Winslow House Open House
Winslow House Open House
I attended a private open house for the Winslow House this evening prior to it going on the market. The house is awesome and in great condition. The construction is quite robust. The first floor uses steel beams. It is absolutely exquisite.
Paul Harding FAIA Restoration Architect for FLW's 1901 E. Arthur Davenport House, 1941 Lloyd Lewis House, 1952 Glore House | www.harding.com | LinkedIn
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Roderick Grant
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Paul Ringstrom
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from PrairieMod:
http://www.prairiemod.com/prairiemod/20 ... house.html
http://www.prairiemod.com/prairiemod/20 ... house.html
Former owner of the G. Curtis Yelland House (1910), by Wm. Drummond
PrairieMod's photos bring me into this house for the first time, to see something remarkable: Mr Wright seems to have concocted a moment oddly comparable to the indoor-outdoor fire place in classic form's Nelson/Chadwick-designed home. If so, this example does it in spades.
http://www.wrightontheweb.net/flw8-2.htm
After we enter the front door, we find ourselves confronted with a little arcade, a sort of indoor arbor with benches -- and the luxury of a fireplace. Is this the suggestion of an exterior place, like a garden patio ? If so, the effect is greatly strengthened by a pair of flanking "exterior" doors with grilled openings (and mechanical closers), like the front (or the rear) doors of a larger structure into which this little garden porch is inserted -- complete with wall lanterns which could easily be exterior ones.
Potted plants in the foreground, even a sort of "garden fence," confront the visitor, after the massive central door is closed behind him. Are we indoors or out ? The two steps up to this little bit of theater reinforce the impression of a porch, perhaps -- or even a stage ?
I feel like I finally understand what this construction, formerly mysterious, is about.
SDR
http://www.wrightontheweb.net/flw8-2.htm
After we enter the front door, we find ourselves confronted with a little arcade, a sort of indoor arbor with benches -- and the luxury of a fireplace. Is this the suggestion of an exterior place, like a garden patio ? If so, the effect is greatly strengthened by a pair of flanking "exterior" doors with grilled openings (and mechanical closers), like the front (or the rear) doors of a larger structure into which this little garden porch is inserted -- complete with wall lanterns which could easily be exterior ones.
Potted plants in the foreground, even a sort of "garden fence," confront the visitor, after the massive central door is closed behind him. Are we indoors or out ? The two steps up to this little bit of theater reinforce the impression of a porch, perhaps -- or even a stage ?
I feel like I finally understand what this construction, formerly mysterious, is about.
SDR
SDR:
Your comments about the indoor/outdoor allusion in the Winslow reception/inglenook are interesting...I have felt that allusion present in some of the Usonian living rooms while looking at the masonry masses containing fireplaces and kitchens, but never saw that in this house until I saw PrairieMod's evening lighted pics coupled with your comments.
From the PrairieMod pic looking into the arched door to the right of the inglenook, it appears that a passage has been appropriated for a small toilet room. Looking at the plan on the link in SDR's post, it would seem in order to accomplish this alteration, some space from the living room may have been borrowed. Have any visitors to the Winslow interior noted how that was accomplished without adversely changing the proportions of the living room?
Your comments about the indoor/outdoor allusion in the Winslow reception/inglenook are interesting...I have felt that allusion present in some of the Usonian living rooms while looking at the masonry masses containing fireplaces and kitchens, but never saw that in this house until I saw PrairieMod's evening lighted pics coupled with your comments.
From the PrairieMod pic looking into the arched door to the right of the inglenook, it appears that a passage has been appropriated for a small toilet room. Looking at the plan on the link in SDR's post, it would seem in order to accomplish this alteration, some space from the living room may have been borrowed. Have any visitors to the Winslow interior noted how that was accomplished without adversely changing the proportions of the living room?
The Winslow House is an impressive piece of work, but it must be just about the only time Mr. Wright designed a living room without a fireplace. I felt its lack when I visited the house ... the entrance alcove seemed so intimate and so welcoming ... characteristics the big living room didn't possess.
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Roderick Grant
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The photos don't show the living room wall behind the powder room, but the huge sectional couch is set against it, making quite obvious that there is no intrusion of the toilet into the living room. The posted plan is an inexact drawing. The space originally accommodated a coat closet extending along the south wall from entrance to dining room, so there was enough width for the powder room at the back half, as shown by Storrer. There is a book, "The Place of Houses"? came out decades ago, that has dimensioned drawings of the plan (including the second floor) which probably makes it clearer.
The indoor/outdoor concept is more interesting than the ecclesiastical allusions some have posited, although the original decorations on the 'fence' were not potted plants, but statues, as shown in early photos in Hitchcock, Smith and Manson.
The living room does indeed seem incomplete without a fireplace. It was used as more of a music room than parlor. The fenced-in bay with bench was a space for a chamber ensemble, in lieu of a fireplace.
Found it! Not "The Place of Houses," but "Body, Memory and Architecture," by Kent Bloomer and Charles Moore, page 121. It's very small, and the dimensions, even with a magnifying glass, are hard to read, but the entire north-south length of the house is either 62'6" or 64'6" (the dining room is either 16 or 18 feet wide). Since the living room is about 17' wide, the net width of the hall/powder room is about 5'.
The indoor/outdoor concept is more interesting than the ecclesiastical allusions some have posited, although the original decorations on the 'fence' were not potted plants, but statues, as shown in early photos in Hitchcock, Smith and Manson.
The living room does indeed seem incomplete without a fireplace. It was used as more of a music room than parlor. The fenced-in bay with bench was a space for a chamber ensemble, in lieu of a fireplace.
Found it! Not "The Place of Houses," but "Body, Memory and Architecture," by Kent Bloomer and Charles Moore, page 121. It's very small, and the dimensions, even with a magnifying glass, are hard to read, but the entire north-south length of the house is either 62'6" or 64'6" (the dining room is either 16 or 18 feet wide). Since the living room is about 17' wide, the net width of the hall/powder room is about 5'.
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rightwaswright
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A minor miracle, this 100+ yr old home...
..has survived its century plus of existence so beautifully.
God bless its owners. Loving stewards of this transcendent artistic creation.
God bless its owners. Loving stewards of this transcendent artistic creation.
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Paul Ringstrom
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The Winslow House is a great architectural work with a Louis Sullivan front and Frank Lloyd Wright back. The carriage house is also very cool. The limestone trim and terra coat frieze have both been painted, unfortunately. Other than that the house is in fine condition with a beautiful patina. It was built well and thankfully it has never been restored. It is well worth $2.4 million.
Paul Harding FAIA Restoration Architect for FLW's 1901 E. Arthur Davenport House, 1941 Lloyd Lewis House, 1952 Glore House | www.harding.com | LinkedIn
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Roderick Grant
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Absolutely. In that neighborhood, $2.4M shouldn't be too hard to get.
The Stable, even as far back as 1893, presaged Robie, by way of Rollin Furbeck, Wm Martin, Fricke, Tomek and Metzger Project, culminating in the unbuilt first design for Booth. In a way, the stable is more important as a work of original design than the house.
The Stable, even as far back as 1893, presaged Robie, by way of Rollin Furbeck, Wm Martin, Fricke, Tomek and Metzger Project, culminating in the unbuilt first design for Booth. In a way, the stable is more important as a work of original design than the house.
