Elizabeth Murphy House

Last updated

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, [1] 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. [2]

A lawsuit and liens filed in 1919 reveal that construction took longer and cost more than expected. [3] For example, Krause sued the Murphys for unpaid invoices and the Murphys countered by claiming incomplete work. The architect is named as final decision-maker for changes suggested by the contractor to hold down costs, but absence of correspondence suggests that he was not consulted. Despite the trouble, the home's dimensions and layout are exact matches to the architect's drawings, although it was constructed in a mirror image to accommodate lot proportions and the relationship to neighboring houses. [2]

The lot and home were sold by Elizabeth Murphy to Alfred and Gladys Kibbie in 1919 for $5,200. Since the Kibbies purchased the house before the lawsuit was settled, they were also named a defendants. The lawsuit was found in favor of Murphy and the Kibbies, suggesting that the house was finished by someone other than Krause. [3] The Kibbie family lived in the house until 1941 when it was advertised as a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed bungalow and priced to sell for $5,300. The house changed hands again in 1971 and 1993. Lawyers for the family of a deceased owner elected to leave the architect's name off an advertisement to sell the home in 1993, hoping to reach a broader selection of potential buyers by minimizing perceived barriers to ownership related to the home's history, so its architectural significance was forgotten for a time. When it was purchased that year, the buyers suspected it to be a "special" design, but did not know who designed it.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Elizabeth Murphy House in 2019 Elizabeth Murphy House 2019.jpg
Frank Lloyd Wright's Elizabeth Murphy House in 2019

The house is a one story cottage with two bedrooms and one bath, a breakfast nook, a large open living area with a brick fire place and an open-air (since enclosed) sleeping porch.

Elizabeth Murphy House Interior Art Glass Windows Elizabeth Murphy House Interior Art Glass.jpg
Elizabeth Murphy House Interior Art Glass Windows

The floorpan and most of the interior are undisturbed and in original form. The interior includes birch trim with the original rubbed-shellac finish, dining and kitchen cabinets and leaded art-glass doors, windows and light screens with a simple motif that mirrors the homes facade. Modifications include shingles over the original exterior pebble-dash stucco, double pane-glass windows where there were once single panes, and the excavation of a garage where there was once a crawl space under the sleeping porch.

Plan records for ASBH Model A203 are held in the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives (1082.001). [4] [2] A drawing from a brochure page [5] shows model A201 as featuring a flat roof, model A202 with a gabled roof, and A203 with a hip roof.

The amateur Wright historian Richard Johnson visited the home in 2012 and presented the owners with drawings by Wright that he thought would reaffirm its pedigree. Johnson, along with Dominique Watts and William A. Storrer, was researching lost works by the architect for a book that was not published. [6] In 2015, onsite inspections and court records compiled by Michael P. Lilek, the then Curator of American System-Built Homes with Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin, Inc., confirmed the house as a Wright design by comparing construction features with Wright's model A203 and named the home the "Elizabeth Murphy House," based on the practice that Wright homes be named for the original buyer. [7]

The house was featured as a stop on the 2017 and 2023 Wright and Like Tours, organized by Wright in Wisconsin. It is listed in the Fourth Edition of William A. Storrer's The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, A Complete Catalog. [8]

The Elizabeth Murphy House is a private residence.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shorewood, Wisconsin</span> Village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

Shorewood is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 13,859 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Unitarian Society of Madison</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

The First Unitarian Society of Madison (FUS) is a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin. Its meeting house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built by Marshall Erdman in 1949–1951, and has been designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark for its architecture. With over 1,000 members, it is one of the ten largest Unitarian Universalist congregations in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, United States, was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956, and completed in 1961. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The church is one of Wright's last works; construction was completed after his death. The design is informed by traditional Byzantine architectural forms, reinterpreted by Wright to suit the modern context. The church's shallow scalloped dome echoes his Marin County Civic Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American System-Built Homes</span> Historic houses in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, United States

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 of 1917 by successfully suing his partner Arthur Richards for payments due and didn't speak of the program again. The designs were standardized, and customers could choose from one hundred and twenty nine models on seven floorpans. Because of this standardization, the lumber could be milled at a factory, thereby cutting down on both waste and the amount of skilled labor needed for construction. The buildings are often termed prefabricated homes, but they were not, since prepared materials were delivered to the work site for construction by a carpenter. Windows, doors and some cabinetry were made at the factory. Frames, shelves, trim and some fixtures were cut and assembled on site. Every milled profile had a part number and corresponding instructions and drawings for construction. Many extant homes remain in private hands and an ad hoc homeowners group sometimes meets to share ideas. Six structures are located in a federal historic district in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and others have been designated Chicago Landmarks in Chicago, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald B. and Beverley Tonkens House</span> Historic house in Ohio, United States

The Gerald B. and Beverley Tonkens House, also known as the Tonkens House, is a single story private residence designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1954. The house was commissioned by Gerald B. Tonkens and his first wife Rosalie. It is located in Amberley Village, a village in Hamilton County, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House</span> House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Palmer Residence</span> United States historic place

The William and Mary Palmer House is a house in Ann Arbor, Michigan, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1952. The home was designed for William Palmer, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, and his wife Mary. It sits on three lots at the end of a quiet, dirt road cul-de-sac. The location is near the Nichols Arboretum, and less than a mile (1.2 km) from the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massaro House</span>

Massaro House is an architecturally significant residence on privately owned Petre Island in Lake Mahopac, New York, roughly 50 miles north of New York city. Inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the home's design and construction have had a complex and controversial history. Wright's plan was initially known as the "Chahroudi House", for the client who commissioned it back in 1949, and for whom Wright designed and built a much smaller cottage on the island when his proposal for the main home proved prohibitively expensive for the local engineer.

The Rayward–Shepherd House, also known as Tirranna and as the John L. Rayward House, is a home in New Canaan, Connecticut originally built in 1955 to a design of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Commissioned by Joyce and John Rayward, the home was expanded to a design of Wright’s successor firm, Taliesin Associates by subsequent owner Herman R. Shepherd after his purchase in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert and Edith Adelman House</span> Historic house in Wisconsin, United States

The Albert and Edith Adelman House is a mid-scale home in Fox Point, Wisconsin designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick C. Bogk House</span> Historic house in Wisconsin, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Erdman Prefab Houses</span> Houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was interested in mass production of housing throughout his career. In 1954, he discovered that Marshall Erdman, who contracted the First Unitarian Society of Madison, was selling modest prefabricated homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House</span> United States historic place

The Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House, also known as the Affleck House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in Metro Detroit. It is one of only about 25 pre-World War II Usonians to be built. It is owned by Lawrence Technological University. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 3, 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey P. Sutton House</span> Historic house in Nebraska, United States

The Harvey P. Sutton House, also known as the H.P. Sutton House, is a six-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home at 602 Norris Avenue in McCook, Nebraska. Although the house is known by her husband's name, Eliza Sutton was the driving force behind the commissioning of Wright for the design in 1905–1907 and the construction of the house in 1907–1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard C. Smith House</span> Historic house in Wisconsin, United States

The Richard C. Smith House is a small Usonian home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in Jefferson, Wisconsin in 1950. It is one of Wright's diamond module homes, a form he used in the Patrick and Margaret Kinney House, the E. Clarke and Julia Arnold House and a number of other homes he designed in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary W. Adams House</span> Historic house in Illinois, United States

The 1905 Mary W. Adams House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home that was constructed in Highland Park, Illinois. The Adams House is a two-story home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a light stucco exterior and wooden trim that emphasizes the horizontal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David and Gladys Wright House</span> House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Phoenix, Arizona

The David and Gladys Wright House is a Frank Lloyd Wright residence built in 1952 in the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona. It has historically been listed with an address of 5212 East Exeter Boulevard, but currently has an entrance on the 4500 block of North Rubicon Avenue. There currently is no public access to the house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Fireproof House for $5000</span> Design and article by Frank Lloyd Wright

"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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John C. Pew House</span>

The John C. Pew House, also known as the Ruth and John C. Pew House, is located at 3650 Lake Mendota Drive, Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin. It was designed by American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright in 1938 for research chemist John Pew and his wife, Ruth. Built on a narrow lot, the two-story home steps down the sloping hill to the shore of Madison's Lake Mendota. A home in Wright's Usonian style, the building was meant to be economical: its cost was US$8,750. Construction was supervised by a member of Wright's Taliesin Fellowship, William Wesley "Wes" Peters. Peters said to Wright about the building that, "I guess you can call the Pew house a poor man's Fallingwater." To which Wright was to have replied, "No, Fallingwater is the rich man's Pew House."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Barr Williamson</span> American architect

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.

References

  1. block one, lot six (6), Hillcrest Village, East Milwaukee (renamed Shorewood in 1917)
  2. 1 2 3 Lilek, Michael P, "2106 Newton Avenue, 2106 Newton Avenue Shorewood, Wisconsin, An American System-Built House Model A203, Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect," 2016
  3. 1 2 Milwaukee County Historical Society, Milwaukee County Records, Circuit Court Case #56129, Record Book 133, Page 5, 1919
  4. The listing notes the model A203 to be “same as 201 except hip roof,” highlighting features like "the Roof Plan, 4 Elevations and 1 Section."
  5. on file at the Milwaukee County Historical Society
  6. Hayes, Nicholas (April 1, 2023). Frank Lloyd Wright's Forgotten House. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299331801. PP 168.
  7. research
  8. Storrer, William Allin. The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, a complete catalog, 4th Edition. University Of Chicago Press, 2017, ISBN   9780226435893 (S.203.5)

43°05′07″N87°53′01″W / 43.08526°N 87.8835°W / 43.08526; -87.8835