I grew up in Great Neck, New York in the 1980's. There's not much architecture in Great Neck. Lots of buildings, of course, and even ones that solved architectural problems but few that tap into the cultural, artistic, and intellectual qualities that distinguish architecture from building.
Last week I visited Great Neck to look at a potential job. Since I was early, I stopped by one of my favorite jaunts (and perhaps the best example of modern architecture on Long Island), Frank Lloyd Wright's Ben Rebhuhn House of 1937. Located on Myrtle Drive in Great Neck Estates, the house is partially concealed behind a perimeter band of greenery. It is a small house - modest in size yet heroic in form. It is both tied to the landscape and soaring above it. It is powerful and proud with an overhanging eave rivaling the best modernist cantilevers.
