Melvyn Maxwell and Sara Stein Smith House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Melvyn Maxwell Smith and Sara Stein Smith House
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 Location in Michigan
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| Location | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan |
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| Built | 1949-1950 |
| Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Architectural style | Usonian |
| NRHP reference No. | 97000283 |
| Added to NRHP | 03/28/1997 |
The Melvyn Maxwell Smith and Sara Stein Smith House, also known as MyHaven, is a special home designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan between 1949 and 1950. This house is an example of Wright's "Usonian" style, which means it was designed to be affordable and practical for everyday American families. The first owners, Melvyn and Sara Smith, were public school teachers who didn't have a lot of money. Today, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site.
Contents
Meet the Owners: Melvyn and Sara Smith
Melvyn Maxwell Smith was the son of immigrants from Lithuania. He became a teacher, first in grade school and later teaching English in high school. In 1939, while studying art history, he learned about Wright's amazing Fallingwater house. Right then, he decided he wanted Frank Lloyd Wright to design his own home!
Sara Stein was born in 1907. She was also the daughter of Lithuanian immigrants and worked as a school teacher. Sara loved Melvyn's idea of having a Wright-designed house. They got married in 1940 and both worked as teachers in the Detroit Public Schools for their entire careers. Melvyn Smith passed away in 1984, and Sara Smith in 2005.
In 2017, the house was given to the Cranbrook Educational Community. You can now take tours of the home from May through October by checking the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research website.
Designing a Dream Home: Frank Lloyd Wright's Vision
In the summer of 1941, the Smiths visited Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's studio in Wisconsin. They met with Wright, who agreed to design their home. They had a budget of about $9,000, which was a lot of money back then!
The project was put on hold because of World War II. Melvyn Smith joined the Army in 1942 and served until 1945.
After the war, in 1946, the Smiths bought 3.3 acres of land in Bloomfield Hills for $3,600. This was all their savings! They contacted Wright again. In March 1947, they received the first plans for their house. It was designed to be 1600 square feet.
Smart Features: Heating and Sunlight
The house had special features like radiant heating. This means hot water pipes were placed under the floor to warm the house. It also used passive solar energy. This design lets the sun's warmth help heat the house naturally. The Smiths worked closely with Wright on many changes to the plans. They became good friends with the architect. Wright agreed to all their ideas, and the final design was ready in September 1949.
An architect named William Wesley Peters, who worked with Wright, said that the Smiths were some of Wright's best clients. He said they loved and appreciated his work so much, and because of that, Wright gave even more to their project.
Building the House: A Community Effort
Frank Lloyd Wright suggested that Melvyn Smith manage the building himself. This way, they could save money and make sure everything was built to high standards. Melvyn found skilled workers who were so excited to work on a Wright house that they accepted less pay. Suppliers also gave discounts on materials, like 14,000 pieces of red cypress wood. They wanted to be part of a Wright project too!
Even A. Alfred Taubman, who later became a famous shopping center developer, helped. He provided all the windows at a very low price because he thought the house was "fantastic."
Saving and Building
During construction in 1949 and 1950, the Smiths earned $280 per month together. They could only spend money they had saved. So, building was slow as they waited to get enough funds. Sara worked at summer camps, and Melvyn oversaw the construction. They had to "scrimp and save" in many ways.
They moved into their new home in May 1950. A year later, Sara's brother-in-law gave them a wonderful housewarming gift: a dining table, chairs, coffee tables, and hassocks (footstools). All these pieces were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright himself and made by skilled carpenters.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Visits
Even though one of Wright's assistants, John H. "Jack" Howe, mostly supervised the building from afar, Wright visited the house himself in 1951. He loved it and called it "my little gem." He came back to see the house again in 1953 and 1957.
Landscaping and Art Collection
In 1957, Melvyn Smith met with a landscape architect named Thomas Dolliver Church. Church visited the home, stayed for dinner, and the next morning, he drew up a landscape plan right there on the spot for a small fee.
The Smith house is close to the Cranbrook Educational Community. Over the years, the Smiths collected a lot of art, mostly from artists connected to Cranbrook. Their collection includes a large chest by Paul R. Evans, a gazelle sculpture by Marshall Fredericks, and works by many other artists. There are outdoor sculptures by Mike Calligan, woven pieces by Urban Jupena, and indoor sculptures by James Messana.
Roy Slade, a former president of Cranbrook, said the home shows how "art, architecture and nature" can all work together. A famous photographer, Balthazar Korab, took a well-known picture of Calligan's "Natural Bridge" sculpture with the house in the background. Later, the Smiths collected works by Glen Michaels, including a special screen to close off the kitchen and a mosaic above the fireplace. In 1968, the house was updated with help from a Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation architect. The house is now about 1,800 square feet (170 m2) in size.
Why This House is Important
The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office says that the house's design, with its strong flat roofs and parts that stick out (cantilevers), shows how the building fits perfectly with the land around it. They believe the house is a great example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian idea for homes for "everyday people."
The National Register of Historic Places describes the home as having "clever building methods" and open spaces inside that connect to the outdoors. They also noted that the house looks especially beautiful at night. When the lights are on, they reflect off the large glass walls, making the home look like it's made of crystal.
- Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN: 0-226-77621-2 (S.287)
See also
In Spanish: Casa de Melvyn Maxwell y Sara Stein Smith para niños
