Even if you have just a passing interest in architecture, you’re likely familiar with Frank Lloyd Wright. Arguably America’s most famous architect, Wright’s legacy encompasses hundreds of buildings, including Samara, the home he designed for John and Catherine Christian in West Lafayette, Indiana. A National Historic Landmark co-stewarded by Indiana Landmarks and the John E. Christian Family Memorial Trust, Samara is one of seven houses designed by Wright in Indiana and the only one regularly open to the public.

Last year, I began working as the first full-time curator for Samara, but my interest in Wright originated years before when I discovered one of his designs in my hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and convinced the private homeowner to give me a tour. Shaded by a canopy of bur oak trees, the flat-roofed house cuts a striking silhouette, rising from a hilltop location that maximizes surrounding views of the rolling countryside, with a meadow and creek in the far distance. Inside, a dramatic and striking limestone staircase gracefully descends between limestone walls into a living room whose glass walls provide panoramic views of the landscape. It was one thing to experience nature outside the house, but Wright’s design enhanced and even elevated the experience inside. My fascination with Wright continued before and during my college years studying interdisciplinary design at Iowa State University. I started volunteering at Wright’s Cedar Rock near Quasqueton, Iowa, and took a job there after graduation.

Like many other admirers of Wright’s work, I am captured by the completeness of the architect’s designs—from their overarching architectural principles to the way his work takes inspiration from nature and embodies a spirit of innovation and. In fact, when Mr. Wright was asked what he considered his greatest work to be, he responded without variation, “The next one.”

Samara was built in the 70th year of his architectural career and represents a high level of refinement of Wright’s designs and philosophical principles. Reflecting his belief that buildings should meld with their environment, most of the house’s building materials were locally sourced, and the landscape design enhanced existing natural features. Adhering to his preference for economy in design, Wright specified furniture at Samara that can accommodate formal and informal parties and small family occasions equally well. Built-in features and architectural accessories are integrated seamlessly, and mechanical and structural features are cleverly incorporated into the home, including the predictive in-floor radiant heating system and a passive solar trellis system that helps keep the house cool in the summer.

Every element of Samara is graphically, spatially, mechanically, ecologically, and socially unified, creating an approachable work of art where people could live. The original owners of Samara held true to the architect’s vision over the six decades they lived in the home, committing to completing every feature as money could afford. Today, appreciation for Samara continues to grow beyond what the young Christian family dreamed possible and inspires thousands of travelers from across the world annually. 

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “What is your favorite home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?” Picking just one is impossible, so I have put together this collection of ten (in no particular order of importance), along with a little background on what I find fascinating about each one. I hope these landmarks help you rediscover Wright’s genius and inspire you to visit his work in person, perhaps starting with a visit to Samara.

Enjoy!

Nathan Allaire, Samara Curator


Please note some properties listed below are private residences and not open to the public. Please respect the privacy of the homeowners.

10. The Elizabeth & William Tracy House | Normandy Park, Washington – 1955

Dr. Christian loved pine trees, and I personally love the evergreen forest landscape of the Pacific Northwest. This house has light-sculpture concrete windows that look out directly to Puget Sound. The original homeowners built concrete blocks on weekends on an abandoned garage lot behind their duplex near Seattle to create the windows and blocks that make up the roof and walls.

9. The Donald and Virginia Lovness Studio | Stillwater, Minnesota – 1955

Like the Tracys, the Lovness family built this studio house themselves. Approaching the house from a narrow dirt lane that runs along Minnesota wetlands and lakes, it feels like you have found a hidden oasis. The long, narrow design against the Minnesota waters inspires a sense of stillness, serenity, and charm, surrounded by water dotted with the lily pads in the background that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a Monet painting.

8. The Clinton Walker House, “Cabin on the Rocks” | Carmel, California – 1948

While the Lovness Studio’s design emphasizes the surrounding still waters, you can feel the power of the entire Pacific Ocean in this “Cabin on the Rocks.” The hexagonal living area has four walls of staggered mitered glass windows that progressively step out toward the water. A vent flap on the undersides of each stepped band of glass allows a continuous, gentle breeze from the sea.

7. The Gabrielle and Charlcey Austin House, “Broad Margin” | Greenville, South Carolina – 1951

Although “Broad Margin” is nowhere near the sea or any deserts, Wright employed his Desert Rubblestone Masonry for this cabin-like home. Wright once said, “Shelter should be the essential look of any dwelling.” Broad Margin’s expansive roof, native stone walls, and massive stone chimney reflect this idea and gave the property its name, inspired by naturalist Thoreau Walden’s reflection, “I love a broad margin to my life.”

6. The Arnold Friedman Lodge, “Fir Tree” | Pecos, New Mexico – 1945

“Fir Tree” maximizes gorgeous views of the vast Santa Fe National Forest. This residence is surrounded by mountains, valleys, and mesas ranging from 5,000 to 13,000 feet. It’s one of the most beautifully rustic homes in Wright’s portfolio. Not only does it have native desert stone masonry, but the house is finished in rough-sawn pine and has a cowhide tile floor system! Do I need to say more?

5. Eleanor’s Retreat | Malibu, California – 1955

This small retreat was part of a complex called “Eaglefeather.” Like an observation deck, the retreat was perched on a tall rock outcropping with commanding views. I could only imagine what it was like as a respite after a long hike in the mountains. Sadly, little of this landmark remains, as it burned in a wildfire in late 2018.

4. The Douglas and Jackie Grant House | Cedar Rapids, Iowa – 1946

Eleanor’s Retreat isn’t the only Wright design damaged by fires. The stone forms and covers used during the construction of the Grant house in 1949 caught fire during an icy cold winter night, but fortunately there was minimal damage to the stone house. Despite the setback and limited financial resources, the Grants produced the most beautiful stone masonry in a building I have ever seen. The walls comprise thousands of thin limestone plates, stacked so true that you never see the mortar between the joints. And to top that, they quarried the limestone themselves using explosives and an old surplus Army jeep.

3. The John and Catherine Christian House, “Samara” | West Lafayette, Indiana – 1954

Sure, the Grants had a beautiful quarry on their site, but the Christians got “Open Sesame” (if you know, you know). Samara is full of playful surprises, and my favorite of those stories is that of the ornamented copper facia. It was installed in 1991, nearly 35 years after the home’s initial construction. Dr. John Christian gave the facia a special treatment he developed that turned the color of the copper to the bright teal color in a matter of hours after application.

2. The Harold Price Sr. House, “Grandma House” | Paradise Valley, Arizona – 1954

Samara was likely on a drafting board adjacent to the “Grandma House,” completed the same year. Like Samara, this house has gorgeous copper elements, including the roof facia, cube ornaments on the tube supports, fireplace hoods, and a large fountain bowl that collects rainwater in the open-air atrium. This is also a glass house with minimal aluminum frames whose walls nearly disappear into the surrounding pink desert.

1. The Lowell & Agnes Walter House, “Cedar Rock” | Quasqueton, Iowa – 1950

Wright nicknamed this project his, “crystal home for town or country living.” It is smaller than the “Grandma House,” but feels bigger due to the abundance of glass, including three corner-less glass walls in the Garden Room that allow nearly uninterrupted visual connection to the Wapsipinicon River 30 feet below. Because the room is open concept and there is a garden growing out of the center of the room from the rocky limestone bluff, it is difficult to distinguish if you are inside or outside the house.


“I believe a house is more a home by being a work of art.”

Frank Lloyd Wright, 1954