Carbondale is home to not one, but two original Richard Buckminster Fuller creations.
While the fully assembled Bucky Dome stands at 407 S. Forest Ave, the Fly’s Eye Dome is kept in pieces on the porch of a former SIUC design professor.
H.F.W. “Bill” Perk, a member of the board of directors of the Richard Buckminster Fuller Dome Not For Profit group and former colleague of Fuller, has had the dome “Pringle-stacked” on his deck since 1995 when it came to Carbondale after it was badly damaged in a windstorm in Michigan, he said.
Perk said the Fly’s Eye Dome is smaller in size than the dome on Forest Avenue as well as constructed differently. He also said he believed it to be one of only three in the world.
When the dome is fully assembled, it looks much like what the nickname implies, Perk said. The Fly’s Eye Dome, or monohex geodesic dome, has geometric holes built within its walls, much like a fly’s eye has several circles within one eye.
President of the RBF Dome NFP Brent Ritzel said his organization is concerned with preserving all things “Bucky,” though their mission statement just includes restoring the former home of Fuller and his wife.
“We have a Picasso on the corner of Cherry (Street) and Forest (Avenue),” Ritzel said.
However, funding has delayed the restoration of the structure on Forest Avenue that was Fuller’s home from 1960 to 1971, and no viable plans have been put in motion for the reconstruction of the Fly’s Eye Dome.
A preservation plan developed by White & Borgognoni Architects, P.C., estimated the cost to renovate the dome on Forest Avenue at more than $250,000, according to the RBF Web site.
Ritzel said his organization has applied for a $130,000 state Historical Landmark grant and a $200,000 federal grant. When an organization receives federal dollars, they have to match that money, usually with state dollars, he said.
Perk said that a brand new dome could be constructed for $30,000, but in order to qualify as a historical landmark, several guidelines about replacing original materials must be followed, which has caused the project to become expensive.
The recent fundraiser at the Orlandini Winery raised money to keep the RFB Dome NFP operating. Perk said it costs between $1,200 and $1,300 a month after insurance for the dome.
At least two landowners in the area have volunteered space as the potential site for the Fly’s Eye dome. Gail and Lisa White offered their spot on Maple Street as a place to prominently display the dome in Carbondale, but details have yet to be worked out.
“We have an empty lot, and as much as anything, it will expose people to the Fly’s Eye Dome,” Lisa White said.
Linda Hostalek told RBF Dome NFP that the dome is welcome to come stay on her property on Hickory Ridge road. This would put the dome directly on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail.
“We do really want to get through to tourists,” Ritzel said.
Susannah Price can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 274.
