KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This Saturday, you can tour a home in Kansas City, Missouri, designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Homer Williams has lived in the “Bott House” since the late 1980s.
An architect himself, Williams bought the home from the Botts who hired Wright to design it. The house was completed in 1963, after Wright’s death.
Wright designed the furniture in the house, all of which remains to this day.
“From my era, certainly, Wright was really a genius,” Williams said. “He had his flaws, but he was definitely a genius.”
The Bott House is on Briarcliff Drive in the Northland. Set on a cliff not far from Waterworks Park, the house’s back patio offers spectacular views of downtown Kansas City, the Missouri River and Wheeler Airport.
Inside, red concrete covers the floors, rocks protrude from concrete walls in a kind of honeycomb pattern.
Mahogany wood covers much of the remaining wall space. Williams said the house reflects some of the desert themes Wright adopted after moving to Arizona.
“That was something he came out with for his desert home down in Scottsdale. Here it is in Kansas City as well,” Williams said.
The Bott House has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. It’s split mostly over two stories. Williams said he receives non-stop requests to tour the home, where he lives full-time.
Saturday, Wright expert and founder of the Frank Lloyd Wright Revival Initiative, Michael Miner, will screen his documentary on Wright called “Masterpieces” at the Nelson-Atkins Museum.
He will then accompany ticket holders on a tour with Williams of the Bott House.
Money raised through the event goes toward the Revival Initiative whose purpose is to help keep Wright-designed buildings standing.
“They’re able to acquire Wright projects that might not be able to withstand,” Williams said. “We’ve seen Wright buildings torn down in the last couple of years even. It’s terrible to think about that.”
More information and links to purchase tickets to either the screening or the screening and tour are available on the Revival Initiative’s website. The combo ticket costs $175.
The screening begins at 1 p.m. on May 21, 2022. The tour will begin at 4:30 the same afternoon.
