House That Frank Lloyd Wright Built Is Missing

Hey Johnston: In the late 1950s there was a home built in Bellevue called the Carefree Home. I think it was demonstrating new building products. Do you know whether it's still in existence and where it is/was? I think it was on the west side of Bellevue.

Answer: In 1957, Bellevue was named All-American City of the Future by Look magazine. Of course the town went nuts, sort of like when Seattle was named the Most Livable City.

One of the things Bellevue did to celebrate was get Frank Lloyd Wright to design a futuristic home, according to Mary Ellen Piro, president of the Bellevue Historical Society.

The Wright house was built just south of Bellevue Square in what is now Downtown Park, but stood for only a few months as a demonstration, Piro said, "to show what future homes might look like."

The house was taken apart and moved off the site; Piro said it isn't known what happened to it after that.

There are only three Wright-designed homes in the state, including one in Issaquah, so it would be interesting to find out what happened to this one.

One record of the home found by the Historical Society is in the 3,500 feet of 16mm film of Bellevue celebrating being named an All-American City. There's lots of history in the film, Piro said, but it has to be transferred to videotape to save it and share it.

Piro said the society is looking for an individual or school to transfer the film to videotape. Call the society at 450-1046 if you can help or you know what happened to the Wright house.

Hey Johnston: I want to hear about your jury duty. Let your readers know. We all saw it in the paper.

Answer: Mr. Johnston spent three days in King County Superior Court as a juror. He read several magazines, was kicked off two juries because he read the newspaper and knew about the cases. He also joined in the evacuation of the courthouse twice because of false fire alarms.

All in all, it was an interesting and rewarding way to spend some time with our fellow citizens.

Hey Johnston: When I'm heading east on Highway 520 from Seattle, there's a sign that reads, "Bellevue, 4 miles." What does that mean? It's not four miles across the bridge. Is it four miles to City Hall? What do these markers mean?

Answer: The mileage on the sign tells you the distance between the sign and an imaginary spot in the heart of downtown Bellevue.

It is a spot selected by the city and state highway department. This spot could be the location of the Frank Lloyd Wright house mentioned in the first question.

Claudia Cornish of the Department of Transportation said the selection of the "X" that marks the city is pretty much up to the local government, and most city officials pick their downtown business district for the measuring, she said.

For example, driving southbound into Seattle there is a sign announcing Seattle is 16 miles away, although the city limits are only a few miles down the highway.

How to Just Ask Johnston: This column appears Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Local News section of the Eastside edition. Leave your questions on Steve Johnston's voice mail at 464-8475. Or write: Just Ask Johnston, c/o The Seattle Times, 10777 Main St., Suite 100, Bellevue, WA 98004. The e-mail address is east@seatimes.com