Don M Stromquist House
Encyclopedia
The Don M. Stromquist House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
, is located on a ten-acre site in Bountiful, Utah
. At an altitude of 6000 feet (1,828.8 m), it consists of the main house, an office/laboratory/garage annex, a gardener's shed and a barn. It is sited halfway down an arroyo
or canyon wall. The house has an endless view of the Great Salt Lake
and Antelope Island
.
Wright drew up plans for the furniture, further unifying the look with a dining room table, the lines of which mirror the grid in the floor, built-in settees, lamp tables and book shelves. Freestanding furniture designed by wright, included a coffee table and hassocks. Even the fireplace tools, with half-diamond shapes on the handles, were designed by the architect.
laundry, utility room, two fireplaces, and two balconies. Clerestory
windows provide natural lighting. The master bedroom has its own fireplace and French doors that lead to a secluded balcony. Heating is provided by a combined radiant/forced air system that utilizes two natural gass furnaces, which was designed by Wesley Peters, Wright's son-in-law and chief engineer.
As a boy, Don Stromquist had attended a speech by Frank Lloyd Wright, and was impressed. When it was time for him to build a home, he asked Wright to design it. Construction on the home began in 1959 and was completed in 1961 at a cost of about $32,000.00, when Stromquist and his wife, Jane, were newlyweds. Wright died in 1959, before the house was completed. After living in the home for several years, the home was purchased by Mr. Stromquist's employeer, U.S. Steel, when Mr. Stromquist's position was relocated to the company's headqarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thirty years later, the couple moved back to Utah to find that the house had been abandoned, vandalized, and eventually sold as horse property. George M. Frandsen and his partner, David A. Carlquist, both Utah natives, later bought the home and restored it to the details of the original architectural drawings. Taliesin Associated Architects John deKoven Hill and Cornelia Breirly oversaw the restoration. Ms. Breirly had been Wright's color and fabric consultant when the home was first designed. At the completion of the restoration she commented that the home was the best preserved example of Wright's Usonian architecture. During the ten years the home was owned by Frandsen and Carlquist, fundraising events were frequently held there to benefit local nonprofit organizations, including the couple's favorite, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The Stromquist were members of the ACLU and were invited to speak at a fundraising event held in the home and gardens. A friendship between the Stromquists and the men developed. Later, when the men decided to move from Utah, they sold the home to the Stromquists, who moved back into the house. Mrs. Stromquist died there a short time later. The home has been unoccupied for the past approximately 15 years.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, is located on a ten-acre site in Bountiful, Utah
Bountiful, Utah
Bountiful is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 42,552, a three percent increase over the 2000 figure of 41,301...
. At an altitude of 6000 feet (1,828.8 m), it consists of the main house, an office/laboratory/garage annex, a gardener's shed and a barn. It is sited halfway down an arroyo
Arroyo (creek)
An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...
or canyon wall. The house has an endless view of the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
and Antelope Island
Antelope Island
Antelope Island, with an area of , is the largest island of 10 islands located within the Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States. The island lies in the southeastern portion of the lake, near Salt Lake City and Davis County, and becomes a peninsula when the lake is at extremely low levels. Antelope...
.
Architect
Frank Lloyd Wright designed the house on a grid of 60 and 120 degree angles which formed a series of parallelograms. The grid lines are poured in the concrete floors, and the ceiling has the same grid lines reflected in small strips of wood. The house is constructed from salmon colored concrete-blocks, steel beams, glass and philippine mahogany.Wright drew up plans for the furniture, further unifying the look with a dining room table, the lines of which mirror the grid in the floor, built-in settees, lamp tables and book shelves. Freestanding furniture designed by wright, included a coffee table and hassocks. Even the fireplace tools, with half-diamond shapes on the handles, were designed by the architect.
Main structure
The main house features three small bedrooms, two granite-clad (an addition Stromquist made after he repurchased the home) bathrooms, a kitchen, semi-formal dining,laundry, utility room, two fireplaces, and two balconies. Clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
windows provide natural lighting. The master bedroom has its own fireplace and French doors that lead to a secluded balcony. Heating is provided by a combined radiant/forced air system that utilizes two natural gass furnaces, which was designed by Wesley Peters, Wright's son-in-law and chief engineer.
As a boy, Don Stromquist had attended a speech by Frank Lloyd Wright, and was impressed. When it was time for him to build a home, he asked Wright to design it. Construction on the home began in 1959 and was completed in 1961 at a cost of about $32,000.00, when Stromquist and his wife, Jane, were newlyweds. Wright died in 1959, before the house was completed. After living in the home for several years, the home was purchased by Mr. Stromquist's employeer, U.S. Steel, when Mr. Stromquist's position was relocated to the company's headqarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thirty years later, the couple moved back to Utah to find that the house had been abandoned, vandalized, and eventually sold as horse property. George M. Frandsen and his partner, David A. Carlquist, both Utah natives, later bought the home and restored it to the details of the original architectural drawings. Taliesin Associated Architects John deKoven Hill and Cornelia Breirly oversaw the restoration. Ms. Breirly had been Wright's color and fabric consultant when the home was first designed. At the completion of the restoration she commented that the home was the best preserved example of Wright's Usonian architecture. During the ten years the home was owned by Frandsen and Carlquist, fundraising events were frequently held there to benefit local nonprofit organizations, including the couple's favorite, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The Stromquist were members of the ACLU and were invited to speak at a fundraising event held in the home and gardens. A friendship between the Stromquists and the men developed. Later, when the men decided to move from Utah, they sold the home to the Stromquists, who moved back into the house. Mrs. Stromquist died there a short time later. The home has been unoccupied for the past approximately 15 years.
External links
- ARCHUtah / Utah Architecture / Don M. Stromquist House (1958)
- Celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright in Bountiful
- Donald M. Stromquist House, Bountiful, Utah - Archiplanet
- Photo of the Stromquist House
- Timeless Treasures | North America > United States from AllBusiness.com
- Careless Thoughts and Other Accidental Endeavors: The Stromquist House
- The Wright Stuff - Standard.NET - Standard-Examiner
- Arcaid Feature: Donald M. Stromquist House
- Photos of the Stromquist House from the J. Willard Marriott Library
