American System Built Homes-Burnham Street District | |
Location | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
---|---|
Coordinates | 43°0′38″N87°56′55″W / 43.01056°N 87.94861°W |
Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
Built | 1914 – 1915 |
Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
Architectural style | Prairie Style |
NRHP reference No. | 85002166 |
Added to NRHP | September 12, 1985 [1] |
The American System-Built Homes were modest houses in a series designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. They were developed between 1911 and 1917 to fulfill his interest in affordable housing but were sold commercially for just 14 months. The Wright archives include 973 drawings and hundreds of reference materials, the largest collection of any of single Wright project. Wright cancelled the project in July 1917 by successfully suing his partner Arthur Richards for payments due and didn't speak of the program again. [2] [3] The designs were standardized and modular, so customers could choose from one hundred and twenty nine models on seven floorpans and three roof styles. [3] Most materials were prepared and organized at Arthur Richards' lumber yard, so there was less waste and specialized labor needed for construction. [4] Milled and marked materials were delivered to the work site for cutting and assembly by a carpenter. Windows, doors and some cabinetry were built at the yard. Frames, shelves, trim and some fixtures were cut and assembled on site. Every wood part had a part number and corresponding instructions and drawings for joining, fit and finish. [3] [5]
Many extant homes remain in private hands and an ad hoc homeowners group gathers to share ideas. [6] Six structures are located in a federal historic district in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and others have been designated Chicago Landmarks in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1911, Arthur L. Richards and a partner contracted with Frank Lloyd Wright to design a hotel in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Richards learned of Wright's idea to offer a family of residential housing designs that would share style, parts and pieces.
In 1914, the young architect Russell Barr Williamson joined Frank Lloyd Wright's studio and was tasked as the main draftsperson on the project. Williamson kept a register of models and features and was responsible for creating and issuing the construction drawings required by a contractor to build a house, when one was sold. [3] [7]
In 1914-15, Richards purchased four designs and built six buildings in a demonstration neighborhood and investment, now called the "Burnham Block", for short. In 1916, Wright and Richards signed a commercial contract giving Richards the exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute the homes and Wright the job of design and specification. [3] Richards sold franchises to market the homes and planned to allow only approved contractors to build them, though some homes were built independently. Richards had offices in Milwaukee, the Chicago area, Champaign, Decatur and Gary. A central lumber yard organized by Richards milled the lumber and fabricated cabinets, doors and windows, and packaged all the materials needed for construction, including plaster, paint, windows, hardware and fixtures. The customer purchased a completed home, sometimes directly from The Richards Company, or alternatively, from speculators to whom Richards had sold plans and materials. [5] [3]
In July, 1917, Wright, dissatisfied with Richards, fearing loss of intellectual property, and with World War I as cover, sued for nonpayment of royalties and fees, and the project came to an end, though the court found that home construction started before ruling could be completed. [8] [3]
Williamson was let go or left Wright's studio when the project was cancelled and then teamed with Richards to continue designing and selling Prairie School and more conventionally-designed homes using standardized practices under the short-lived brand "American Renaissance Homes", Richards Real Estate and other companies. Wright, meanwhile, walked away from Prairie Architecture to focus on and finish his Imperial Hotel, Tokyo project and transition his own designs to include Mayan and Asian influences. [3]
It is believed that about 25 System-Built Homes were constructed, but only 12 are known to have survived. They can be found in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. [5]
Six demonstrator homes were built in the Burnham Park neighborhood of Milwaukee by Arthur Richards in 1915-16 and were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. [9] There are four model 7a duplexes, a model B1 bungalow, [10] and a model C3 bungalow. It is the only grouping of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes that includes both duplexes and single-family dwellings. Three of the homes have been purchased by the Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin Program. The B1 bungalow was restored in 2010, with one of the duplexes to follow. They are located in the 2700 block of West Burnham Street, at South Layton Boulevard. [5] [11]
Richards' Burnham Block served as a testing ground for Wright' ideas, informing the formal contract and branding that ramped up starting in 1916. Therefore, details found in the prototype homes and the commercial homes are different. Elements found in the Burnham block but not in commercial homes can be seen as experimental. Elements found only in commercial homes can be seen as refinements of the system. [3]
American System Built Homes in the Burnham Street District: [5]
The Arthur R Munkwitz Duplex Apartments were pair of four-unit apartment buildings built in 1916. The Munkwitz Duplexes were based on an American System-Built Homes plan and constructed on 1102-1112 N. 27th Street under the supervision of Russell Barr Williamson. They were demolished in 1973 to widen the street. [5]
On July 13, 1994, the Mayor and City Council of Chicago designated two System-Built Homes as Chicago Landmarks. Built in 1917, they are located at 10410 (the Guy C. Smith House) and 10541 S. Hoyne Avenue (the H. Howard Hyde House). [15] The first, at 10410 Hoyne, was intended to be the first of a subdivision of the homes and was built and sold speculatively. Both the Smith and Hyde Houses are two story, single-family units.
Single story, single family units:
Two story, single-family units:
In 1999 it was announced that an update of the American System-Built Homes would be part of a renewal of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Taliesin Associated Architects were contracted to design new homes based on the original designs. They were expected to sell for $125,000 to US$150,000, similar to the originals in that the cost was relatively low. [16]
In 2008, Wright scholar, William Allin Storrer unveiled his controversial 29 undiscovered Frank Lloyd Wright works. One of these houses was the Thomas E. Sullivan House at 336 Gregory Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois, next door to the Burleigh House at 330 Gregory Ave. In 1989, Storrer had previously identified the 1916 house as the work of John S. Van Bergen even though the residence does not appear in Martin Hackl's complete catalog, The Works of John S. Van Bergen, Architect. In his 2008 findings, Storrer revised his claim, then stating that the Sullivan House was actually an American System-Built Home with a dining room addition by Van Bergen. [17] Excluding the alleged addition, the main block of the Sullivan House is nearly identical to that of the Wynant House; only the entrance and garage orientation, a missing bedroom above the garage, and differences in trim details distinguish these two residences. Storrer's assertion is further substantiated by a drawing from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation which shows Model D-101 with the Sullivan House entrance and without the Wynant House garage wing. [18]
Storrer also identified three potential single-story American System-Built Homes in Berwyn, Illinois. One, the Chester Bragg House (1916), is located at the 6644 34th Street at the corner of Wesley Avenue and has a Model B1 plan. [17] [19]
Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements of the twentieth century, influencing architects worldwide through his works and mentoring hundreds of apprentices in his Taliesin Fellowship. Wright believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was exemplified in Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture".
Prairie School is a late 19th and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the wide, flat, treeless expanses of America's native prairie landscape.
The Ravine Bluffs Development was commissioned in 1915 by Frank Lloyd Wright's attorney, Sherman Booth Jr. It is located in Glencoe, Illinois. Six houses, three poured concrete sculptures, and one bridge were built. Five of the houses were for rent when built. All 5 rental houses share the same basic floor plan as "A Fireproof House for $5000".
The Isidore H. Heller House is a house located at 5132 South Woodlawn Avenue in the Hyde Park community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The house was designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The design is credited as one of the turning points in Wright's shift to geometric, Prairie School architecture, which is defined by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, and an integration with the landscape, which is meant to evoke native Prairie surroundings.
The Arthur B. Heurtley House is located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The house was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in 1902. The Heurtley House is considered one of the earliest examples of a Frank Lloyd Wright house in full Prairie style. The house was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places when it was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 16, 2000.
The Peter A. Beachy House is a home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois that was entirely remodeled by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1906. The house that stands today is almost entirely different from the site's original home, a Gothic cottage. The home is listed as a contributing property to the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District, which was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Nathan G. Moore House, also known as the Moore-Dugal Residence, is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was built one block south of Wright's home and studio at 333 Forest Avenue in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois. It was originally completed in 1895 in the Tudor Revival style at the request of client Nathan Moore. Wright obliged his client's wishes, but long after disliked the house for its adherence to historical styles.
The William H. Copeland House is a home located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. In 1909 the home underwent a remodeling designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The original Italianate home was built in the 1870s. Dr. William H. Copeland commissioned Wright for the remodel and Wright's original vision of the project proposed a three-story Prairie house. That version was rejected and the result was the more subdued, less severely Prairie, William H. Copeland House. On the exterior the most significant alteration by Wright was the addition of a low-pitched hip roof. The house has been listed as a contributing property to a U.S. Registered Historic District since 1973.
Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House, commonly referred to as Jacobs I, is a single family home located at 441 Toepfer Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Designed by noted American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, it was constructed in 1937 and is considered by most to be the first Usonian home. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2003. The house and seven other properties by Wright were inscribed on the World Heritage List under the title "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright" in July 2019.
The F.B. Henderson House is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home in Elmhurst, Illinois.
The Albert and Edith Adelman House is a mid-scale home in Fox Point, Wisconsin designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1948.
The Frederick C. Bogk House is a single-family residential project in Milwaukee, Wisconsin designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Bogk was an alderman and secretary-treasurer of the Ricketson Paint Works. This house embodies Wright's prairie style elements into a solid-looking structure that appears impregnable.
Carroll Alsop House) is a historic house located at 1907 A Avenue East in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
The Alice and Jack Lamberson House, also known as the Peter Maunu and Irmi Maunu-Kocian house, is a historic residence located in Oskaloosa, Iowa, United States. It is one of seven Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian houses located in Iowa, and one of two that were constructed in Oskaloosa. Both were completed in 1951. The Lamberson house is unique from the other Iowa Usonians for its extensive use of 60º and 120º angles. It features a low, sweeping pitched roof that makes the house look deceptively large, yet it is the second smallest of Iowa's Usonians. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The A. D. German Warehouse is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Mayan Revival warehouse that was constructed in Richland Center, Wisconsin in 1921. Wright was born in Richland Center in 1867. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The George Madison Millard House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home that was constructed in Highland Park, Illinois, United States in 1906. It was the first of two houses that Wright would design for the Millards.
"A Fireproof House for $5000" is an article and house design by Frank Lloyd Wright published in the Ladies' Home Journal in April 1907. It is Wright's third and final publication in the journal following "A Home in a Prairie Town" and "A Small House with 'Lots of Room in It'" from February and July 1901, respectively. The drawings for the house were also included in Wright's 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio (Plate XIV).
The Patrick and Margaret Kinney House was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and it was built in 1951. The home is located in Lancaster, Wisconsin. The house was added to the State Register of Historic Places in 2007 and to the National Register of Historic Places the following year.
The Elizabeth Murphy House is an American System-Built Home (ASBH), Model A203, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and located in the Village of Shorewood near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The house takes its name from Shorewoodian Elizabeth Murphy, wife of loan broker Lawrence Murphy, who purchased a lot as an investment on which to build the house speculatively, and who contracted with Herman F. Krause, Jr., a local carpenter, to build the house in 1917 according to plans supplied by Frank Lloyd Wright via Wright's marketing agent for ASBH projects, the Arthur L. Richards Company.
Russell Barr Williamson was an American architect. He designed over 150 buildings, mostly in Wisconsin, and including the NRHP-listed Eagles Club in Milwaukee, the Avalon Atmospheric theatre in Bay View, the NRHP-listed Anthony and Caroline Isermann House and Frank and Jane Isermann House in Kenosha, and the NRHP-listed Dr. Thomas Robinson Bours House in Milwaukee.