April 13, 2016: The Frank Lloyd Wright Rosenbaum House is an Usonian home in Florence, Alabama. We stopped to tour the home while traveling on the Natchez Trace Parkway. The home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and completed in 1940.
The birthplace of Helen Keller – Ivy Green – is located nearby in Tuscumbia, Alabama. We were out of time but I imagine that it is another good stop in the area.
TIP: If you’re interested in staying in the Florence, Alabama area, here are some accommodation options in Florence, Alabama.
oh the elegant simplicity of it. what kind of wood, did it say? it’s gorgeous! were the ceilings rather low?
The home was built primarily from cypress and brick. It was built in the Usonian style where Wright was attempting to build affordable homes for the middle class after the Great Depression. He was also interested in having the home appear more organic and meld with the surrounding landscape. The living area was large and open with lots of natural light but hallways and bedrooms were small and narrow with low ceilings. The idea was to draw the family to the gathering spaces and outdoors, including using the outdoor passages instead of the interior hallways.
Interestingly, Wright was a bit senile by this point in his life and his apprentices were on-site at building locations making corrections to his plans (without informing Wright). However, a new apprentice was on-site for the Rosenbaum house and refused to make corrections. So, the home was built in a manner that couldn’t possibly (and didn’t) work. For example, the roof was entirely flat and the support structures were specified incorrectly. This resulted in major damage and ultimately, double the cost to correct these issues.