This Frank Lloyd Wright House Will Be Preserved Forever Thanks to an Anonymous Donor

Architecture 25-11-2019 DWell 1057

The Kalil House hit the market for the first time this past September—and the buyer has entrusted it to the Currier Museum of Art in the name of historical preservation.

An exterior view of the Kalil House at 117 Heather Street. Molded masonry blocks are the main building material, informing the design of the entire structure, as well as exterior retaining walls and a carport.

The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire—which features works by the likes of Monet, Picasso, and O’Keefe—just added Frank Lloyd Wright’s Toufic H. Kalil House to its collection. The home is one of seven Usonian Automatic homes in existence, and now it will be preserved ad infinitum thanks to an anonymous donor.

The Currier Museum also holds the Prairie-style Zimmerman House, which is located just down the street from the Kalil House. "This is an important piece of architecture," says the donor. "The work [the museum] has done with the Zimmerman House is outstanding, and there is no doubt that they are the ones to entrust with this important piece of American history."

To the right of the main entry, the large living room features a striking rear wall composed of 350 individual embedded-glass window blocks, allowing light to pour into the space. A dramatic sunken hearth surrounds the original wood-burning fireplace. — To the right of the main entry, the large living room features a striking rear wall composed of 350 embedded-glass window blocks that allow light to pour into the space. A dramatic sunken hearth surrounds the original wood-burning fireplace.
Photo courtesy of Paula Martin group at Keller Williams

The Zimmerman House inspired the Kalil family to hire Wright—and now Museumgoers will be able to walk a short distance to compare and contrast the two characteristically different homes, which were built just five years apart.