Exploring Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block

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Wisconsin’s own Frank Lloyd Wright’s renowned architectural works include homes, offices, churches, hotels and public structures. His signature prairie style homes, with clean lines, straight angles and creative use of space, were outside-the-box for the post-Victoria era in which they were designed.

Six Wright homes—two single-family, and four two-family duplexes— still stand on the 2700 block of West Burnham Street. They are American System-Built homes, which was Wright’s broad gesture to a wide audience, says Mike Lilek, curator and volunteer with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block, Inc. (FLWBB).

The FLWBB volunteer-run nonprofit owns five of the six Wright homes on the Burnham Block. Through grants, contributions and revenue generated by tours, they have restored two of the houses. Restoration of a third Wright house is on the horizon.

Wright partnered with Milwaukee developer Arthur L. Richards, Lilek explains, to do several projects, including the American System-Built homes. Customers could view floor plans and choose from different styles of roofs and glass patterns. The developer would finalize the details and have materials shipped via railcar to assemble the home on-site.

Other companies such as Sears and Roebuck and Aladdin Homes also offered pre-cut kit homes market, notes Lilek. But Wright did it with flair—his renderings showed furnishings, flower pots and table settings to give customers a sense of how they would live in the home.

Wright and Richards had a vision of taking American System-Built homes across every city, village and town throughout the country. The six Wright American Systems-Built homes on the Burnham Block were built as prototypes.

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For years, the homes had been privately owned by people that made modifications such as enclosing the porches or removing original molding. “A series of absentee landlords put them in a bad situation,” says Lilek. “We’ve been fortunate to be able to acquire them.”

A Peek Inside the Restored Homes 

The 805 square-foot, single-family home located at 2714 W. Burnham St., an American System-Built Model B1, was the first to undergo restoration. Because building permits were closed in the City of Milwaukee on July 5, 1916, FLWBB uses 1916 as a reference when making restoration decisions.

Restoration efforts on the two-bedroom stucco structure began in 2008 and took 13 months. The house exemplifies everything Wright strove for when designing homes, notes Lilek: a connection with nature and the outdoors, space for families to gather and desirable living spaces.

Visitors notice Wright’s unique style starting with the spacious front porch. “Instead of walking right up to the front door, Wright makes you walk around and experience the house. He’s playing with you right away,” Lilek says.

Inside, floor-to-ceiling front windows let in generous natural lighting. When seated in the living room, an occupant would still enjoy privacy due to the height and placement of the front porch, which blocks passers-by from totally seeing inside. Windows on the east living room wall are placed higher for privacy.

The house has 33 strategically placed windows for occupants to experience a sight line to nature wherever they looked. Lilek notes that Wright believed in choosing interior colors inspired by nature to instill a feeling of quiet serenity.

Clean lines and angles of the molding, along with a fireplace between the living room and a high-ceilinged hallway, give the illusion of space and depth. “He’s borrowing space from one room to enhance another,” notes Lilek.

The kitchen was designed so a parent could work while easily watching children play in the nearby hallway or living room. The bathroom has an original clawfoot tub from one of the other Burnham Block homes.

Restoration in the second home, an American Systems-Built Model C at 2732-34 W. Burnham, is complete, save for some trim and painting. Like the single-family home, meticulous placement of windows use lighting to create the illusion of more space. The upper unit includes an open “sleeping porch” at the back of the flat. Designed for sleeping rather than outdoor lounging, Lilek notes that tuberculous was still causing illness and death in 1916, so it was considered healthy to sleep outside.

Lilek says the FLWBB welcomes about 5,000 visitors per year, including with 1,000 school children. Over the years, they’ve received visitors from 37 different countries. For more information about the Frank Lloyd Burnham Block and to view the tour schedule, visit wrightinmilwaukee.com.

Kristine Hansen, author of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wisconsin: How America’s Most Famous Architect Found Inspiration in His Home State 2023) noted the significance of having six Wright homes on the same block.

“Other than the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District in Oak Park, Illinois, or the Florida Southern College campus in Florida, it's very rare to have this many Wright-designed homes in such close proximity. For any fan of design, this is a real treat, and to have this so close to us here in Milwaukee is incredible,” Hansen wrote.

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