Mies van der Rohe A Modest Mies Is Slated for Destruction I.M. Pei Goes Gold Remastered Rothko Murals Return to Tate Liverpool The Wright Price Light and Grace Triumph in Renzo Piano’s Chicago Debut Van Der Rohe Building Faces Wrecking Ball

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James Peters, president and chief executive of Landmarks Illinois, which manages the house on behalf of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, called it "an absolutely devastating scene."

"We will need to raise funds to begin the clean-up process once the water subsides and to help cover the loss of tour revenue. At this point, we are fairly confident the 2008 tour season, which was scheduled to extend through November, is over," he said.

The house was last flooded in 1996 and subsequently restored by van der Rohe's grandson, the Chicago architect Dirk Lohan. In 2003, the National Trust acquired the International Style landmark and its surrounding 58 acres for $7.5 million at Sotheby's. 

Donations can be made at www.FarnsworthHouse.org or www.PreservationNation.org.