Harvey P. Sutton House
Encyclopedia
The Harvey P. Sutton House, also known as the H.P. Sutton House, is a six-bedroom, 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) Frank Lloyd Wright
designed Prairie School
home at 602 Norris Avenue in McCook, Nebraska
. Although the house is known by her husband's name, Eliza Sutton was the driving force behind the commissioning of Wright for the design in 1905-1907 and the construction of the house in 1907-1908.
on July 17, 1860, the son of Joel C. and Sarah (Robinson) Sutton. Educated in Michigan
, he became a successful musician in Chicago
, but suffered such poor health that he decided he needed to leave. Flipping a coin to determine whether to travel east or west, he moved to Ainsworth
in north central Nebraska
. There he courted Elizabeth B. Munson, and married Eliza, as she was known, on August 4, 1886. Harvey had left Chicago not long before Frank Lloyd Wright arrived in that burgeoning metropolis, yet 20 years later he and Eliza would become Wright's clients.
The Suttons relocated to McCook in southern Nebraska in 1889, soon after their son Harold was born. Part of the lure of McCook was an opportunity for Harvey to lead the prestigious C.B.& Q. Railroad
Concert Band, headquartered there but known throughout the state. The Pawnee Native Americans
who had previously occupied the land had been forced to give up the Republican River
valley in 1833, but McCook wasn't founded on its banks until 1882 when the railroad came through. The choice of McCook as a major point on the railroad, and as the headquarters of the concert band, were both due to its being midway from Omaha
to Denver.
Mr. Sutton led the band from 1889–1924, but although he enjoyed his musical sideline, he needed to earn more money. He followed the example of his brother, Benjamin, who had previously established a successful jewelry business in Dexter, Michigan
. Harvey prospered as McCook's only jewelry store proprietor, later taking his son Harold into the business as his partner in 1908.
The 1901 Ladies' Home Journal
designs were influential and have become famous. "A Home in a Prairie Town" was published in February, followed by "A Small House with Lots of Room in It" in July. These were part of a series of designs sponsored by Journal editor Edward W. Bok
in a crusade to update US housing designs to better fit the way families were living. Bok was looking for a simplified, functional house, and required designs he published to replace the fussy parlor
with a living room
, to include at least one bathroom
, improved ventilation, and no "senseless ornament". Architectural historian Gwendolyn Wright
observes that the publication of these two articles "provided the first opportunity for Frank Lloyd Wright to show his alchemy, converting a simple programme into architectural gold.... The [first] design contains virtually every revolutionary theme he would employ for the next two decades."
Grant Manson notes that, although these two Ladies' Home Journal designs were "accorded the widest publicity then possible" and were subsequently to exercise lasting influence on residential design, they resulted in no commissions for Wright, "with one exception, the Sutton house at McCook, Nebraska."
Mrs. Rose Barnes and her husband Charles were the first to contact Wright, but Eliza was also interested. Donald Morgan states that in 1903 Charles traveled by train to see Wright in his Oak Park Studio, accompanied by Mrs. Sutton. By 1905, Wright had produced plans for Charles and Rose. Eliza was impressed with these plans, and not only wrote Wright on her own behalf but also informed Wright that the Barnes had decided not to pursue building.
Mrs. Sutton began her several years of corresponding with Wright's studio by asking Wright to design an enlargement for the Suttons' existing house for no more than $2000. Besides Wright, she corresponded with many in Wright's Oak Park Studio
, including Walter Burley Griffin
, William Drummond
, Barry Byrne
, Isabel Roberts
, and A.C. Tobin (brother of Wright's wife, Catherine). With the exception of Tobin, all would go on to independent careers as Prairie School architects.
Eliza Sutton repeatedly and pointedly asked Wright to be economical. She rejected two plans that incorporated portions of their existing home as not having enough space yet being too expensive, and finally abandoned the idea of salvaging any of the previous house. Eliza eventually agreed to a third design that included all six bedrooms she had insisted on from the beginning, making it one of the largest houses in McCook. Wright estimated it would cost $5,000, yet the Suttons ultimately paid $10,000 and were furious. The experience of going well over budget was one shared by most of Wright's clients. Grant Manson puts it kindly when he observes that "Wright's genius was never at home in the realm of the merely economical". More bluntly, Paul Sprague states that "Wright either misrepresented the true cost of his designs, or else simply was unable to ascertain their real cost in advance of construction." Sprague doubts that it was deliberate, and concludes that, although Wright routinely blamed contractors and workers for the over-runs, he was in fact a victim of his approach to architecture. "Even when Wright tried to design simply and inexpensively the artist in him refused to cooperate."
ed roof had been anchored in the house, local builders changed its location and proportions and added large plastered columns to support its extension. Later, during World War II
, the Suttons added stairs up to the balcony in the northeast corner above the main floor bedroom, added a downstairs bathroom, and made alterations to the second floor in order to house Army Air Corps
personnel from the nearby air base who needed temporary quarters.
Harvey and Eliza Sutton died in 1952, and in 1960 Dr. J. Harold Donaldson purchased the house. Donaldson converted the structure into his medical clinic
, making numerous further alterations counter to Wright's design. Among these were a small brick addition on the north (rear) side for use as a diagnostic clinic, asphalt shingles replacing the original roof, and blocking the original entrance into the reception room, using instead the previously private veranda door into what had been the living room. Donaldson also erected a wall of decorative concrete block around the entire property that incorporated lily pools, fish ponds, statues, and fountains featuring cherubs pouring water from vases. However, the changes that were most damaging to the historical fabric of the house involved filling in doors, cutting through oak floors, and adding walls to divide the flowing, interconnected interior into 24 small rooms.
Although Donaldson applied for the house to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places
, the fate of the house was uncertain when he retired in 1978. At first, Dr. Donaldson tried to sell it in an auction, but there were no takers. Facing ongoing upkeep and taxes, Donaldson looked into moving it to Lincoln
or Omaha
, where tourist interest might be stronger. As a last resort, he considered tearing it down and replacing it with an apartment building.
Fortunately, Mary and Donald Poore purchased the house the same week it was added to the National Register in 1978. Along with their son, they set about restoring what they could, working on it for a year before moving in. Finding most of the original art glass windows, they cleaned, regrouted, and re-installed them. They removed the perimeter wall and the extra interior walls, but lacked the funds to restore the cantilevered veranda, restore the floors, or recreate the original ground-level entry. Living in the house for about ten years, the Poores sold the residence to John and Stacy Cannon, who lived in it a further four years.
Janet and Van Korrell purchased the house when the Cannons left in 1992. Janet had been fascinated with the Frank Lloyd Wright designed house for some time, and they quickly tore off the enclosed staircase the Suttons had added 50 years earlier to get up to the balcony on the back. Determined to restore it as fully as possible, in 1999 they hired John G. Thorpe to oversee the work. Thorpe, a Wright expert, restoration architect, and one of the founders of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust in Oak Park, Illinois, worked with the original plans and old photos on a complete restoration inside and out, including the Wright-designed cupboards, the ground-level entry, and of course the daring cantilevered veranda roof. As part of this work, the Korrells elected to build an addition in the previously open northwest corner, balancing the original northeast corner bedroom but moving away from Wright's cruciform design. This addition incorporates a modern laundry and a second stairway to the basement.
All three designs for the Suttons used a cruciform plan, and Robert McCarter cites them as "astonishing variations" on this classic Prairie style layout. The unbuilt first plan was single story with gable
s, and had the dining room
in the west arm of the cross, the library in the opposite east arm, and the living room
in the center projecting out into the landscape. The second plan was a "fully developed prairie style solution" with a low-pitched hip roof
. In this second design, Wright placed the fireplace in the center of the cruciform, surrounded by a room in each arm and "the space of all four rooms flowing freely around" the hearth.
In the third plan finally approved by Mrs. Sutton, the dining room is once again in the west, the reception room in the east, and the living room in the center. However, the three rooms are now all equally wide front to back and the fireplace moved forward from the rear (north) wall, causing the living room to project forward. McCarter calls this an "impacted cruciform" where Wright's usual cruciform is "folded in on itself, producing an experiential density and tension between the space-defining elements." As a result, the main floor boasts a gracious sweep of the three public rooms, becoming in effect one very large space. In this it bears stylistic similarities to the K. C. DeRhodes House
in South Bend and the George Barton House in Buffalo, New York
, of this same time period. The kitchen is behind the fireplace in the north arm of the cross, and the sixth bedroom occupies the northeast corner that would be empty in a pure cruciform plan.
The narrow axis of the plan faces the street to the east, and the main entrance lies midway along the long side of the plan. The use of hip roofs includes a very large cantilevered hip roof over the living room terrace. The pitch of the main hip roof is shallow enough to give the passer-by on the sidewalk in front of the house the impression that it is a flat roof.
The ornamental glass "light screens" in this house were designed by Wright with the assistance of Oak Park Studio draughtswoman, Isabel Roberts
, who would later become an architect in her own right. They were fabricated by the Temple Art Glass Company of Chicago, which was the same firm Wright had just used for his renowned Unity Temple
(Oak Park, Illinois, 1905).
The Sutton House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. It is a well-maintained private residence and should be viewed only from the public sidewalks.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
designed Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
home at 602 Norris Avenue in McCook, Nebraska
McCook, Nebraska
McCook is a city in Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,994 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Red Willow County...
. Although the house is known by her husband's name, Eliza Sutton was the driving force behind the commissioning of Wright for the design in 1905-1907 and the construction of the house in 1907-1908.
The Suttons get established in McCook
Harvey P. Sutton was born in Naples, New YorkNaples (town), New York
Naples is a town in Ontario County, New York, USA. The population was 2,441 at the 2000 census.The Town of Naples contains a village, also called Naples...
on July 17, 1860, the son of Joel C. and Sarah (Robinson) Sutton. Educated in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, he became a successful musician in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, but suffered such poor health that he decided he needed to leave. Flipping a coin to determine whether to travel east or west, he moved to Ainsworth
Ainsworth, Nebraska
Ainsworth is a city in Brown County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,862 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Brown County.-Geography:Ainsworth is located at ....
in north central Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. There he courted Elizabeth B. Munson, and married Eliza, as she was known, on August 4, 1886. Harvey had left Chicago not long before Frank Lloyd Wright arrived in that burgeoning metropolis, yet 20 years later he and Eliza would become Wright's clients.
The Suttons relocated to McCook in southern Nebraska in 1889, soon after their son Harold was born. Part of the lure of McCook was an opportunity for Harvey to lead the prestigious C.B.& Q. Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
Concert Band, headquartered there but known throughout the state. The Pawnee Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
who had previously occupied the land had been forced to give up the Republican River
Republican River
The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, flowing through the U.S. states of Nebraska and Kansas.-Geography:...
valley in 1833, but McCook wasn't founded on its banks until 1882 when the railroad came through. The choice of McCook as a major point on the railroad, and as the headquarters of the concert band, were both due to its being midway from Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
to Denver.
Mr. Sutton led the band from 1889–1924, but although he enjoyed his musical sideline, he needed to earn more money. He followed the example of his brother, Benjamin, who had previously established a successful jewelry business in Dexter, Michigan
Dexter, Michigan
Dexter is a village in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The majority of the village is in the northwest corner of Scio Township with a small portion in Webster Township. The population was 4,067 at the 2010 census...
. Harvey prospered as McCook's only jewelry store proprietor, later taking his son Harold into the business as his partner in 1908.
The Suttons build a house
The couple acquired a small house seven blocks north of the railroad on the hill overlooking downtown, at what was then known as 602 Main Street. They eventually decided that the house needed to be enlarged. Rather than hiring an informal remodeling job, the Suttons opted to pursue Frank Lloyd Wright as their architect. The connection to Wright was through Eliza's friends, Rose Barnes and Mary S. Marlan. Barnes saw the two designs of Wright's published in the Ladies Home Journal in 1901, and showed them to Marlan, who had grown up in Wisconsin and known Wright.The 1901 Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
designs were influential and have become famous. "A Home in a Prairie Town" was published in February, followed by "A Small House with Lots of Room in It" in July. These were part of a series of designs sponsored by Journal editor Edward W. Bok
Edward W. Bok
Edward William Bok was a Dutch born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the Ladies Home Journal for thirty years...
in a crusade to update US housing designs to better fit the way families were living. Bok was looking for a simplified, functional house, and required designs he published to replace the fussy parlor
Parlour
Parlour , from the French word parloir, from parler , denotes an "audience chamber". In parts of the United Kingdom and the United States, parlours are common names for certain types of food service houses, restaurants or special service areas, such as tattoo parlors...
with a living room
Living room
A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
, to include at least one bathroom
Bathroom
A bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....
, improved ventilation, and no "senseless ornament". Architectural historian Gwendolyn Wright
Gwendolyn Wright
Gwendolyn Wright is an award-winning architectural historian, author, and co-host of the PBS television series "History Detectives". She is a professor of architecture at Columbia University, also holding appointments in both its departments of history and art history. Besides "History...
observes that the publication of these two articles "provided the first opportunity for Frank Lloyd Wright to show his alchemy, converting a simple programme into architectural gold.... The [first] design contains virtually every revolutionary theme he would employ for the next two decades."
Grant Manson notes that, although these two Ladies' Home Journal designs were "accorded the widest publicity then possible" and were subsequently to exercise lasting influence on residential design, they resulted in no commissions for Wright, "with one exception, the Sutton house at McCook, Nebraska."
Mrs. Rose Barnes and her husband Charles were the first to contact Wright, but Eliza was also interested. Donald Morgan states that in 1903 Charles traveled by train to see Wright in his Oak Park Studio, accompanied by Mrs. Sutton. By 1905, Wright had produced plans for Charles and Rose. Eliza was impressed with these plans, and not only wrote Wright on her own behalf but also informed Wright that the Barnes had decided not to pursue building.
Mrs. Sutton began her several years of corresponding with Wright's studio by asking Wright to design an enlargement for the Suttons' existing house for no more than $2000. Besides Wright, she corresponded with many in Wright's Oak Park Studio
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio at 951 Chicago Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois, has been restored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust to its appearance in 1909, the last year Frank Lloyd Wright lived there with his family. Frank Lloyd Wright purchased the property and built the home in...
, including Walter Burley Griffin
Walter Burley Griffin
Walter Burley Griffin was an American architect and landscape architect, who is best known for his role in designing Canberra, Australia's capital city...
, William Drummond
William Drummond
William Drummond or Bill Drummond is the name of:*William Drummond of Hawthornden , Scottish poet, influenced by Spenser; best known for illustrated essay, Cypresse Grove...
, Barry Byrne
Barry Byrne
Francis Barry Byrne was initially a member of the group of architects known as the Prairie School. After the demise of the Prairie School about 1914-16, Byrne continued as a successful architect by developing his own personal style.-Biography:Francis Barry Byrne was born and raised in Chicago...
, Isabel Roberts
Isabel Roberts
Isabel Roberts was a Prairie School figure, member of the architectural design team in the Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and partner with Ida Annah Ryan in the Orlando, Florida architecture firm, “Ryan and Roberts”. It is fair to say that Roberts is an under-appreciated member of Wright’s...
, and A.C. Tobin (brother of Wright's wife, Catherine). With the exception of Tobin, all would go on to independent careers as Prairie School architects.
Eliza Sutton repeatedly and pointedly asked Wright to be economical. She rejected two plans that incorporated portions of their existing home as not having enough space yet being too expensive, and finally abandoned the idea of salvaging any of the previous house. Eliza eventually agreed to a third design that included all six bedrooms she had insisted on from the beginning, making it one of the largest houses in McCook. Wright estimated it would cost $5,000, yet the Suttons ultimately paid $10,000 and were furious. The experience of going well over budget was one shared by most of Wright's clients. Grant Manson puts it kindly when he observes that "Wright's genius was never at home in the realm of the merely economical". More bluntly, Paul Sprague states that "Wright either misrepresented the true cost of his designs, or else simply was unable to ascertain their real cost in advance of construction." Sprague doubts that it was deliberate, and concludes that, although Wright routinely blamed contractors and workers for the over-runs, he was in fact a victim of his approach to architecture. "Even when Wright tried to design simply and inexpensively the artist in him refused to cooperate."
Subsequent history
The Suttons altered the house during their tenure. Eliza Sutton seriously considered adding a library to the house in 1924, but ultimately decided against it. The house suffered a fire in 1932. Of unknown origin, it started in the basement and destroyed the original veranda roof and caused extensive damage to many of the original furnishings. Unable to determine how the highly cantileverCantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed roof had been anchored in the house, local builders changed its location and proportions and added large plastered columns to support its extension. Later, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Suttons added stairs up to the balcony in the northeast corner above the main floor bedroom, added a downstairs bathroom, and made alterations to the second floor in order to house Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
personnel from the nearby air base who needed temporary quarters.
Harvey and Eliza Sutton died in 1952, and in 1960 Dr. J. Harold Donaldson purchased the house. Donaldson converted the structure into his medical clinic
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
, making numerous further alterations counter to Wright's design. Among these were a small brick addition on the north (rear) side for use as a diagnostic clinic, asphalt shingles replacing the original roof, and blocking the original entrance into the reception room, using instead the previously private veranda door into what had been the living room. Donaldson also erected a wall of decorative concrete block around the entire property that incorporated lily pools, fish ponds, statues, and fountains featuring cherubs pouring water from vases. However, the changes that were most damaging to the historical fabric of the house involved filling in doors, cutting through oak floors, and adding walls to divide the flowing, interconnected interior into 24 small rooms.
Although Donaldson applied for the house to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, the fate of the house was uncertain when he retired in 1978. At first, Dr. Donaldson tried to sell it in an auction, but there were no takers. Facing ongoing upkeep and taxes, Donaldson looked into moving it to Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
or Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, where tourist interest might be stronger. As a last resort, he considered tearing it down and replacing it with an apartment building.
Fortunately, Mary and Donald Poore purchased the house the same week it was added to the National Register in 1978. Along with their son, they set about restoring what they could, working on it for a year before moving in. Finding most of the original art glass windows, they cleaned, regrouted, and re-installed them. They removed the perimeter wall and the extra interior walls, but lacked the funds to restore the cantilevered veranda, restore the floors, or recreate the original ground-level entry. Living in the house for about ten years, the Poores sold the residence to John and Stacy Cannon, who lived in it a further four years.
Janet and Van Korrell purchased the house when the Cannons left in 1992. Janet had been fascinated with the Frank Lloyd Wright designed house for some time, and they quickly tore off the enclosed staircase the Suttons had added 50 years earlier to get up to the balcony on the back. Determined to restore it as fully as possible, in 1999 they hired John G. Thorpe to oversee the work. Thorpe, a Wright expert, restoration architect, and one of the founders of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust in Oak Park, Illinois, worked with the original plans and old photos on a complete restoration inside and out, including the Wright-designed cupboards, the ground-level entry, and of course the daring cantilevered veranda roof. As part of this work, the Korrells elected to build an addition in the previously open northwest corner, balancing the original northeast corner bedroom but moving away from Wright's cruciform design. This addition incorporates a modern laundry and a second stairway to the basement.
Architecture
The house as built is a classic Prairie Style design, consisting of a two-story frame and stucco dwelling.All three designs for the Suttons used a cruciform plan, and Robert McCarter cites them as "astonishing variations" on this classic Prairie style layout. The unbuilt first plan was single story with gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s, and had the dining room
Dining room
A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level...
in the west arm of the cross, the library in the opposite east arm, and the living room
Living room
A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
in the center projecting out into the landscape. The second plan was a "fully developed prairie style solution" with a low-pitched hip roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
. In this second design, Wright placed the fireplace in the center of the cruciform, surrounded by a room in each arm and "the space of all four rooms flowing freely around" the hearth.
In the third plan finally approved by Mrs. Sutton, the dining room is once again in the west, the reception room in the east, and the living room in the center. However, the three rooms are now all equally wide front to back and the fireplace moved forward from the rear (north) wall, causing the living room to project forward. McCarter calls this an "impacted cruciform" where Wright's usual cruciform is "folded in on itself, producing an experiential density and tension between the space-defining elements." As a result, the main floor boasts a gracious sweep of the three public rooms, becoming in effect one very large space. In this it bears stylistic similarities to the K. C. DeRhodes House
K. C. DeRhodes House
The K. C. DeRhodes House is a classic 1906 Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie style home located at 715 West Washington Avenue in South Bend, Indiana. The home has been carefully restored by its current owners over more than two decades and remains in private ownership. It is one of two Wright homes in...
in South Bend and the George Barton House in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, of this same time period. The kitchen is behind the fireplace in the north arm of the cross, and the sixth bedroom occupies the northeast corner that would be empty in a pure cruciform plan.
The narrow axis of the plan faces the street to the east, and the main entrance lies midway along the long side of the plan. The use of hip roofs includes a very large cantilevered hip roof over the living room terrace. The pitch of the main hip roof is shallow enough to give the passer-by on the sidewalk in front of the house the impression that it is a flat roof.
The ornamental glass "light screens" in this house were designed by Wright with the assistance of Oak Park Studio draughtswoman, Isabel Roberts
Isabel Roberts
Isabel Roberts was a Prairie School figure, member of the architectural design team in the Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and partner with Ida Annah Ryan in the Orlando, Florida architecture firm, “Ryan and Roberts”. It is fair to say that Roberts is an under-appreciated member of Wright’s...
, who would later become an architect in her own right. They were fabricated by the Temple Art Glass Company of Chicago, which was the same firm Wright had just used for his renowned Unity Temple
Unity Temple
Unity Temple is a Unitarian Universalist church in Oak Park, Illinois, and the home of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation. It was designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and built between 1905 and 1908. Unity Temple is considered to be one of Wright's most important...
(Oak Park, Illinois, 1905).
The Sutton House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is a well-maintained private residence and should be viewed only from the public sidewalks.
External links
- Little House in the Prairie Style from the Reader, December 11, 2002
- McCook's Sutton Home, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, subject of new book by Lorri Sughroue in the McCook Daily Gazette, Wednesday, June 24, 2009
- Nebraska National Register Sites in Red Willow County