The Home Frank Lloyd Wright Built for His Son Hits the Market for $12.9 Million

Phoenix’s David and Gladys Wright House, designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is on the market for $12.9 million. The 1952 residence is one of Wright’s most personal projects, having been designed for his son and daughter-in-law.

In the past few years, the 2,500-square-foot residence has been at the center of a fierce preservation debate, after it was threatened with demolition in 2012. It was ultimately saved from the wrecking ball by Zach Rawling, a Las Vegas attorney, who bought the property for $2.4 million. Rawling helped the abode receive a heritage designation, and there were plans to turn it into a nonprofit foundation and even an attempt to donate the house to the School of Architecture at Taliesin, which Wright founded in 1932.

Both plans were scrapped after the proposed rezoning of the house drew considerable objection from neighbors who were worried the house would turn into a tourist destination.

The floor-to-ceiling windows, concrete floors, and a mahogany ceiling are all original and contrast well with the exact replicas of original Wright furniture upholstered in soft primary hues. Photo: Antoine Bootz

The three-bedroom dwelling includes a living room complete with Wright’s famous March Balloons rug, hand-cut Philippine mahogany furnishings that were custom-designed, a spiral walkway, and a shaded central courtyard. The property also includes a private, detached guesthouse.

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Wright designed the house on raised columns to provide a better view of Camelback Mountain and the citrus groves that once lined the 5.5-acre property. Seen as a precursor to Wright’s design of the Guggenheim Museum, the spiraling structure is considered one of Wright’s final residential masterpieces. (He died in 1959.)

The David and Gladys Wright House was positioned with views of Camelback Mountain in the distance. A tower kitchen to the left leads to a secondary ramp connecting to the roof terrace. Photo: Antoine Bootz

“The great buildings impact every sense and create an emotional reaction,” Rawling told Curbed in 2015. “Wright’s original plans for the David Wright House are labeled ‘How to Live in the Southwest.’ The care with which he sited the house to relate to the surrounding environment is incredible. Wright was a genius at thinking spatially. There is a continuous dance of light and shadows on the house. It’s a natural extension of the environment.”

The house is listed with Bob Hassett, an agent with Sotheby’s International Realty.

The concrete brick home, which is situated in a former citrus orchard, has panoramic views from every room, including the master bedroom. Gladys Wright hated storms but relished the sound of rain on the metal roof. Photo: Antoine Bootz

The kitchen, also referred to as Work Space by Wright, includes distinct circular windows predating the geometry of future buildings by the architect, including the Guggenheim Museum, Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium, and Marin County civic center. Photo: Antoine Bootz

The kitchen area includes the original G.E. Stratoliner deluxe electric button stove along with laminate countertops and flooring made from a special type of Armstrong linoleum developed as a prototype for use by SC Johnson in its headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin, which Wright also designed. Photo: Antoine Bootz

A view from the master bedroom looking into the hallway gallery shows the decorative carpet runners by Wright apprentice Ling Po, who repeated the motifs from the March Balloons rug in the living room. As a tribute to Po, the carpets were executed and placed in the house. Photo: Antoine Bootz

The colorful circular March Balloons rug was reproduced to replace the original, which was sold at auction in 2010. The geometric pattern is inspired by a series of covers for Liberty magazine that Wright designed in the 1920s. Photo: Antoine Bootz

Built-in cabinetry was an integral part of Wright’s homes, including the built-in dresser in the bedroom. A sculptural floor lamp, designed by Wright for Taliesin, is made of cherrywood. The Taliesin Barrel chair was originally created for the Darwin Martin House and later adapted for Wright’s Taliesin home in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Photo: Antoine Bootz