Photo via Visit Milwaukee
Frank Lloyd Wright - Burnham Block
A Frank Lloyd Wright home on Burnham Street in Milwaukee
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wis. in 1867, but it would be 15 years before he and his family had a permanent home. His minister father traveled extensively in Iowa and Massachusetts, accepting one position after another tending local congregations. The family returned to Wisconsin and settled in Madison where Wright attended high school, and then the university. Afterward he went to Chicago and joined the firm of famed architect Louis Sullivan. Initially he did well, but soon the flashes of ego and arrogance led Sullivan to terminate Wright’s employment. On his own, Wright began designing high-end homes in Oak Park, IL.
Although married and starting a family, Wright had an intense affair with Mamah Borthwick, the wife of a client. Wright deserted his wife and six children and departed for Europe with his lover. When they returned to Chicago in 1911, Wright was persona non grata with Chicago’s elite society. Love triangles sold newspapers, especially those with famous personalities. Because his first wife refused to give him a divorce, Wright reluctantly opened a small practice in Spring Green, Wis. He called his new home and studio Taliesin. Wright was away on business when an unstable employee set fire to the complex and murdered Mamah Bostwick and six others as they fled from the flames.
Affordable Homes for the Working Class
As he recovered from the traumatic event, Wright found solace by designing a series of affordable homes for middle class workers and their families. Sears, Roebuck and Co. were already selling prefab or “kit” homes but Wright envisioned something new to the market. Clients were able to assemble a home for themselves from a book of Wright’s interchangeable designs. The company from which a home could be customized was called American System-Built Homes. Wright had no choice but to leave his name off the work as his scandalous life was still fresh in the public’s mind.
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Wright partnered with Arthur Richards, a Milwaukee real estate developer, to bring his system-built residence project to fruition. The two men attempted to rise above Sears by having lumber pre-cut to exact specifications and delivered, along with the other home components, directly to the job site. There, a local contracting team would assemble the home from a detailed plan. The first set of model homes were constructed at the corner of 27th and Burnham Streets in Milwaukee in 1916.
Cost Containment
Depending on the size and complexity of each project, Wright’s homes were priced from $32,000 to $56,000 in today’s money. Richards insisted on the cost containment because Wright was a profligate spender who usually went over budget on his clients’ projects.
The homes on Burnham Street were situated at what was considered the edge of town. Most Milwaukeeans did not own cars and were accustomed to using mass transit to get to and from destinations. An electric streetcar line down Burnham connected Wright’s homes to grocery stores, retail outlets, health care providers, barbershops and beauty parlors. Entertainment venues were easily accessed, and movie theaters such as the Riviera, Alamo and Mozart charged 20 cents for admission, making it easier for a budget-minded family to attend.
Wright was a master of creating rooms that appeared larger than they were. He utilized myriad ways to conserve space by having a dining room table fold up and slide into a wall slot or open spaces and large windows that often favored design over practicality. Twenty-five years later Wright’s concepts became the basis of mid-century modern architecture.
Wright and Richards foresaw homes constructed in a designated area that would evolve into affordable, well-designed housing. In short, American System-Built Homes sold a lifestyle that aligned with the dreams of 20th century home buyers. If everything went according to plan the project was calculated to reach a minimum revenue of $1 million. But accusations of financial irregularities between Wright and Richards brought to dream to a grinding halt.
Out of Business
With building materials diverted to the war effort in 1917-18, the American System-Built Homes went out of business. Of the hundreds of homes planned, only a dozen were ever built; six in Milwaukee, and a handful of others scattered throughout the Midwest.
As of 2026, five of the six Wright homes at 27th Street and Burnham Street are owned by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block, Inc—a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of these one-of-a-kind homes. Two of the homes are open for tours that provide guests with insight on how Wright envisioned simple, affordable homes with an eye toward expansion across the country. Volunteer docents with exceptional knowledge of the homes lead the tours. “The Burnham Block homes are listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Mike Lilek, curator for the organization. “The homes comprise a City of Milwaukee Historic District and Milwaukee County Landmark Status.”
Frank Lloyd Wright was hailed as a genius among his peers, but a complex personality fueled by egotism, arrogance, and lack of empathy caused most of his relationships to disintegrate. His final project, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 9400 W. Congress St., was completed in 1961. The stunning Wauwatosa church is still visited by scholars and tourists from around the world. Wright died in 1959 at the age of 91.
