City of Tallahassee's efforts to address the same problem in its parks. The early morning was very cold, but people dressed for the weather and there was a great fire in the Spring House fireplace until the afternoon for anyone who needed more than hard work to warm them up! There was great coffee, tea, hot chocolate and homemade breakfast food. Over the day so much ardisia was cleared between Spring House and the pond, that you can once more see the water of the pond from downstairs. Lunch was served and then people continued working until later in the afternoon, when everyone gathered tools, moved all the large trash bags to the road and then shared beverages and conversation. A great day! Thank you everyone for all of your hard work!!!
January 11, 2014
Workday and our 1st FOSH Party at Spring House we worked in the rain, pulling dead limbs out of the land between Spring House and Okeeheepkee, picking up litter on Okeeheepkee, cleaning inside the house, wiping the cypress inside with Murphy's Oil Soap, and washing the windows on the east side of the house. The rain stopped by the time the band arrived and people started walking in from the road. The party was great! Everyone enjoyed the music by Smooth Sailing, the delicious food by Spring House Institute, the great beverages, the wonderful warm fire on the damp, cool night. Thank you for joining us!