While I am generally not a fan of hyphenated names for Frank Lloyd Wright houses, it is fitting in this case as it was designed for Dr. Benjamin Wilson and his first wife Gloria Bachman.
The couple were familiar with Wright's work, largely because Ms. Bachman's brother, Marvin, had studied with Wright at Taliesin West, his home and studio in Scottsdale, AZ.
But in 1951, Marvin Bachman, who was working as Wright's apprentice on the Seamour Shavin House, in Chattanooga, TN (
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Dr. Wilson purchased a wooded lot, 125 by 650 feet, along a tributary of the Raritan River in Millstone. He wrote Wright, describing himself and his wife, and the land. ''We used the name Bachman-Wilson to draw his attention,'' he said.
There was no response so the couple went to New York to meet the architect, who was working there. ''We had a hard time getting his attention,'' Dr. Wilson recalled, ''He was very busy. I do not think we made much of an impression.'' On a second trip, though, they got Wright's attention, and he later sent drawings to them.
The couple financed the house with a $25,000 loan from Ms. Bachman's father. Wright assigned Morton Delson to be the on-site apprentice, but after three months, Dr. Wilson fired him. He said the reason was that Mr. Delson was visiting other clients when a bulldozer arrived to do work.
The Wilsons later visited Wright again in New York and asked him to assign another apprentice to the house. But, according to Dr. Wilson Wright refused, saying that Mr. Delson was his ''best apprentice.'' The house was completed without the help of another apprentice; Dr. Wilson said he essentially was the general contractor.
Dr. Wilson and Ms. Bachman lived together in the house from 1956 to 1963, when they separated. She lived there with their daughter until 1968.
The current owners, Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino, purchased the house in 1988. The Tarantinos, whose company is called Tarantino Architect, bought it in 1988, when it was in “deplorable” shape because of flooding from the Millstone River, Mr. Tarantino said.
Since then, the Tarantinos have become experts on the restoration of Wright homes. Some of their expertise has been gained from personal experience, as the Usonian house in Millstone has been inundated several times since they bought it — once by Hurricane Floyd in 1999, when the original kitchen was destroyed, again in 2007, by Hurricance Irene in 2011, and most recently by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. There is a tree in the backyard that has the various high water marks painted on it -- the highest six feet above the first floor radiant floor. By the time of the second flood, the Tarantinos had devised a “recoverable kitchen,” with wooden cabinet boxes that slide out from beneath independently supported countertops, and can be replaced when water recedes.
The future of this house appears to rest on finding it a new home. Possible sites that have been mentioned in the press include another site in New Jersey, the Hamptons in New York, Fiesole, Italy near where Wright lived in exile with Mamah Cheney in 1910, or even Japan. The sale price of $1.5 million includes the house and furniture, deconstruction, packing, and shipping.
Update: Walmart has purchased the house and is moving to Arkansas (
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References:
After years of flooding, owners say a Frank Lloyd Wright home could leave N.J. (
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April 19, 2012: A Frank Lloyd Wright House in NJ ready to deconstruct and reconstruct
2011: 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in New Jersey (
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Frank Lloyd Wright house on market for $1.5 million - but it must be moved. Daily Telegraph. (
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Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 0-226-77621-2 (S.366)
October 17, 2008: Honors for Restored Wright House - New York Times (
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October 14, 2001: Memories of a Famous Architect - New York Times (
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October 7, 2015: Curbed, Frank Lloyd Wright House Is Rebuilt Anew, Piece by Piece, in Arkansas (
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