Great Places Deserve Our Attention and Care

After Charles Moore died suddenly at the age of 68 in December 1993, it took three years to sort out and settle the 1997 agreement to establish the Charles Moore Foundation whereby we would shoulder the preservation of the Moore/Andersson Compound in Austin. When we began, the Foundation had a mere $9,000. That we also agreed to assume Charles Moore's $475,000 property debt, meant that we launched a non-profit in grave financial jeopardy.

But we retired the mortgage debt by 2002—in only five years—thanks to well-attended fundraisers and a formative matching grant from the Hanzlik Family.

Since then the Foundation has remained debt-free, apart from a modest Small Business Administration Loan we took out during the pandemic. (That $45,000 loan is now 1/3 paid off.)

How have we achieved this? By taking the long view and building up the Foundation conservatively and incrementally. Kevin Keim, the Director, does virtually all of the work himself, including the lion's share of the actual preservation work with his own hands. In 2024, he completed the restoration of the exterior envelope of all of the Moore/Andersson Compound's structures, an effort that took 15 years of careful, virtually singlehanded labor.

What's more, the Foundation has expanded to California. We now own and preserve the landmark Burns House in Santa Monica Canyon, upon Lee Burns incredibly generous bequest. People from around the world now come for Residencies in architecture and music. And in 2022, the Foundation spearheaded an agreement to preserve the iconic Condo #9 at The Sea Ranch. Two passionate architectural enthusiasts conceived of a plan to care for the Condo as stewards after contributing the Condo’s deed to the Charles Moore Foundation. A brilliant solution—and yet another act of stunning generosity. As a result, we have now preserved a trio of Charles Moore masterpieces.

All of these preservation efforts are anchored in the conviction that Charles Moore would have wanted his places to be used and enjoyed by people. To be kept alive with programs and projects. And to continue inspiring the minds and talents of young people.

Countless students from around the world have visited. Hundreds of residents have stayed in the places, allowing focused time for work, study, and teaching. Many other non-profit organizations have gathered here. The Foundation has assisted with the care of vast archival holdings about Charles' work at the University of Texas, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Princeton, and Yale. Student interns have learned about archiving, preservation, publishing, and the everyday realities of sustaining a non-profit. In 2012, Colin Rowe's family entrusted the Foundation with the care of his precious architectural library. Concerts and masterclasses in music have also begun in earnest at the Burns House. Originally designed around a magnificent Jürgen Ahrend pipe organ, with the help of donors, Kevin has further expanded its collection with a Steinway grand piano and a Klaus Ahrend harpsichord.

When Lee Burns bequeathed the house in 2023, he also contributed $450,000 to the Foundation. And in 2024, the late Margie Meador Shackelford, who was married to the architect Alex Caragonne, left the Foundation an additional $450,000.

Those two gifts are now the seed of a modest endowment.

In honor of the centennial of Charles Moore's 1925 birth, we are hoping that many of you will come together to expand this endowment, so that its annual income can offset the expenses required to care for these extraordinary places— and help to secure their future.

We would be so grateful for your contribution to this campaign. Every amount is meaningful, recalling Charles Moore's wonderful quip that "bread cast on the waters floats back club sandwiches!"

Be assured we will safeguard and use these contributions—as our 30-year-track record has demonstrated—with the care and attention such generosity deserves.

If you would like to see all that has been accomplished this past year, please have a look at the 2025 Director's Report.

If you have any questions about methods of contribution, such as one-time gifts, multi-year pledges, or inclusions in your estate planning, Kevin Keim is here to answer them for you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.