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Cedar Rock makes for a bend in the river, and down by the river Wright built a simple boathouse for Lowell Walter to launch is small outboard fishing boat. The river is a lovely setting.
Written Aug 2, 2012
I used both my iPhone and big camera to get shots of this place, and unfortunately, the big camera shots were forgotten in the earlier writing of these tips. Enjoy...Whitney had a great time running around the property.
Written Aug 2, 2012
Wright also designed a fountain on the promontory in front of the house, and an open brick fire pit above the house. The fountain is dry now, revealing the budget limited protection of this architectural masterpiece. Fortuntely, the setting of the river and landscape are generally well preserved. There's a memorial on a granite boulder above the house.
Updated Aug 2, 2012
Since the park was closed when I arrived, I wasn't able to tour inside the house. However, one feature of this home like many of Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces is lots of glass. I peered inside and saw canvas draped furniture, which were also designed by Wright. The house was built between 1948 and 1950, and so for many viewing this work, the home might seem rather ordinary by today's standards. But, it's important to bear in mind that modernism in architecture was a reaction to the ornate sensibilities of the Victorian era. Cedar Rock has a low flat concrete roof and a hydronically heated concrete floor. The walls are planes of brick, wood, and glass. The single story floor plan is of a tadpole shape with the bedroom in the tail and the living space and kitchen in the head, another abrupt contrast with Victorian sensibilities. This arrangement is referred to by Wright as "Usonian", and is a pattern familiar among the nine residences that he built in Iowa. Cedar Rock though is the only home in Iowa to have Wright's signature tile, but then again, in this house everything is a signature of Wright, from the furniture to the dining china.
The house definetely has some bold lines, but the front door appears small and is located down a rather dark entrance way. I assume that upon entry, the visitor is immediately impressed by how the modest entry opens to a grand array of floor to ceiling windows on nature.
Updated Aug 2, 2012
Website: http://www.iowadnr.gov/Destinations/StateParksRecAreas/IowasStateParks/ParkDetails.aspx?ParkID=3&idAdminBoundary=176
The park is not far east from Independence, IA on US20, the mostly divided highway between Dubuque and Waterloo. Take exit 261 and go south, following the brown signs for about seven miles through the tiny town of Quasqueton. There's parking inside the gate if it's open, but in my case the place was closed. Hours seem to be limited, as the landscaping was invading the parking lot at the time I visited. I parked my truck nearby at a woodworking workshop that didn't mind the presence of my big rig.
Once inside the gate, the modest architecture of the visitors center shouldn't be mistaken for the house that Wright built. Either take the gravel road down the hill past corn fields, or take the meandering hiking trail that goes between the cornfields and a thin margin of forest near the river. Although not well marked, either trail will eventually arrive at the base of the Cedar Rock knoll that overlooks the river.
Updated Aug 2, 2012
Website: http://www.iowadnr.gov/Destinations/StateParksRecAreas/IowasStateParks/ParkDetails.aspx?ParkID=3&idAdminBoundary=176
Modernist Architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Work
Cedar Rock is a limestone bluff that overlooks the Wapsipinicon River in Buchanan County, IA, but is most famous for one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most complete and best preserved architectural...
Build your own Cedar Rock State Park page
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