FLW Series - Westcott House

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The Westcott House

Silly Ingrid, her GPS first led us to a house that had us scratching our head and that we believe may have been an imitation. The ugliest little thing that looked like a China-made knock-off of Wright's work.

The house is recently restored in Springfield, Ohio's mansion district, as is the story with too many of Wright Prairie style houses. There are a number of other Frank Lloyd Wright homes in Ohio, but most are Usonians and the Westcott is the only one that serves as a dedicated museum. The restoration was well-done considering it does not have the draw power of some other of Wright's houses. The tour was given by a volunteer who had once lived in one of the many apartment units that subdivided the house for the last several decades.

This house is well-worth the trip for anyone visiting Dayton's Air Force Museum and the tour leaves a unique memory of what Wright wanted people to have from his houses . . . they were not stand-out designs in unusual settings such as the Kaufmann residence, they were beautiful, practical homes to be located in just about any neighborhood of middle America.

I would venture to guess that it is largely due to the fact that so many of his early patrons were wealthy and exclusive that he chose to start the Usonian trend that would integrate his designs into even more of the American suburban fabric.

Downtown Springfield

We went to downtown Springfield in search of lunch after our visit, but again Ingrid came up with an unsatisfactory result. The highest flutin' place was a TGI Friday's. Springfield is another Midwestern city that experienced the might of industrialization and grew some beautiful architectural structures only to decline rapidly and have them sporadically destroyed in its downtown area so that any chance of revitalization of this last is near impossible.

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Photos

Westcott House
Though the 1908 house has a High Street address, the entrance is actually unceremoniously on the side in typical Wright fashion.

Court View
This side of the house had the most extensive restoration as many additions were made on this side. Those arent weeds in the foreground, just the style of landscaping.

Pergola
The standard Wright pergola from the carriage house/servant's quarters to the main house.

Streetside Isolation
The house is elevated giving great privacy from the street below. That's Jennifer acting like the owner of the house as is customary for us.

Hidden Gem
Clearly not Frank Lloyd Wright design, but something I caught on our trip to the Westcott House in downtown Springfield.