MILWAUKEE-
A house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a low-cost dwelling for families of average means will undergo renovation next year and will eventually be turned into a museum.
But the house is open for tours in the mean time, along with a number of other Wright buildings around the architect's home state, Wisconsin.
The house, at 2714 West Burnham St. in Milwaukee, is open for tours one Saturday afternoon a month, with the next few scheduled for Aug. 12, Sept. 9, Oct. 14, Nov. 11 and Dec. 9, from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Reservations are not necessary; admission is $2.
Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin, a nonprofit educational organization, bought the low-slung, geometric house in 2004. Known today as one of Wright's American System-Built Homes, it is in a row of six Wright-designed dwellings built in 1915-17 by developer Arthur Richards, and sold originally for about $5,000.
Although Wright was best known for sprawling, earth-hugging homes in the countryside, he took a special interest in creating low-cost shelter in urban neighborhoods and believed people of all economic classes were entitled to good architecture.
Only a few other American System-Built Homes were constructed, including one in Oshkosh and a handful in Chicago suburbs.
Other Wright buildings in Wisconsin open to the public include the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Milwaukee; the S.C. Johnson Wax Headquarters and Wingspread in Racine; the Seth Peterson Cottage near Wisconsin Dells; the A.D. German Warehouse in Richland Center, where he was born; the Unitarian Meeting House and Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison; and Taliesen, his personal estate in Spring Green, where the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center is also located.
Details at or 608-287-0339.
