Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wis. in 1867, but it would be 15 years before he and his family had a permanent home. His minister father traveled extensively in Iowa and Massachusetts, accepting one position after another tending local congregations. The family returned to Wisconsin and settled in Madison where Wright attended high school, and then the university. Afterward he went to Chicago and joined the firm of famed architect Louis Sullivan. Initially he did well, but soon the flashes of ego and arrogance led Sullivan to terminate Wright’s employment. On his own, Wright began designing high-end homes in Oak Park, IL.
Although married and starting a family, Wright had an intense affair with Mamah Borthwick, the wife of a client. Wright deserted his wife and six children and departed for Europe with his lover. When they returned to Chicago in 1911, Wright was persona non grata with Chicago’s elite society. Love triangles sold newspapers, especially those with famous personalities. Because his first wife refused to give him a divorce, Wright reluctantly opened a small practice in Spring Green, Wis. He called his new home and studio Taliesin. Wright was away on business when an unstable employee set fire to the complex and murdered Mamah Bostwick and six others as they fled from the flames.
Affordable Homes for the Working Class
As he recovered from the traumatic event, Wright found solace by designing a series of affordable homes for middle class workers and their families. Sears, Roebuck and Co. were already selling prefab or “kit” homes but Wright envisioned something new to the market. Clients were able to assemble a home for themselves from a book of Wright’s interchangeable designs. The company from which a home could be customized was called American System-Built Homes. Wright had no choice but to leave his name off the work as his scandalous life was still fresh in the public’s mind.
Wright partnered with Arthur Richards, a Milwaukee real estate developer, to bring his system-built residence project to fruition. The two men attempted to rise above Sears by having lumber pre-cut to exact specifications and delivered, along with the other home components, directly to the job site. There, a local contracting team would assemble the home from a detailed plan. The first set of model homes were constructed at the corner of 27th and Burnham Streets in Milwaukee in 1916.
Cost Containment
Depending on the size and complexity of each project, Wright’s homes were priced from $32,000 to $56,000 in today’s money. Richards insisted on the cost containment because Wright was a profligate spender who usually went over budget on his clients’ projects…