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Manitoga: A Photo Essay
Photos and captions by Robert Schonfeld
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Seen from the entry court, looking south and west, the house sits almost entirely below grade. American Hemlocks were originally among the trees in the grouping pictured, providing evergreen cover and making the building even less visible. These have been lost to the wooly adelgid, an aphid-like insect first seen in the Pacific Northwest in 1924. It now threatens hemlocks throughout the country, including those remaining at Manitoga. |
The Studio is connected to the Residence by a pergola, which was covered in Dutchman's Pipe, a thick vine with large, heart-shaped leaves and flowers that recall the shape of a pipe. Wright intended the vine as a kind of curtain, behind which the theatrical experience of Dragon Rock and all of Manitoga would be revealed in numerous carefully planned set pieces, vignettes and experiences. This is a view of the beautifully restored Studio. The pergola will again have its curtain of vine. |
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Wright found his property to be a monotonous miscellany of second growth woods. He began to transform it by slow, careful clearing and the arrangement of indigenous underplantings. The first path he built, now called the Core Path, was intended to make guests feel as if they had had a walk in the woods. Here the Core Path crosses the stream that empties into the Quarry Pond. Guiding the walker over a path that changes in size, direction, length of view, etc. recalls the Japanese stroll garden, as do the bridge, the moss and the small boulders. All these elements are rendered by Wright in a style that is at once adaptively American and individual.
This is a closer view of the floor of the woods, which gives the appearance of naturally occurring rocks, moss and Mountain Laurel. All of these things were in fact arranged by Wright. It is a special experience to visit Manitoga during the bloom of the Mountain Laurel. |
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A remnant of the property's use as a quarry, Wright chose to leave this rigging ring and the boulder with drill marks both as objects of interest for the attention of the walker, as well as reminders of Manitoga's past.
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Here Wright built the path to curve close by a large boulder. It is a natural gesture for the walker to touch the boulder as she passes by, thus adding the sense of touch and the sensory pleasure of texture to the walk. |
Although there has been considerable growth in the woods over the years, this glimpse of the Hudson River and the western highlands is still a wonderful surprise for the walker reaching one of the higher points on the paths. It is also a fine example of the Japanese concept of the "borrowed view". |
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