Stickley’s Utopia Revisited and Some Historic Sites Reopen
by Kate Nixon
After the Fourth of July holiday, the online classes hosted by The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms will place the spotlight on their own organization as a study of Stickley and his process in bringing Craftsman Farms to life. Starting July 11th, this upcoming session will focus on Gustav Stickley’s vision for the Farms, his motivation behind moving to Morris Plains, New Jersey, and his place within the reform movement. In later sessions, instructor Jonathan Clancy will focus on the process of building Craftsman Farms, including the central log cabin, and the interiors along with highlighted items from the Craftsman Farms collection. The last course will cover the vision and study of The Craftsman Building in New York City.
The four sessions will start Saturdays, starting July 11th through August 1st, at 1:00 PM EDT. Each session will be $25, all of which will go towards the operational costs of keeping The Stickley Museum open.
As with the previous series of classes, the courses will be held in the online Zoom platform. Upon payment, registered attendees will receive a Zoom link to enter the course.
You can purchase tickets by clicking on this link. See the schedule below:
Craftsman Utopia: Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Farms
4 Sessions | Saturdays, July 11, 18, 25 & August 1 | 1:00 EDT | $25/session
An online course presented by The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms.
with Instructor Dr. Jonathan Clancy, Director of Collections and Preservation
July 11, 2020: “Direct Application of Every Principle We Advocate”: Mr. Stickley’s Vision
From its inception as a “craftsman village,” to the plans for the “Craftsman Farms School for citizenship,” to its eventual use as a family home and working farm, this session explores the motivations behind Stickley’s decision to move to Morris Plains, New Jersey and places him in the broader context of the reform movement and utopian communities.
July 18, 2020: “Building Utopia”: The Development of The Craftsman Farms Campus
Featuring new research on the chronology and development of Craftsman Farms, this session explores the built environment and provides interior views of the original buildings on our 30-acre property.
July 25, 2020: Craftsman Farms Today: Highlights from the Collection
This session looks closely at some of the iconic pieces Stickley owned, some furniture he designed during his tenure at Craftsman Farms, and some great pieces from the Museum’s collection that illustrate the essential tenets of the philosophy of design he promoted in The Craftsman.
August 1, 2020: “A Cheerful, Hospitable Home for Our Friends”: The Craftsman Building in New York City
In some ways, the Craftsman Building was a perfect reflection of Stickley’s broader goals, to disseminate his idealism and his products to a larger audience, to reform the look and practice of industrialism, and to reshape the manner in which the general public conceived of the home. This session explores the final chapter of Stickley’s career–the peak and fall of the Craftsman movement–by examining the many different facets of his business in the Craftsman Building.
You can purchase tickets by clicking on this link.
Historic Sites Start their Reopening Process
After nearly three months of closures, some historic sites – but not all – have recently opened or will open their doors in the next coming weeks. Below is a partial list of opened sites or sites that will open in the coming days.
Boettcher Mansion – Open for special events
Boettcher Mansion is currently hosting events in 2020, while adhearing to the latest local COVID-19 restriction and Public Heath Orders. To inquire about available dates or make an appointment for a site visit, please email the staff or call 720-497-7630. For more information, please visit the Boettcher Mansion website at https://www.jeffco.us/boettcher-mansion.
Fallingwater – Open for Outdoor experiences
Fallingwater reopened on Saturday, June 13. Fallingwater has been preparing to reopen, albeit at reduced capacity. Working closely with leaders at local, regional and national cultural institutions to establish best practices, the staff at Fallingwater has completed training sessions to understand and implement modified procedures and sanitation practices to ensure everyone’s safety. Operations have been resumed with a modified schedule for outdoor experiences and the staff will continue to closely monitor and make adjustments as needed.
Visitors will be required to wear masks and physically distance and reservations will be required to ensure visitation does not exceed 50% of the site’s capacity.
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio/Robie House – Open
Interior tours have resumed at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio and Robie House in accordance with Phase 4 of the 5-phase “Restore Illinois” plan. The organization has implemented several social distancing policies along with new increased cleaning procedures and hand sanitizer stations located throughout the sites. Tours are now eight persons per tour, routes have been adjusted, and outdoor tours options are offered. Spacing intervals will be observed at both sites along with properly marked paths to help visitors maintain the distancing and Plexiglass shields installed at register stations.
Tour tickets available online now.
Roycroft Campus – Scheduled opening of July 7th
Visitors to the Campus will be required to wear face masks and maintain social distancing inside the historic buildings and while on a tour. Click for more information on tours and the museum.
At this time, only be offering a basic walking tour of the Campus which will be primarily outdoors, and include access to the Campus Museum. Tours will be available Tuesdays-Saturdays at 2pm and will last approximately 1.5 hours (including museum).
All tours need to be reserved in advance and will be limited to a capacity of 10 people per party. If interested in scheduling a tour please call (716) 655-0261 or email [email protected].
Please see the tours page on the Roycroft Campus website for more information.
The Copper Shop Gallery has already reopened in compliance with New York State guidelines. The Shop is now open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 11am to 5pm; in-store pickup is available by calling in your order to (716) 655-0261 or by shopping the online store and choosing in-store pickup at checkout. Everything on the Roycroft Copper Shop website also ships FREE.
Taliesin Preservation, Wisconsin – Open
The home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright from 1867 to 1959 has started their tours with distancing policies in place. According to the Taliesin website, the number of people inside the Visitor Center will be limited, the number of participants in the tour groups will be limited as will the number of guests in the Gift Shop and Café. Guests will be required to wear a mask and will also be asked to use hand sanitizer upon entrance or exit of the Visitor Center and shuttles. Plexiglass shields are installed and no cash transactions will be accepted.
In addition to booking your tour experience in advance online, Taliesin will accept all major credit cards and gift certificates.
In addition to increased cleaning and sanitation practices around the campus, entrances, exits, and traffic paths will be clearly marked to help guests maintain physical distancing.
Guests will also be asked to complete a brief health screening to check if you have been in contact with a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infected person, had respiratory symptoms not connected to a known existing condition or had fever or chills not connected with a known existing condition.
If you hear of any openings of historic sites, please let us know and we’ll update our list! Send us an email at [email protected]!