The William and Mary Palmer House is a house in Ann Arbor,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, designed by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

in 1952. The home was designed for William Palmer, an economics

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and his wife Mary. It sits on three lots at the end of a quiet, dirt road cul-de-sac. The location is near the

Nichols Arboretum Nichols Arboretum (123 acres, 49.7 hectares), locally known as the Arb, is an arboretum operated by thMatthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA)at the University of Michigan. Located on the eastern edge of its Central Campus at 161 ...

, and less than a mile (1.2 km) from the university.

History

William Palmer was born in

Imlay City, Michigan Imlay City is a city in Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,869 at the 2000 census and 3,585 at the 2020 census. History Imlay City was founded on April 1, 1850 by Charles Palmer, the chief engineer of the Port Huro ...

, and studied economics at the

; in 1930 he became a professor at the school. Mary Warton Shuford was born in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

and enrolled in the University of Michigan's School of Music in 1935. She graduated in 1937 and married William Palmer. The couple purchased this property in 1949 and began seeking an architect to build their home. After seeing the

Affleck house The Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House, also known as the Affleck House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in Metro Detroit. It is one of only about 25 pre-World War II Usonians to be built. It is ow ...

Bloomfield Hills Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

, they contacted Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright designed the house in 1950. The house was continuously owned by the Palmer family from 1951 to 2009. It was placed on the market in early August 2008, with restrictions in place. Jeffrey and Kathryn Schox purchased the house in March 2009. Jeffrey Schox, who is a San Francisco patent attorney, spends several weeks a year in Ann Arbor. When he is not in Ann Arbor, the Palmer House will be available for rent as a guest house and as a meeting location.

Description

The Palmer house is a 2,000 square-foot

Usonian Usonia () is a word that was used by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to refer to the United States in general (in preference to ''America''), and more specifically to his vision for the landscape of the country, including the planning of ...

home. It is located in a hillside and constructed of red cypress and brick. The house has a triangular geometry, with no right angles in the structure. There is a central entryway with three wings extend off from that: a bedroom wing to on side, a living room and terrace wing to the other, and a smaller carport perpendicularly. The hipped roof is long and dramatic, with a low slope and wide overhangs extending over each wings; it is clad with cedar shingles and copper. A small garden house to the rear contains a collection of Wright-designed furniture.

References

* Storrer, William Allin. ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.332)

External links

Official site
on peterbeers.net
Palmer House
on waymarking.com
Photos on Arcaid
*Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.332) {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer House Frank Lloyd Wright buildings Houses in Washtenaw County, Michigan Houses in Ann Arbor, Michigan

History

Description

See also

References

External links