Frieda and Henry J. Neils House

The Frieda and Henry J. Neils House is a house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The home was designed for Henry J. Neils, a stone and architectural materials distributor, and his wife Frieda. It is unusual for a Wright-designed home both in the type of stone used as well as in its aluminum window framing.[3]

Frieda and Henry J. Neils House
Location2801 Burnham Boulevard, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Coordinates44°57′28.44″N 93°19′2.6″W
Built1951[1]
ArchitectFrank Lloyd Wright; Lyle Halverson
Architectural styleUsonian
NRHP reference No.04000531 [2]
Added to NRHPMay 26, 2004

The Neils approached Wright in 1949 to help build a new home on property adjacent to their existing home, overlooking Cedar Lake.[1] The home was designed through close collaboration between the architect and the Neils who were knowledgeable about architecture.[1] It was Wright's only home to use marble walls: the small marble blocks were left over from other marble projects, and Henry Neil, who was a trustee of a marble company, was able to acquire them at a good price and convince Wright to use the material; however, the color of the completed walls did not satisfy either Wright or the Neils, and some of the blocks were later stained.[1] Unlike Wright's normal use of wooden window frames, the home used aluminum frames made by Neils' company.[1]

The house was designed in Wright's post-World War II Usonian architecture, with the goal of "affordable, beautiful housing for a democratic America." The L-shaped, one-story home's floor plan features a dominant living room and social and spatial separation into "active" and "quiet" areas.[4] The short side of the L consists of the "active" portion, centering on a living room with 17-foot (5.2 m)-high vaulted ceiling and views of Cedar Lake; the "quiet" portion is the long side ending in a three-car carport and has bedrooms as well as a gallery leading to a hidden main entrance.[1]

Located on 2801 Burnham Boulevard, the home is visible from public streets but remains privately owned by members of the Neils family.[1]

References
  1. Millett, Larry (2007). AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 283–84. ISBN 0-87351-540-4.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
  3. "Wright in Minnesota". Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  4. "Minnesota Preservation Planner" (PDF). Minnesota Historical Society. January–February 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  • Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 0-226-77621-2 (S.314)
Different angle of the home from the street corner
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