Cedric G. and Patricia Boulter Residence

December 2003 update: you can view current photographs that the new owners have posted at their website.

During a business trip to Cincinnati my business associates graciously offered to drive me by the only Frank Lloyd Wright home in town. The house is located near the "gas light" district that is near the University campus. The house has been well maintained. Although completed in 1956, according toStorrer, there was an addition designed by Wright added in 1958, and the carport was enclosed in 1990.

Unfortunately, I only had a cheap point-and-shoot camera with me. The pictures are better than nothing, but it makes me think I should always lug my Cannon on business trips just in case. This first photograph was taken from across the street. As you can see, the house is situated on a corner lot. The red peaked roof on the right of the photograph belongs to the neighbor's house.

This side view from the street clearly shows the concrete block construction and the relative narrowness of the house. You can't see it in the photograph, but I believe the owners have a "sprite" from Midway Gardens placed at the entrance. As is typical with Wright homes, the entrance is hidden from the street.

The following photographs were all taken from the street. An advantage to having the house on the corner (from my perspective if not the homeowners' :-), is that it is easier to get a feel for the exterior of the house.

Honeycomb House

Text and Photographs © 2000 by Tom Horton

This house was built for a Stanford University professor. It was eventually given to the university and used for the Provost's residence, then became a guest house and reception center. The Hanna House was heavily damaged in the 1989 earthquake and was closed for a $3 million restoration. It reopened in 1999 and tours are given twice a month.

Front Porch (below)

The brickwork in the foreground shows the attention to detail with which Wright executed his themes. The mortar in the horizontal joints is recessed about an inch, while the vertical joints are flush. Sunlight on these creates shadows of long, horizontal lines which reinforce the many other such lines in the house design.

Patio View (below)

Looking 90 degrees left of the previous view one sees the waterfall, one of three great oaks, and the guest house. Note the shadows on the brickwork. The hill continues to rise to the right, in keeping with Wright's belief that building on top of a hill destroys the hill, while building on the brow of the hill allows the structure and hill to coexist in harmony.

Rear View (below)

Note again the hexagonal plan, reflected in the concrete deck modules. This a a better view of the old oak which towers over the house.

Exterior (below)

The Hanna House sits on the brow of a small hill and is built around three ancient oaks on the property. Photographs of the inside are not allowed.

Waterfall (below)

This beautiful waterfall at the rear of the main house reflects the hexagon pattern on which the entire site is designed. Wright believed that people do not naturally turn 90 degree corners, but prefer 120 degree corners. The hexagon, of course, incorporates six 120-degree angles, and thus virtually every corner on the house and grounds is 120 degrees. (Note another upside-down tree sculpture at the top of the falls.)

Guest House (below)

The guest house, in the rear and a bit higher up on the hill, is where the full-time caretaker now lives. It features the same floor to ceiling sectioned windows as the main house, which, somewhat like French doors, are all hinged and able to open and shut.

Patio (below)

This outdoor cooking shelter was designed by Wright but not built until thirty years later. The foreground sculpture is the root mass of a small tree mounted upside-down, and as such it resembles a miniature tree itself, and mimics the huge oaks on the lot.

Arizona Biltmore Hotel

Photographs and text © 2000 Tom Horton

The hotel is constructed of Wright's tile blocks and has a Southwestern theme, but with exotic and almost oriental touches, such as the cutouts in the eves. It was abandoned for a time, then extensively renovated, and is now a world-class golf resort.

The Pool House (below), a riot of terraces, is separated
from the main hotel by a long formal garden.

You can visit the website for the Biltmore Hotel.

William L. Thaxton Residence

What follows is an edited excerpt from an e-mail I received from Rosemary Davison Suttle on June 17, 2000 regarding her visit to the site. 

The house is very much exactly as I remember it, but keep in mind that I have not been there since the late 1950's.  A part in the back which is higher than the front part looks different to me. [...]

Next weekend I will see my younger brother, who is an architect, and maybe he remembers more than I do. (My brother, Jad, spent several summers at Taliesin East, and has several stories about Frank Lloyd Wright). 

This is exciting for me, I am so glad that the house is still there. As you can guess, all of the other houses on the short street have been torn down and replaced with huge two-story houses. So the flat one-story house, set far back on the property looks very different. The house is at the dead end of a cul de sac. I don't know if the swimming pool is still there. It was surrounded by the house. In fact, you could open a slim door off of the master bedroom, and just jump into the pool. Also, we would jump off of the roof into to the pool. I would love to go inside of the house. I suppose that there is very little of all of the uncomfortable built-in furniture there.

This is the far left side of the house.

This is the right end of the front of the house.

The is the left side of the front of the house.

Photographs and text © 2000 Rosemary Davison Suttle