Built from the 1930s until his death in 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Uson Houses are designed to blend into the landscape with strong horizontal lines and plenty of natural light. Today they can be found throughout the Midwest and from coast to coast.
One of them, the Freida and Henry J. Neils House in Minneapolis, MN, completed in 1951, is currently looking for only its third manager. There are nine Uson houses designed by Wright in Minnesota, including this one.
With an asking price of $2,495,000, it is almost identical to another Usonian that was recently relisted – the Eppstein House in Galesburg, Michigan, with an asking price of $2,100,000.
David Stickney from Coldwell Banker Realty Stickney Real Estate is listing the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in the Calhoun Isles neighborhood of Minneapolis, which sits on a half-acre lot overlooking Cedar Lake.
“It’s an incredibly quiet and peaceful place as the home sits on a private half-acre overlooking Cedar Lake and the adjacent parkland. The way the home relates to its surroundings makes Cedar Lake and the parkland almost feel like an extension of the living space,” says David Stickney.
“Much of Frank Lloyd Wright’s original design and craftsmanship remains, making the home so special.”
Like its fellow Usonians, the home features a floor-to-ceiling fireplace in the living room, vaulted ceilings, walls of windows, and custom built-in furniture, including a built-in desk that spans half the width of the wall in one of the bedrooms. And yet, as the listing states, “the home features materials rarely found in Wright’s work, including load-bearing walls of high-quality marble, interior paneling of larch wood, and aluminum-framed windows and doors.”
Typical of Wright’s homes are stainless steel countertops in the galley-like kitchen, with sunlight streaming in through the windows, as well as numerous storage spaces.
Then on the outside is a carport, another iconic Uson feature. This offers space for up to three cars. But what takes it to the next level — especially during Minnesota’s harsh winters — is the seller’s addition of a detached two-car garage, along with a new synthetic shake roof and air conditioning system, as well as landscaping improvements.
“The work was approached with great care to maintain the integrity of Wright’s original design while ensuring the home is well-suited to modern living,” says Stickney.
One reason for its impeccable preservation is that the house only changed hands twice.
“The original owners, Frieda and Henry J. Neils, later passed the house to their daughter, Mary Louise Neils McGee,” explains Stickney. “Her estate sold the property to the current owner in 2007.”
The seller bought the home for $2,400,000 this year, then put it on the market in 2018 with an asking price of $3,400,000, only to remove it from the listing seven months later after reducing the price to $2,950,000.
This new price is just $95,000 more than the price paid 19 years ago.
As with any Wright-designed home, the person forced to make an offer is likely someone already familiar with the late architect’s portfolio and legacy.
“The ideal buyer is someone with a strong sense of architecture and design who is looking for something truly unique and special,” says Stickney. “It is particularly compelling for someone who understands the importance of owning an important piece of architectural history, but also desires a home that can be enjoyed and lived in today.”
Whoever buys this will become the owner of a true gem, not just in Minnesota or the Midwest, but across the country.
The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and this architectural landmark offers the next owner a rare opportunity to become the next caretaker of an “extraordinary” piece of architectural history, the listing says.
“This is well beyond the quality of a typical townhouse and would be extremely difficult to reproduce in the local market,” says Stickney.
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