Is Wright Still Relevant?

Sixty years after his death in 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright remains one of America’s most revered architects. His career spanned seven decades and included iconic public buildings, as well as modest domestic dwellings.

One of those modest homes is the Weltzheimer/Johnson House in Oberlin, an example of Wright’s Usonian architecture. Fred Unwin, who has served as volunteer docent at the house for the past sixteen years, will be sharing his knowledge about Wright and the Usonian house on Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium.

Designed in 1947 and completed in 1949, the Weltzheimer/Johnson House is the first Usonian house in Ohio and one of the few in the nation open to the public. Wright’s Usonian concept first emerged during the Great Depression of the 1930s, a time when servants in American homes became rare. Usonian homes typically featured an open living area with a fireplace, flat roofs and a lack of basements and attics. In these simplified homes, Wright offered a beautiful environment that Americans could both afford and enjoy.

The Weltzheimer family lived in their Oberlin home until 1963. In 1968, Art History Professor Ellen H. Johnson bought the house and began restoring the property. After her death in 1992, the house was given to Oberlin College, which opened it up for public tours. The new Open House season will begin on April 7, 2019.

Join Fred Unwin for this insightful Lakewood Historical Society program on April 3, 2019 at the Lakewood Main Library.

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Volume 15, Issue 6, Posted 1:00 PM, 03.20.2019