Exhibition Catalog - Lawrence Technological University

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have picnics in our living room, using the fireplace as
a grill.” 68 A few years later, Gregor quoted Elizabeth
as saying, “I know that the roof has leaked and the
skylights leak but I would rather live in this house than
any other house in all the world.” 69
Elizabeth Affleck died in 1973 at the age of 71.
Gregor died at 81 the following year. They had lived
in the Wright-designed house for over three decades.
Following their deaths, their children, Gregor
P. and Mary Ann, rented the house to architects for
a few years before giving it to the Lawrence Institute
of Technology (now Lawrence Technological University)
in 1978. At the time, Mary Ann said, “Mother
and dad loved the house... and we want to help LIT
by providing students an historic and creative architectural
example from which to learn.” 70 The school
contemplated continuing its use as a residence, but
that was not done, and the house has been used
ever since for classes, meetings, and fundraising
events. It was placed on Michigan Register of Historic
Places 1978, and the National Register of Historic
Places in 1985.
The Affleck house today remains a testament in
brick, wood, and glass to the fundamental tenets of
Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural philosophy and to
Gregor and Elizabeth Affleck’s confidence in Wright’s
unique vision. Under the stewardship of Lawrence
Technological University, it will continue to expose
visitors to Wright’s genius while serving generations of
architectural students as a model of design that exists
in harmony with its natural surroundings.
Photograph by Megan Smith