Would be first Wright to meet wrecking ball in 40 years A late-period building by Frank Lloyd Wright in Whitefish, Montana, will be demolished next week if a last-minute buyer doesn?t come forward, according to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.
The Lockridge Medical Center, a rare example of the architect?s work in Montana, has been under threat for years, but the pace of potential demolition accelerated in the new year.
According to a release sent by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the Montana Preservation Alliance confirmed with Whitefish attorney Ryan Purdy, the legal counsel for building owner, Mick Ruis, that asbestos abatement had begun in preparation for a full demolition. After local preservationists found out and sounded the alarm, the owner?s representative said he ?has agreed to sell it to anyone who puts $1.7 million in his hand by the 10th of January.? Curbed had reported earlier that Ruis plans to tear down the structure to make way for a three-story commercial development, including retail space, offices, and four residential units on the top floor.

According to an earlier Curbed report on the Medical Center:

This later-period Wright work in the town of Whitefish was designed in 1958 and completed after the noted architect passed away in 1959. One of his final projects, the brick and cast-concrete office featured a massive brick fireplace, double clerestory windows, and 64-foot-long wall of floor-to-ceiling gla...