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S.334 – Robert & Elizabeth
Muirhead Residence, 42W814 Rohrsen
Road, Hampshire (Plato Center), Illinois CLICK HERE FOR INTERIOR PHOTOS The Muirhead residence is known as the only
working farmhouse built by Wright. The Muirhead
family owned vast tracts of farming land in Plato Center in the 1800s. Robert Muirhead
wanted to replace his 1800s farmhouse with something more modern, a house
large enough to feed and house five children (and feed farmhands while
serving as the headquarters for a working farm). With a $25,000 construction budget (a
fortune in 1950), Robert and Elizabeth Muirhead
hired Frank Lloyd Wright. When Wright’s construction projection hit
$70,000, it became apparent the family would need to engage in some hands-on
construction to make this promise a reality.
Among the features of the family’s involvement: Robert Muirhead’s hand-cut joints where the cypress meets the
brick, individually shaped with a coping saw.
Construction took place from 1951 to 1953. The Usonian was
run by the family as a bed and breakfast in 2003-2005. In recent years, it has reverted to a
full-time family home (with occasional tours) for a granddaughter of the
original owner. Among the features of this home are an
extra-large kitchen (about the twice the size of Wright’s typically small
kitchens) to accommodate all the food prep needed for farmhands and family; kitchen
cabinets that are nearly floor-to-ceiling; an office/workshop area with a
garage door to move farm equipment in and out for repairs; four fireplaces;
and window screens that roll up out of sight.
Typical Wright features include piano hinges, heated floors (now
supplemented with forced air), and cypress wood trim throughout. The brick is typical Illinois brick (not
specially made), but when renovations were underway they had trouble
duplicating the color – until Bob Jr. recalled where the bricks had been unloaded
and stored during construction, leading the family to dig in the original
location and find 500 to a thousand bricks that had sunk into the soil. Replacement cypress was a tougher find,
though – they eventually found a source in Florida and ordered extra wood for
future use. The house is barely visible from the
road. It has two access points on
either side of the railroad (the former Illinois Central line). One entrance includes a tunnel under the rails. Photographed on May 4, 2014, during tours
benefiting the local high school’s band boosters. Tours are also available by appointment. |
CLICK HERE FOR INTERIOR PHOTOS
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New
06/26/2014 |
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