About
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Address: 2801 Burnham Boulevard
Neighborhood: Cedar-Isles-Dean
Construction Date: 1950-1951
Contractor: Unknown
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Architectural Style: Usonian Style
Historic Use: Private Residence
Current Use: Private Residence
Date of Local Designation: 1986
Date of National Register Designation: 2004
Area(s) of Significance: Master architect
Period of Significance: 1950 -
Historic Profile: Designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Henry Neils House is significant for its association with a master builder and its artistic value. It took Henry Neils, the president of Flour City Ornamental Ironworks, over a year to get an appointment with Frank Lloyd Wright who insisted that he did not design houses within cities. After Neils sent Wright a set of photographs of his lot and its view of Cedar Lake, Wright agreed to meet the family. The Neils House is unique for Wright because it utilizes innovative materials with which he didn’t typically work. Wright deviated from his preferred materials of brick and cypress to use scrap marble, larch, and aluminum window frames. The house was also innovative in all of the mechanical systems were stored behind the fireplace and through its use of radiant floor heating. The house has artistic value through its unique design and powerful exterior features. The low-pitched, far-reaching roof hovers over the ribbon windows, and the structural strength of the windows provide the appearance that the roof is floating. The house is thoroughly detailed and custom designed in almost every aspect.
Photo Credits:
Circa 1985, Unknown
2006, Minneapolis CPED
Works Cited:
KKE Architects, "National Register of Historic Places – Nomination Form," December 1982.
Updated: February 2007