2024-05-03T20:27:47-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150061159/cranbrook-receives-frank-lloyd-wright-designed-smith-house-as-donation Alexander Walter 2018-04-23T13:25:00-04:00 >2018-04-23T13:35:36-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/m5/m5xc3zm102vheerm.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Cranbrook, known worldwide as an architectural set piece, is getting a new gem in its diadem &mdash; a Frank Lloyd Wright house. The house was built in 1950 by Sara and Melvyn Maxwell Smith. The donation came from the Towbes Foundation. &ldquo;The Smith family always said they didn&rsquo;t want this to just pass to another set of homeowners,&rdquo; said Gregory Wittkopp, director of the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. &ldquo;The phrase they used was they wanted it to be &lsquo;an educational resource.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p></em><br /><br /><p>The donation by the Towbes Foundation was a gift "that other design schools would kill for,"&nbsp;<em>The Detroit News</em>&nbsp;reports&nbsp;and tells the legendary tale of A. Alfred Taubman donating a substantial portion of the windows to the cash-strapped Smith family to get the <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/4673/frank-lloyd-wright" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FLW</a>-designed house finished before the winter of 1949.</p>