siuDE.com

Dear Editor:

The editorial in the Feb. 27, 2008 issue of the DAILY EGYPTIAN on efforts to rename a street in Carbondale after Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King indicated that if a committee came together to restore the R. Buckminster Fuller Dome home, such effort would also receive support from your editorial board.

I wanted to let more people know that there is a group working to restore "Bucky" and Anne Hewlett-Fuller's Dome home on South Forest Street in Carbondale. The not-for-profit group is called RBF Dome.

RBF Dome was incorporated in 2002. In 2003 the Carbondale City Council unanimously voted to add the Fuller Dome Home to the city's historic register and in 2004 granted a special use permit to create a "home museum."

Our work has resulted in the dome's recognition by The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois as one of the "10 Most Endangered Properties in Illinois" in 2004. In 2006 the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We're currently working to secure National Landmark status that will put the organization in the position to obtain the funds necessary to restore the dome to the condition that it existed in when the Fullers resided in the structure (1960-1971).

RBF Dome members are collaborating with a number of offices at SIUC, including the Library's Special Collections division, the Department of Art and Design and the Department of Radio and Television to revitalize the Fuller legacy at SIUC. Our President, Cornelius Crane, hosts a weekly WDBX radio show dedicated to Fuller's vision. Thanks to committed and talented volunteers, we have restored four sections of the Fuller-designed fence that surrounds the property.

We have a lot going on and a lot of people and groups to thank, including the City of Carbondale, the Carbondale Park District, the Carbondale Preservation Commission, the Arbor District, White and Borgognoni Architects and especially former SIU Design Department faculty member Bill Perk, who purchased and donated the dome to RBF Dome.

If anyone is interested in working on the dome's restoration and furthering the Fuller legacy please get in touch with us. Check out our Web site at: http://www.buckysdome.org.

The important thing about renaming a street in the Kings' honor or preserving the Fuller Dome is that it brings people together and, in so doing, dreams move forward to the next generation.

Mary O'Hara

Vice President of RBF Dome and 2004 SIUC alumna

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