Mies' Farnsworth House flooded

This happened a couple of weeks back, but the restoration work is going to take a good long time:

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's famous modern masterpiece, the Farnsworth House, fell prey to Mother Nature Sunday, September 14, as flood waters rose almost two feet over the top deck, entering the house. Built within the flood plain of the Fox River in Plano, Illinois, the house stands on columns five feet above ground which proved not high enough as record breaking rain amounts brought the river more than 14 feet above its normal level. More than eight inches of rain fell in two days as Tropical Storm Lowell passed through Saturday, immediately followed by the remnants of Hurricane Ike Saturday night and Sunday. Fox River waters rose quickly and by Sunday morning, September 14, they had breached the interior of the house by over a foot.

Full details at the house museum's website, www.farnsworthhouse.org.

Posted by David on September 28, 2008 5:09 PM