RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And our last word in business today comes courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1949, the architect designed a home for a World War II veteran. Kenneth Laurent lost the use of his legs during the war, so Wright designed something rare at the time - a house fully accessible to someone in a wheelchair. Laurent says his Rockford, Illinois, home became an essential part of his life.
KENNETH LAURENT: That's probably why I'm 92. Mr. Wright, when he sat down to the piano, he said, I don't know if I'm playing the piano or the piano is playing me. And from that I took, I'm not sure that I'm living for the house or the house is living for me.
MONTAGNE: Nearly six decades later, Laurent and his wife, Phyllis, are ready to move on to an assisted-living facility. And their Frank Lloyd Wright house is up for auction today. Local preservationists hope to raise up to three-quarters of a million dollars to buy the landmark house, and open it to the public.
That's the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. With Steve Inskeep, I'm Renee Montagne. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.