Having been a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture for quite some time, I was delighted when the name came up in an interview with car wash legend Bill Jurkens.
I should tell you that my affinity for Wright’s architecture does not extend to the man or his deportment. Over the years, many stories of Wright’s infamous personality quirks have filtered through time to become legendary.
For example: Soon after completion of a large and expensive home and corporate headquarters, for the CEO of Johnson Wax, a rainstorm hit Racine, just as an evening dinner party hosted by Mr. Johnson at his beautiful new home was underway. Drip. Drip. Drip. The roof leaked, dropping rainwater right into the soup bowl of Mr. Johnson.
It should be noted, that the dining table was mobile and could be set in the kitchen and rolled out to the dining area through a special service door designed to accommodate the table’s relocation from the kitchen.
A reportedly infuriated Johnson immediately placed a call to Wright. Having gotten the self-proclaimed genius of architecture on the phone, Mr. Johnson groused into the phone “rain is dripping into my soup bowl,” to which Wright exclaimed his solution back at Johnson; “Well, move the table!”
On another occasion, according to legend, after building several buildings on the campus of Florida Southern College, Wright was called to the campus to discuss an emerging issue. It seems that a problem existed between one of Wright’s buildings and the people using it. Large plate glass walls had been suspended between very streamlined stainless steel vertical supports that were very difficult to see, and students and faculty had been walking into the glass.
During Wright’s visit, the staff explained to him the issue to which Wright exclaimed, “If people are too stupid to not walk into the glass walls, then they’re too stupid to be in this building!” Wright then turned and walked straight into one of the glass walls.
Wright did answer with an ingenious solution. A few days after he returned from his trip, the school received a package of stylized decals, which were to be applied to the center of the glass at eye level. The solution worked beautifully and the technique is used in many glass walled buildings today.
So, it was not surprising to hear Bill’s story of the day Frank Lloyd Wright came to wash his car. The following is an extraction from the telling of that encounter.
Bill: I have a funny one to tell you about Frank Lloyd Wright, when we first opened up in Madison, at University Car Wash.
I was there one day and this black 1941 Lincoln, driven by chauffeur, arrived. Out of the back seat steps Frank Lloyd Wright. He walked down the customer walkway in the car wash and was looking all around, while getting his car washed.
The chauffeur said to me, “Mr. Wight doesn’t pay for things here in Madison.”
Perry: (Laughing) He was reputed not to pay for things anywhere.
Bill: Yeah, yeah. He never paid for anything. I said, “Well the car is already washed, I guess he’s not going to pay for the car wash either.” To this day, I still remember that.
He was totally off by himself. He wouldn’t talk to anybody.
Perry: How typical of the other stories I have heard about him, but I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone who had that kind of interaction with him.
Bill: There were several around Madison that interacted with him!
Oh, well! Sometimes it costs to be in the presence of genius.
During a visit to Madison, I accompanied a client to a high-end stereo store that had been in business for many years.
While we were there, the owner said that Wright had owed him for some sound equipment purchased on credit. As I recall the story, the business owner sued Wright. After Wright’s death, his widow brought two boxes of Wright’s personal effects by for the owner to sell to satisfy the debt.
Hey, Bill: all you wanted to do that day was wash a few cars! Oh — and get paid for it!