Houston’s only Frank Lloyd Wright house on the market for $3.15M
Regardless of the reason you’re here, whether you’re honestly looking for an apartment, you’re a Frank Lloyd Wright fan, looking for new images to pin to your dream home vision board, or just need something to marvel at, to pass the time indoors, enjoy a virtual tour of this architectural gem on the market.
By numbers: 12020 Tall Oaks Street, Bunker Hill Village, TX 77024 | 1954 (year of construction) | 8,072 square feet | 5 bedrooms | 6.5 bathroom | 1.19 hectare property
Nestled on wooded lot in the quaint community of Bunker Hill Village, where homes routinely sell in the seven-figure range, the structure at 12020 Tall Oaks Street, best described as a strict concrete block with horizontal lines, has long received special attention drawn to architecture buffs – That’s because it’s the only house in Houston designed by America’s most influential architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. And now the historic building is within reach.
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The Thaxton House, named after William Thaxton, the insurance manager who commissioned it in 1954, is one of only three houses in Texas with such a family tree. The others are in Dallas and Amarillo.
The original 1,800 square meter Thaxton House, a building that is both a work of art and a home, wanted to create a harmonious relationship between man and nature. The humble domicile is often viewed as an example of what Wright referred to as “Usonian” – economical homes designed according to principles of organic architecture.
“Wright’s Usonian houses have a direct connection to the earth, unhindered by a foundation, a porch, a protruding chimney or distracting bushes,” wrote the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation about the building concept of its namesake. “Glass facades and natural materials such as wood, stone and brick also connected the house with its surroundings.”
Wright designed about 140 Usonian homes before his death in 1959.
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Well, after a shortened architecture lesson, let’s go back to Bunker Hill Village. The house on 12020 Tall Oaks Street cost $ 125,000 to build, an astronomical price tag in the 1950s. That amount included Wright’s $ 25,000 fee, Thaxton told the New York Times in 1991.
“You didn’t work with Mr. Wright,” Thaxton told the New York Times. “You gave Mr. Wright a piece of land.”
Wright purists, take a deep breath. We have some big news for you – the Wright designed home has suffered some architectural humiliations over the years. Over the decades, various owners changed the original design of Thaxton House: pineapple decorations were added on the roof; The custom furniture Wright designed to complement the geometric shape of the building was torn out; Redwood interior walls were painted white; and Ionic columns were installed at one point, the New York Times reported. Before the columns were installed, the building did not have right angles.
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In the 1990s, the building was threatened with demolition.
“I think I hope someone will buy it and restore it, although I don’t think anyone will,” Thaxton told the New York Times in 1991. “The money makers will get it, I’m afraid.”
Thankfully, Thaxton, a pediatric dentist, and his wife, an architect who became a dentist, eventually bought the house in order to maintain it, the Houston Business Journal reported. The couple spent millions restoring the original home and building a 6,300-square-foot extension to complement Wright’s original creation.
The extension, completed by Kirksey Architecture in 1995, offers modern, sun-drenched interiors, a large family room as well as a central courtyard and a pool.
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The Wright-designed property is represented by listing agent Clay Joyner at JPAR – The Sears Group. For more information on the listing click here.
Whether or not you have $ 3.15 million left, you can still enjoy this iconic Houston residence thanks to the internet.
Scroll the gallery and take a look at what can make you millions of dollars in Houston real estate.
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