James G. Ferreri has a nice article in the Staten Island Advance on a house in the Lighthouse Hill neighborhood that's been recently saved from destruction:

Most of us detest wasting anything, whether it be our cell phone minutes, the last drop of milk in the container or, considering today's sky-high prices, the gas in our car.

Why, then, do we allow the waste of our irreplaceable buildings? Nearly every day, here in New York's fastest growing county, buildings that never can be replaced are destroyed simply because they have no protection from predators.

Fortunately, there are success stories. One unique home that has avoided the wrecking ball is "Crimson Beech," the home built by the late Catherine and William Cass on Lighthouse Hill. It is the only residence in New York City designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and one of only two buildings the world-famous architect designed that is still standing in New York.

There are two reasons for this building's good fortune: The Cass family and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Although Wright is perhaps best known for his residential projects for well-to-do clients, he also had an interest throughout his career in producing well-designed, moderately-priced housing. He believed that "the average American was entitled to a home that could also be a work of art."

Wright knew that if this home maxim was to apply to the lower-income home, it would require either pre-fabrication or a systems-built method of construction. It meant, he explained, that the home would have to go to the factory, rather than the skilled labor coming onto the building site."

read the whole article