9 years later...

Wow, it's been a while.  A few photos of changes.  

Guest bath before.  Still had the original plastic shower surround.  Original Kohler cast iron tub.  We could not even replace this tub, the room was built around it and the doorway is too small to fit anything through.  Considering reglazing but still on the fence.

Guest bath after.  New tiles, fixtures, quartz countertop.  Need to redo the acid-stained floor.  I did that when we first moved in and it needs to be redone and resealed.

Went with a clear shower curtain and funky hooks from Quiet Town.  This bathroom is pretty dark with all of the wood and we needed to get light into this alcove tub/shower.

Master bath before

Master bath in progress.  Apparently I never took After photos.   Love that we were able to use authentic terrazzo tile from Wausau Tile.  Quartz counter, rebuilt vanity, Toto toilet, Kohler and Hans Grohe fixtures.

We had some more reno plans that were thwarted by the necessity of two new A/Cs.  Hate spending money on something I cannot see but a high performing air conditioner is a non-negotiable in Arizona.  We went with Bosch variable speed heat pump inverter units.  So far, so good.

The Article

In reviewing my much-neglected blog, I realized I never did post the article. So here it is. All about Fred Griffin, Architect.

Frederick Griffin; The Forgotten Modernist

No word from the City on our Historic Designation Application so we forge forward and do what we can with what we got...

A few images as we reseal the south side of the house.

Funny Details

He had his stove burners inset into the formica counter top. There are still burn marks on the wood. As much as I would like a brand new kitchen, somehow I would hate to part with these characteristics and clues of the past. (We keep a giant cutting board on the counter to cover these holes)

New Details!

I was researching like a mad woman this weekend and found out there has been another owner of our home. I was completely floored that I could've missed that!

Fred Griffin 1959-1962

H.S. and Barbara Lauer: March 9, 1962 – January 27th, 1966

L Edward Eisele Jr: January 27th, 1966 – April 26th, 1993

Harmona Conradine Ugard (and Bruce Ugard): April 26th, 1993 - February 28th, 2002

Us: February 28th, 2002 - until death do us part :)

I have an unhealthy attachment to this home, I love it so much and feel so strongly that we are meant to be here.

We found this house by accident. We had an appointment with our realtor, who was late. We were supposed to be viewing the little house across the street with the retro screen block.

We were parked perfectly next to the "For Sale" sign of the Griffin House, such that it wasn't visible. Jeff noticed a crazy black wood fence, really funky design. He walked over to look at it and noticed the For Sale sign and flyers. In reading the flyer, we knew we had to have this house. Our agent phoned as we stood outside hoping to get in. They told us no, it would have to be another day.

The wait was awful, I think it was several days, before we were allowed to come back. We wrote a full offer within an hour of leaving.

Even with all of the problems and money sunk into this place, we love it and feel so lucky to be here.

Finding Fred

We spent last weekend in Carefree looking for information on Fred Griffin.

On Saturday, we drove the winding desert roads looking for the "Weekend House" we have a clipping about. We were also hoping to find the commercial property advertised as The Andre Building. After striking out, we went to the Sundial Plaza listed on the matchbook to poke around. My husband wandered into a real estate office and showed them the articles we had printed out; the gentleman working said we should come back on Sunday, that surely the owner knew him.

We returned on Sunday to look for the residence that Fred lived in at the time of his passing. I was really hoping for his piece de resistance. Not to be. It was a burnt sienna stucco home.

We drove over to the real estate office again and met a great gal named Tara. She knew Fred! I was so excited to speak to someone who knew him! She gave us leads on a couple homes that she thought were his designs and suggested we come back at noon to speak to Harry, who knew Fred better.

We drove around some more to burn a couple hours. Jeff used to work for Paul & Jean Lipman, it was his first introduction to fine art and contemporary architecture. He still tells me stories about that amazing house built into the boulders, we found the driveway but it's tucked up into the rocks and thus not visible.

We finally headed back over to speak to Harry, he had some good stories but emphasized he didn't really know Fred personally, just as a business associate. Tara shared a fabulous round design of Fred's that they called "The Carousel House". We drove by that one as well, it was built into a depression so was somewhat difficult to see from the street. The aerial is much cooler.


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It was a very exciting weekend, but somehow melancholy as well. I wish I could've met him.

I was searching for Fred Griffin on eBay the other day, and look what I found from a seller in Washington!