Summer is a busy time for special events at the “mansion”, family travel and reserved group use of the grounds for weddings, birthday parties, etc., so please call the Riordan Mansion at 928–779-4395 to make your reservations for a tour.  Tours start at the top of the hour with the first tour going out at 10 AM and the last tour starting at 4 PM.  Arrive early to enjoy the grounds and the visitors’ center and shop in the gift shop.  Pack a lunch and enjoy a picnic at one of the picnic tables.  Staff and volunteers are looking forward to your visit!

This presentation will explore the events of June 30th, 1956 when two modern airliners collided over Grand Canyon National Park, and 128 people lost their lives.  What followed was a massive recovery effort by the U.S. Military, TWA and United Airlines, the National Park Service and other federal agencies and the press.  Grand Canyon National Park has submitted a nomination to designate the site as a National Historic Landmark.

This lecture is in celebration of National Historic Preservation Month.  Bring your lunch or buy some packaged snacks at the front desk and settle-in for a fascinating and informative presentation.  There is no charge for any lecture at the Riordan Mansion, but you might want to bring your ice cream money to toss in the RAN Can.  All donations stay with the Riordan Mansion to support keeping it open and to help fund special projects.  Thank you for your support!

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin Estate in Buffalo, New York is often considered one of the most impressive projects of Wright’s “Prairie Period”.  The George Barton House (1903) was the first structure built for the complex and is the focus of this presentation.  Initiated through a request by a Buffalo architectural restoration firm for a color analysis of the interior plaster surfaces, the project developed into a scientific and historic investigation which also addressed the media and application techniques employed in the very unique interior finishes of Wright’s prairie style homes.

The scientific methodologies used for this investigation include color matching to standards, paint cross-sectional analysis with visible polarized light (VIS-PLM) and ultraviolet fluorescence polarized light microscopy (UV-PLM), pigment and binder analysis by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).

Little-known trivia:  Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles Whittlesey, the architect of the Riordan Mansion, both worked with Louis Sullivan for a period of time.  Wouldn’t it have been fun to sit down with those three architects together?

For reservations for this informative lecture, please call the Riordan Mansion at 928–779-4395.  Saturday night lectures and Brown Bag Lunch lectures are always free, but RAN appreciates your donations which assist in keeping the Riordan Mansion open and operating.  The $70,000 roof on the east house is finished, but there are many more projects just waiting for funds.  Bring a little cash or a check with you the night of the lecture.  The sleigh is now brimming with a variety of donated items to benefit RAN.  Cash and credit cards work in the gift shop.  Check out the new books and other items for sale.

Starting May 3rd, the park will open at 9:30 AM with the first tour starting at 10 AM.  As always, tours will start at the top of the hour with the last tour going out at 4 PM and the park closing at 5 PM.  Currently, the park is open Thursday through Monday and closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Be watching here for possible upcoming changes to the summer weekly schedule.

With warmer weather and school being out soon, more people are traveling.  To be assured of finding  space on a tour when you visit, please call ahead to make a reservation — 928–779-4395.  Staff and volunteers are ready to make your experience at the Riordan Mansion a memorable one!

Arizona State Parks interim director, Bill Feldmeier’s talk, “The State of the State Parks”,  updated attendees about what is happening in the Arizona State Parks system.  Cristie Statler from the Arizona State Parks Foundation also spoke.  Kathy Farretta from the Museum of Northern Arizona and volunteer at the Riordan Mansion State Historic Park provided insight into the Riordan family and the history of Flagstaff with her presentation titled “The Riordan Family and the Development of Flagstaff”.

Before lunch at the Museum of Northern Arizona, attendees had the opportunity to explore the galleries and view the exhibits at the museum.  After lunch, several attendees enjoyed visiting the Riordan Mansion including taking a guided tour of the Riordan family homes.

A highlight of the event was the recognition of Arizona State Parks Volunteers for their service to the parks.  Gwen Groth, docent at the Riordan Mansion State Historic Park as well as a founding member of the Riordan Action Network, was presented with the Volunteer of the Year — Northern Division award.  Gwen was recognized for her hard work and dedication as a docent but also her determination and steadfast commitment to keeping the Riordan Mansion open and operating for the public to enjoy for years to come.  Congratulations, Gwen!  You are a wonderful example of volunteerism at its best!

As plans for the celebration started to materialize months ago, the Northern Arizona Celtic Heritage Society offered their assistance by sponsoring a whiskey tasting which was held in the visitors’ center.  The group generously  provided volunteers, whiskey, tea, Irish edibles and even wheat for weaving.  Entertaining folks during the whiskey tasting was The Flagstaff Irish Session who provided foot-tapping music created on a variety  of traditional instruments.  The wonderful music inspired the leprechauns to dance and further entertain the guests.

Before the doors to the Riordan’s “ballroom” opened, guests were escorted to the west “wing” of the Riordan Mansion to be greeted by a butler who ushered them in  to enjoy Charles Spining’s beautiful music played on one of the Riordans’ Steinway pianos.

For the second time in the park’s history, the “ballroom” was opened for an evening of entertainment and history with Erik Larson, music historian and long-time Riordan docent (See photo courtesy of Lou Blazquez) .  Erik shared his wealth of knowledge and little known facts about the music the guests enjoyed as well as some fun Riordan family stories.  Guests reveled in the evening in the home that has delighted visitors since 1904.

Riordan Mansion’s staff and volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty to make the evening a huge success including escorting guests in the cold and rain of a stormy night.  Thanks also goes out to people and businesses who donated various prizes and items for the very successful raffle:  Pink Jeep Tours, Collins Irish Pub, Mary Brown, Charlotte Madden, Ton Schierl, Safeway — University Plaza, Safeway — Cedar Avenue, White Dove Coffee, Adrienne Rose, Rosemary Gray and Joyce Crisco.  A big THANK YOU to the RAN fundraising committee members for their creativity, hard work and sharing of their love of what they do to help keep the Riordan Mansion open for the public to enjoy.  Their goal for the evening was $3,000.  They exceeded that while celebrating a memorable night the Riordan families would have enjoyed.

Reservations for this interesting presentation are recommended and can be made by calling the Riordan Mansion at 928–779-4395.  There never is a fee for lectures and presentations at the Riordan Mansion.  To help us keep the lights and heat on so that you may enjoy Brown Bag Lunch and Saturday evening lectures, you might want to bring a donation for the RAN Can.  All donations stay with the Riordan Mansion to ensure that it remains open for the public to enjoy.

The main target readership of the book by the same name as the presentation is teens, but we also hope the book will appeal to anyone who may not be a scientist but still has an interest in science.  That’s all of us, right?  The text starts with the origin of Earth, gets into plate tectonics, and then covers all types of volcanoes.  The focus is the world of volcanoes, although some of our local volcanoes get into the story.  There will be lots of color illustrations and an attempt at humor that might attract teens.

So, just drop by or bring your Brown Bag Lunch  and love of learning and enjoy the fascinating and fun presentation on April 9th.  We’re  sure you’ll want to purchase the book, so  bring some money.   The lecture is free, but the RAN Can is always happy to accept the $$ you were going to spend on ice cream after the lecture.  All money donated to RAN helps to keep the Riordan Mansion operating.  Thanks for your support!