Joseph and Helen Husser Residence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Husser House was built in 1899 for Joseph and Helen Husser for $18,000. The architect was Frank Lloyd Wright. It was constructed of Yellow Roman brick trimmed with plaster, terra cotta and a red tile roof. It was located on the northside of Chicago, IL about a half mile from the lake. Initially there was a spectacular view of Lake Michigan because the only thing separating the house from the lake was a golf course. Eventually high rise buildings were constructed around the Husser House that eliminated the view. It was eventually demolished in 1926 to make room for an apartment building.

Frank Lloyd Wright did not like basements or attics and so the Husser House has neither. The utilities and furnace were located on first floor instead. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were on the second floor and the bedrooms were on the third floor. This afforded the living spaces the best views of Lake Michigan because of the added height. Frank Lloyd Wright noted that "a little height on the prairie was enough too look like much more – every detail as to height becoming intensely significant, breadths all falling short". This was unusual because in Wright's fully developed Prairie Style house was an emphasis on the horizontal line, not the vertical. The added benefit of this vertically thrusting house was probably also to help reduce flooding.

The Husser House was aligned with its longest side running parallel to Lake Michigan. The majority of the windows for the house were on the east side of the house facing the lake. The opposite side faced the street and was more closed off than the open east side. This showed how Frank Lloyd Wright was trying to integrate the plan of the house to its site. An awareness of the building to its location was a key element in Wright's developing the Prairie Style. Unfortunately the Husser House shows little connection to the other houses of the neighborhood and was probably seen as very out of place in terms of its size - much larger than others in the area - and its style.

The Husser House showed elements of the development of Frank Lloyd Wright as an architect and his unique Prairie Style. The house has elements that are classically inspired as well as modern. The large overhangs or cantilevers projected over the outdoor terrace and car port. These were used to connect the house to the environment by creating intermediate spaces that had elements of both. The plan also showed an attempt to eliminate the walls defining the space of the interior of the house. This created a more unified area connecting all the functions of the house together. These were important elements that Frank Lloyd Wright used in his Prairie Style houses. But the Husser House had other elements of a more classical style. These included the use of Romanesque columns with capitals throughout the exterior decoration. These contradictions between classical and modern elements reveal how the Husser House was a transitional building for Wright. They show his playing with different ideas in order to formulate his own.