A 1953 Frank Lloyd Wright With Views Over Lake Michigan Asks $1.9 Million

Meticulously cared for by its current owners and featuring a harmonious addition, the Wright-designed home in the town of St. Joseph is now up for grabs.

Sep 22, 2021 - 02:51

A 1953 Frank Lloyd Wright With Views Over Lake Michigan Asks $1.9 Million

Meticulously cared for by its current owners and featuring a harmonious addition, the Wright-designed home in the town of St. Joseph is now up for grabs.

Michigan has its share of Frank Lloyd Wright–designed homes, but in the little town of St. Joseph, there are just two. Between them, only one has vistas of Lake Michigan via a myriad of cascading windows—and it’s now on the market for the first time in 25 years. Built in 195o, it is believed to be the last home that Wright, then 83, designed in Michigan.

The pitched and angled roof was repaired in 2012, and the flat roofs worked on in 2018.The home will come with all furnishings including several custom-designed pieces like a glass cocktail table and vanity in the half bathroom. Permeated with thoughtful elements, the house is teeming with visual delights like a projected portion of the roof that, through a hole, allows rain to fall through on the garden; though multiple art pieces, too, come with the sale price—the new owners can enjoy a full-size reproduction of a sculpture designed by Wright in 1914, as well as a Baldwin grand piano. — A combination of pitched, angled, and flat rooflines make up the home. The pitched and angled roof was repaired in 2012, and the flat roofs worked on in 2018.
Photo by VHT Studios

Built of tidewater cypress and Chicago common brick, two of Wright’s signature materials, the L-shaped Harper House is named after Dr. Ina M. Harper, who lived here with her husband, F. LeRoy Bradford. With her pioneering spirit, Dr. Harper became a physician, specializing in women and children’s health in a time that was uncommon for women to become medical practitioners.

Original stained glass and mahogany entry doors allow light to permeate the entry. — Original stained glass and mahogany doors allow light to permeate the entry.
Photo by VHT Studios

Dr. Harper is responsible for commissioning the Wright design—her husband played no hand in the plans—but just three years after the house was built, she died in a tragic accident in Cascade, Michigan, at 77 years old. However, her gumption didn’t go unnoticed.