Search for the Key: Farnsworth House LbNA #58101
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jun 1, 2011 |
| Location: | Farnsworth House |
| City: | Farnsworth House, Plano |
| County: | Kendall |
| State: | Illinois |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Nitrocat & Kittens  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Tiptoe & Tonto |
| Last found: | Jul 16, 2011 |
| Status: | FF |
| Last edited: | Jun 1, 2011 |
Farnsworth House is recognized as one of the most important works of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s life. It is the culmination of several decades of his visionary ideas. You can read a brief (and fairly boring) history of the house here: http://www.farnsworthhouse.org/history.htm
Or…you can visit for yourself. Tour information can be found on the site listed above. Once you are inside the house, you will begin to see the reality of Mies efforts as photographs and printed words can never convey them.
You will also hear the docent tell stories of the Prince that purchased the house, or of the strange event that took place when Dr. Farnsworth tried to move into her new home. It seems that on the day she came to finally take possession of the house that she had commissioned of van der Rohe, she couldn’t get in. The door was locked and the key that Mies had given to her didn’t fit the lock. The appearance of the key didn’t match the style of the house or anything that she knew of its architect; and when she exchanged it for her own key, Mies didn’t offer any explanation. He was an influential man who rubbed shoulders with some of the most powerful men in Chicago at the time. Dr. Farnsworth knew better than to pry.
After hearing this little tidbit during one of the tours, there are some who have begun to wonder if this mysterious key couldn’t be the fabled Key to the City of Chicago that wanders into Urban Legend now and again. Dr. Farnsworth was an intelligent woman. In the short time that the key was in her hands, could she have pieced together a vital clue to its whereabouts?
She was known to take long walks in the woods near her now famous home. Perhaps there you will something she left behind.
Park in Silver Springs lot #6 on River Road, just down from the Farnsworth museum. Follow the grass trail 7/10 of a mile from your car (if you don’t have high tech hiking equipment, that would be 200 short person paces—or 400 steps—past the sign for hunters. Stay on the grass trail. Do not go into the area designated for hunting.) On your right, you will hopefully see a social/deer/tryst trail that goes into the trees a few yards toward the stream. In front of you will be a downed tree. Off to the left, there will be an upright tree with a very decayed log at its base. Tucked in between the feet of the tree, under the decay, you will find some information that Edith wants you to have. Be discreet. There are some unsavory types that would love to get their hands on this information. In the spirit of Mies van der Rohe’s vision of blending architecture into its natural surroundings, please hide this box well when you are finished.
As a side note, as you walk, take note of the Tall Grass Prairie restoration in progress on your left. How many of the natives can you identify?
This box is part of the 'Search for the Key' series. For further information, including directions for decoding the secret message to find the final box, see http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gBoxId=172609 on AQ or http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?boxnum=58084&boxname=Search_for_the_Key:_Key_to_the_City on LBNA.
Or…you can visit for yourself. Tour information can be found on the site listed above. Once you are inside the house, you will begin to see the reality of Mies efforts as photographs and printed words can never convey them.
You will also hear the docent tell stories of the Prince that purchased the house, or of the strange event that took place when Dr. Farnsworth tried to move into her new home. It seems that on the day she came to finally take possession of the house that she had commissioned of van der Rohe, she couldn’t get in. The door was locked and the key that Mies had given to her didn’t fit the lock. The appearance of the key didn’t match the style of the house or anything that she knew of its architect; and when she exchanged it for her own key, Mies didn’t offer any explanation. He was an influential man who rubbed shoulders with some of the most powerful men in Chicago at the time. Dr. Farnsworth knew better than to pry.
After hearing this little tidbit during one of the tours, there are some who have begun to wonder if this mysterious key couldn’t be the fabled Key to the City of Chicago that wanders into Urban Legend now and again. Dr. Farnsworth was an intelligent woman. In the short time that the key was in her hands, could she have pieced together a vital clue to its whereabouts?
She was known to take long walks in the woods near her now famous home. Perhaps there you will something she left behind.
Park in Silver Springs lot #6 on River Road, just down from the Farnsworth museum. Follow the grass trail 7/10 of a mile from your car (if you don’t have high tech hiking equipment, that would be 200 short person paces—or 400 steps—past the sign for hunters. Stay on the grass trail. Do not go into the area designated for hunting.) On your right, you will hopefully see a social/deer/tryst trail that goes into the trees a few yards toward the stream. In front of you will be a downed tree. Off to the left, there will be an upright tree with a very decayed log at its base. Tucked in between the feet of the tree, under the decay, you will find some information that Edith wants you to have. Be discreet. There are some unsavory types that would love to get their hands on this information. In the spirit of Mies van der Rohe’s vision of blending architecture into its natural surroundings, please hide this box well when you are finished.
As a side note, as you walk, take note of the Tall Grass Prairie restoration in progress on your left. How many of the natives can you identify?
This box is part of the 'Search for the Key' series. For further information, including directions for decoding the secret message to find the final box, see http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gBoxId=172609 on AQ or http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView.php?boxnum=58084&boxname=Search_for_the_Key:_Key_to_the_City on LBNA.