Specially selected historic real estate for old house enthusiasts.

1956 Usonian in Mount Pleasant, WI (Frank Lloyd Wright)

$725,000

Sold / Archive From 2022

Added to OHD on 9/14/22   -   Last OHD Update: 10/17/22

1425 Valley View Dr, Mount Pleasant, WI 53405

Maps: Street | Aerial

  • 6 Bed
  • 6 Full, 2 Half Bath
  • 4978 Sq Ft
  • 3.2 Ac.
This is a rare opportunity to own a work by America's most prominent architect. One of Frank Lloyd Wright's largest Usonian homes is on the market for the first time in its history. Designed in 1954, the house features 6 bedrooms & 6.5 bathrooms in 4,978 square feet, located on a bluff of a ravine that overlooks the Root River, Colonial Park and Racine CC. Sitting on over 3 stunning acres blending with nature and maximizing views. The expansive dramatic Great Room is cantilevered above the ravine emphasizing the continuity between interior and exterior. The guestroom is on the 2nd floor of the main wing, adjoining a sitting room (den) and a balcony that overlooks the Great room and ravine below. All but one of the 6 bedrooms is en suite. See documents for much more information & detail
Listed With

Tony Veranth Team, RE/MAX Newport Elite :: (262) 632-9990

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Tommy Q
Supporter
6 months ago

Fabulous!!!

CarpeVinum
6 months ago

Love the half-underground conservatory. It’s full-skylight roof is giving me flashbacks to Pei’s Louvre pyramid

David
Supporter
6 months ago

Wow…low price! Or it seems low?

Jeff
Reply to  David | 660 comments
6 months ago

No, very low. You could add an extra zero and it would still be fairly priced.

Jeff

OldHouseandOldDogBliss
6 months ago

I need smelling salts!
I feel privileged to have had a photographic tour…I can’t imagine how fabulous it would be to live here.

Snarling Squirrel
Supporter
6 months ago

This really is something special for the surprising price. John Howe did an addition to the house later on (one of Wright’s most talented apprentices). Wrightchat discussion about the house and owner:
https://wrightchat.savewright.org/viewtopic.php?p=109364
Wrightchat discussion about the sale:
https://wrightchat.savewright.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15637

Original Plan:

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Jkleeb
Reply to  Snarling Squirrel | 1481 comments
6 months ago

Thanks for the information. My first reaction was that this was the largest Usonian I’ve ever seen by far so the addition makes sense.

Snarling Squirrel
Reply to  Jkleeb | 696 comments
6 months ago

You’re welcome Jkleeb. I had the same impression. As hoped, the Wrightchat folk are continuing to post new things about the house. Some don’t even consider it a Usonian because of its enormity.

Here’s Howe’s stunning rendering of his 1961 addition. The drawing itself is a work of art:

3FBBC855-6D61-4075-9063-E4C82380C72C.jpeg
Rosewater
Reply to  Snarling Squirrel | 1481 comments
6 months ago

> too big and posh to be considered a “USonian”

Very much agree with that sentiment. To my distant recollection that determinative test is failed if the owners couldn’t theoretically, reasonably build it themselves in a timely manner with appropriate and readily available materials. Possibly an oversimplification; but surely in the spirit of the architect’s concept.

> Howe’s rendering

Stunning! Clipped. Thank you. One senses a tip of the hat to Wright’s beloved Japanese prints.
Moar please!

Snarling Squirrel
Reply to  Snarling Squirrel | 1481 comments
6 months ago

Sketch of the current floorplan (Howe addition in dark lines):

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JimH
Moderator
6 months ago

The house was built for Karen Johnson (1924-2016), a daughter of Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr. of Johnson Wax. Wright had previously designed the iconic headquarters for the company and the Johnson home called Wingspread. Karen lived in the home for 60 years.

https://franklloydwrightsites.com/johnson-boyd-house/

Sally G
Reply to  JimH | 7812 comments
6 months ago

I believe those Johnsons are more fully of S.C. Johnson Cos., currently led by Karen’s nephew Fisk Johnson? The various Johnson companies and lineages are complicated to be sure.

JimH
Reply to  Sally G | 323 comments
6 months ago

Technically correct, though the company, its major product and famous building have always been commonly known as Johnson Wax.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Wax_Headquarters

Vintage Johnson Wax cans would make a nice collection, and a complete corporate display would also include a few cans of Raid, Windex, Pledge and Drano.

Karen was overshadowed in life by her father, brother, nephew and husbands, though she was an accomplished person herself as a mother of 5, art collector and philanthropist. Her contributions to the Racine Art Museum created the largest collection of contemporary crafts in America.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/157586058/karen-andrea-boyd

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Sally G
Reply to  JimH | 7812 comments
6 months ago

Word has it this wing of the Johnson clan is quite taken with its current extensive brand and product lineup beyond those few legacy products you list. That lineup is controversially international in scope, including many products unavailable in Racine or elsewhere in this country.

As for the family’s interest in the intersection of modern architecture and art, please see the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell, designed by I.M. Pei and including works by FLW. These Johnsons have a long affiliation with Cornell (ever heard of it?), including current CEO Fisk with f.i.v.e degrees.

Rosewater
Reply to  JimH | 7812 comments
6 months ago

That would explain the many similarities to “Wingspread”.

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Can’t remember seeing a Rumford fireplace in a Wright house before. The marble seems very un-Frank, but the Rumford fits like a glove.

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All of the varied and wonderful exterior spaces are my favorites. A gardener’s Frank Lloyd paradise. Sigh..
Yes please.

Snarling Squirrel
Reply to  Rosewater | 8607 comments
6 months ago

This marble slab reminds me of the 1968 John Rattenbury designed house that sold last year in New Jersey:
https://www.dwell.com/article/kessler-house-john-rattenbury-taliesin-associated-architects-6cfa639e

No doubt we’ll see a lot of scholarship on this Wright house in the coming week, but I’d recon that all the fancy surfaces and “upgrades” are from the later Howe renovation and expansion. The Wright apprentices took a glitzy turn after Wright’s death.

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JimH
Reply to  Snarling Squirrel | 1481 comments
6 months ago

The Wrightsites piece says the fireplace marble and matching DR table were Karen’s idea and original, though I’m feeling a lot of “upgrades” also. I really hope all the additions and changes were carefully documented so the clock could be accurately turned back to about 1962.

As for the low price, don’t worry, the exterior maintenance will double it in no time at all!

JDmiddleson
Reply to  JimH | 7812 comments
6 months ago

I’m sure there will be plenty of things that need to be addressed on this stunning place. The one thing not mentioned is the roof structure and the condition it is in. While I don’t see any evidence of problems, it was an issue even FLW struggled with. His vision and brilliance were often far ahead of the building materials at the time.

Jeff
Reply to  JDmiddleson | 5230 comments
6 months ago

Leaky roofs and completely inadequate furnaces, along with utterly impractical kitchens were some of Wright’s signature trademarks.

Snarling Squirrel
Reply to  Jeff | 194 comments
6 months ago

Fortunately we’ve moved beyond all that with new technologies in the past seventy years since this house was built Jeff. That was a blanket judgement for the last century.

The more important aesthetic contribution is the enduring Wright signature trademark. It would be a transcendent joy to live in a work of art such as this…

…even with the assumed maintenance costs that go into accepting ownership of a 5,000 square foot work of hand-crafted art.

JDmiddleson
Reply to  Snarling Squirrel | 1481 comments
6 months ago

But it did take seventy years for technology to catch up with FLW’s vision!

And yes, this home deserves to be protected for generations in the future!

JimH
Reply to  Snarling Squirrel | 1481 comments
6 months ago

I don’t recall a better value in a Wright home, even considering some deferred maintenance. The lower price is more about the local market as compared to more expensive places, and Racine is accessible to Chicago and Milwaukee, not exactly Siberia.

It is a bit surprising that this billionaire family chose to sell the house instead of somehow saving it for posterity. Possibly, no family member is interested in living there, and they determined that the location isn’t very conducive to institutional or educational use. It creates a great opportunity for a Wright devotee without unlimited funds to own a significant Wright house with associations to some of his greatest work.

Mark Hertzberg, one of the Wrighchat guys and author of a book “Wright in Racine,” wrote a nice tribute to Karen on his blog:

https://wrightinracine.wordpress.com/2016/01/30/a-tribute-to-karen-johnson-boyd/

https://www.amazon.com/Wright-Racine-Architects-Vision-American/dp/0764928902

Rosewater
Reply to  JimH | 7812 comments
6 months ago

> Karen insisted

That was my suspicion. No doubt the Wright spergs will dig up the original correspondence between the two of them arguing such fine points.

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JimH
Reply to  Rosewater | 8607 comments
6 months ago

Karen knew art history and had a warm relationship with Frank for many years prior. Perhaps she was tweeking him a bit with a Mies reference:

BarcelonaMiesMarble.jpg
Rosewater
Reply to  JimH | 7812 comments
6 months ago

Haha. Epic troll if so.

Rosewater
Reply to  Snarling Squirrel | 1481 comments
6 months ago

> blonde wood, white brick, marble, and parquet

– do not “organic architecture” make

When it comes to Wright apprentices, some of them ‘got it’, and some most certainly did not.

RJL
Reply to  Rosewater | 8607 comments
6 months ago

now you’ve gone and ignited my lego addiction, i need that wingspread model!

Rosewater
Reply to  RJL | 38 comments
6 months ago

Isn’t that just the best! Leggo enthusiasts thought so and awarded the model first prize at their ‘Leggo-con’ in 2015’.

https://www.johnsonfdn.org/our-legacy/wingspread-lego-model

delta queen
6 months ago

If the new owners change one iota they should have to forfeit the home. 😉 

KC in TC
6 months ago

Totally amazing! From the outside, I wasn’t prepared to love it because- so low-slung, but the feel of the inside is BRILLIANT!! I’m guessing low price reflects market in area??

Nancygirl
6 months ago

That’s quite a house! It’s gigantic!

Go-to-Girl
6 months ago

Wow! Lots of special spaces on that property!!

Anthony
6 months ago

Holy crap! It’s a freaking museum! How could I live in that? I wouldn’t be able to move any of my things in. It’s perfect as-is. Moving anything in….even a flat-screen would ruin the whole look.

Rosewater
Reply to  Anthony | 36 comments
6 months ago

> wouldn’t be able to move any of my things in
This is the correct answer. 😉

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Mimi
Supporter
6 months ago

Just fabulous! Such a time capsule! just charming & very historic!

mark
Supporter
6 months ago

Timeless and in such incredible condition. A very very lucky person will call this home!

Chip Seal
6 months ago

The asking price is amazing! It’s life within a masterpiece.

Please, whoever buys this, remove the tar snakes in driveway!

NightOwlRN
6 months ago

I am gagging in all the best possible ways! This house is stunning. All of the built-ins, the kitchen, the stunning outdoor areas, the large bedrooms… I could go on and on! Now, where did I leave that extra $725,000 I had lying around?  😃 

ChrisICU
6 months ago

Why is this priced so low? It seems too good to be true.

Dee
6 months ago

Wow!! Just wow!!

Cdngal
6 months ago

Me: Honnneeyyy! Go buy a lottery ticket! I found our future house!

Him: You say that every week!

Me: I know but it’s for REAL this time!

Susy
6 months ago

This is beyond a dream home. I just died a little merely getting a photographic tour. What a treasure.

nora
6 months ago

AAAKKK! many years ago, i designed but never had a place to build, a pyramid greenhouse with a pool in the middle! yesterday, coming home in the truck, my mind whipped out the fact that now, in my old age, I HAVE ROOM TO BUILD IT!!! and then i see this! the triangular end of this greenhouse will help me figure out the framework! YAAA! and thanks frank!

Joy
6 months ago

Would putting in a pool ruin the esthetics of this house? She is a beauty for sure.

Rosewater
Reply to  Joy | 20 comments
6 months ago

Interesting question. Joel Silver thinks it’s fine, and I happen to agree. It wouldn’t even have to be as Wright fabulous as his, (which I believe may have even been from the architects’ own original concept).

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[see “Auldbrass”]

As long as it doesn’t directly intrude upon the gestalt of the original, overall design aesthetic, I’d say you’re good, (karmically 😉). Best to avoid the karmic injury sustained by that Balbes dude who foisted a pool upon the already tight Roman courtyard of the Sowden, (black dahlia), house in LA, (Lloyd Wright).

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https://hous.com/properties/inside-lloyd-wrights-alluring-sowden-house-in-los-feliz/

Something like this would do just nicely. Heheheh. 😉

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JimH
Moderator
6 months ago

Noticed that 2 doors down is the 1954 Erskine House known as Trilogy, by Wrightian (Wrightist?) architect John Randal McDonald:

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI51499

https://patch.com/wisconsin/mountpleasant/on-the-market-435-000-trilogy-house-a-local-landmark

ErskineHseMtPleasantWI.png
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CharlestonJohn
Supporter
6 months ago

I can’t imagine this will be on the market long. I know nothing about the area, but the location between Milwaukee and Chicago and two miles from the lake would seem desirable.

Historic aerial photography shows the vacant lot in 1955 and the newly completed house with its original dimensions in 1956. Besides working on the approach with a driveway repour, it would be a shame if a new owner did much else other than maintenance.

67drake
Supporter
6 months ago

I thought I was the only one. I’m not a big FLW fan to begin, but this reminds me of a an office building on the inside,and not at all cozy.
Funny, I lived in Racine and Mount Pleasant for 30 years, and never knew this house existed.

M J G
Reply to  67drake | 357 comments
6 months ago

I am with you both. These styles aren’t for me. I like to look for the sake of a time warp.

Midge
6 months ago

This price is exceptionally low for a FLW home this size and in this condition. It’s magnificent. Called the Willard Keland House.

dhh177
6 months ago

There might be some stabilization issues on the bluff as the Root River flood plan is pretty close to the property. We’ve had some pretty major flooding issues in the past few years. Here’s link to the flood plain map :
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1425-Valley-View-Dr_Mount-Pleasant_WI_53405_M82566-01595?ex=2947697416

Indigoblur
Reply to  dhh177 | 91 comments
6 months ago

I live 2 blocks from this house, my house is considered to be on the flood plane too, but we are at the top of the hill where Root River is concerned. There is no way Root River or the creeks flowing into it would rise high enough to affect our houses. I assume the flood plane is determined by distance from the river, not geography.

Snarling Squirrel
Reply to  Indigoblur | 1 comments
6 months ago

That’s good to hear from you Indigoblur! As you can see from the comments, we’re all dreaming of becoming your neighbors.

It’s easy to miss in the photos, but you can just make-out that the living room ribbon of windows and balcony look-out over a stream below the trees (a gentle nod to Falling Water). I was wondering how it was possible for that stream to flood up the ridge so far. We don’t want to start a rumor based on computer-generated maps.

CharlestonJohn
Reply to  Indigoblur | 1 comments
6 months ago

My understanding is that FEMA used both distance and elevation to determine the flood zones used for insurance requirements. The FIRM map for this house shows the house out of the AE flood zone with just the rear edge of the property within the zone.

dhh177
Reply to  CharlestonJohn | 1245 comments
6 months ago

And the rear edge of the property is where the river bluff is, which is my entire point! There may be erosion of the bluff. It is common in SE Wisconsin.,

dhh177
Reply to  Indigoblur | 1 comments
6 months ago

Is the bluff eroding? Have you been to this property and seen the bluff? Two blocks can be miles when it comes to flooding and erosion in SE Wisconsin. Flood plains DEFINITELY DO effect house prices! It is what insurance companies and mortgage companies look at and could very well be the reason for the low price. No insurance, no mortgage. What’s your reason for the low price? You don’t know anymore than I do!

JimH
Reply to  dhh177 | 91 comments
6 months ago

Flood risk and the geological stability of the bluff are legitimate questions that should be asked by prospective buyers, with appropriate inspections if necessary. We’re not geologists or insurance experts here, so let’s not speculate about it.

The house is priced at the top of the local market by owners that don’t need the money. [Edit: it’s actually a trust – same point.] The documents mentioned likely include easements and other protections for the house going forward. This is a very desirable property and a high profile listing, and I think it’s unlikely that buyers requiring financing would be considered.

Rosewater
Reply to  JimH | 7812 comments
6 months ago

Seconded

Wowza
6 months ago

This is the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen. I doubt vey much if it will sell for less than $1m If only it were in a southern state 😊

seahag
6 months ago

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seahag
Reply to  seahag | 102 comments
6 months ago

I forgot my text this is the flw house in oberlin ohio the area i am from . I have been in this house with the family a few times. My first husbands mother was curator of oberlin art musuem at the time. To be truthful i felt like it was a cold block of ice…sorry but I grew up in a 150 year old farm house with lots of old old things…the home was beautiful but i never felt like i could put my feet up there …the owners were lovely people

Polly
Reply to  seahag | 102 comments
5 months ago

This is Art History Professor Ellen Johnson’s house. It is the first house in which I (Oberlin College freshman) was asked to take off my shoes upon entering.

KEYLIME
Supporter
6 months ago

Sublimely beautiful, with the beauty even extending to the glass-domed potting shed. And, do my eyes deceive me? Is this desk freestanding and able to be shifted so that while sitting at it, I can raise my gaze to enjoy what is outside the window? Would that be heresy? I’m accustomed to being able to do that and would miss it if I no longer could.

FLW:MOVABLE DESK.png
KEYLIME
Supporter
6 months ago

Pertaining to the discussion about soil stability and the bluff:
This links to a brief but informative article about what geotechnical engineers do, what their inspections consist of, for those who might be curious.
https://www.aessoil.com/soil-engineering-reports-why-you-need-them-how-they-work/

AmyBee
Supporter
6 months ago

One Word: Sublime!

My younger brother participated in the reconstruction of the Pergola and Conservatory of the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo. Now, if he ever one the lottery!😉
I told him about this house and us!

Phoebe
6 months ago

Pending.

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