The Freeman House: A case for the expansion of significance

This thesis examines the current restoration and rehabilitation of the Freeman House (Architect Frank Lloyd Wright 1923) being undertaken by the Architecture Department of University of Southern California. The project is assessed in terms of both the guidelines of the Secretary of the Interior, and concomitantly the presence and influence of the Patroness of the house, Harriet Freeman. Mrs. Freeman left the house to the custodianship of the University in 1986. Using a gender based analysis, the paper asks the question: Do the current modifications to the Freeman House honor and acknowledge the occupancy and contribution of Mrs. Freeman? The larger question of expanding the definition of significance and its implications for the field of historic preservation is also considered. This thesis makes the point that the single focus on the purity of a Frank Lloyd Wright design is not always appropriate, specifically in the case of the Freeman House.