ANN ARBOR, MI 48104 - presented by Bob Eckstein

PALMER HOUSE ANN ARBOR

ANN ARBOR, MI 48104

Features:

3 bedrooms, 2 baths
Frank Lloyd Wright's 2,000sf. Usonian masterpiece built in 1951.
Breathtaking 1.5 sylvan acres, close to campus
Includes many pieces of free standing Wright furniture and a collection of Wright documents
Lovely separate Teahouse with kitchenette, bath and fireplace
Deeded preservation easement to Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy
MLS# 2809337

Remarks:
THE PALMER HOUSE HAS SOLD.
However it is available as a guest house or for events. For information go to www.FLWpalmerhouse.com, or e-mail Jeff@FLWpalmerhouse.com.

Please look through this site and the associated links, the Palmer House is a remarkable home!

I have another fascinating listing, a mid-century "California Cottage " style home .25 miles from the Palmer House. Built largely of cedar it is sited on a steep hillside overlooking the University's Nichols Arboretum, the views are exceptional as is the privacy. Designed by George Brigham for Physics Professor Wayne Hazen and his wife Jean and built in 1950 it has never been on the market previously. Please visit Hazenhouse.com.

I recently listed [SOLD] a lovely contemporary lake front home outside Ann Arbor, $319,000 take a look 190islandlake.com.

Need a creative full-service Realtor? Give me a call.
Outstanding service to both sellers and purchasers of fine Ann Arbor area homes.

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PALMER HOUSE LISTING WEBSITE
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The Palmer House, lovingly cared for by the original owners for almost 60 years has never been placed on the market before. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Palmer House, Tea House and grounds offer a very special experience; it generates a definite mood. It is rare for a home to have that quality. In total the home evokes a sense of peace, serenity, and happiness. And that feeling is experienced by everyone who has been to this home.

There are strong organic aspects of the house. Among them are its placement into the hill, the exquisite red cypress and brick work, and the sylvan view from every room. Wright's genius uses design to enhance nature, like evening sunlight passing through the rows of small abstract shaped windows to create constantly changing light patterns moving across surfaces.

Complimenting the natural elements is the bold triangular geometry of the home: its signature cantilevered overhang, the play of angles (there are no 90 degree corners), Wright's creation of intimate and open spaces, and the exceptional display of architectural design detail and craftsmanship. The house has been meticulously cared for, it is in exceptional condition, it has practically no wear after 58 years; the wood surfaces are unblemished.

The hallway in the family wing is less than three feet wide, and a study in design by itself. The kitchen is another. It is beautiful to be and designed for serious cooking; with ample storage, stainless steel counters and multiple work stations including a second sink. The double oven six element range, sink, and refrigerator are all on separate wall planes, but the shape of the kitchen keeps each of the stations in the triangle of activity only a step apart.

All this is enhanced by the intangible spirit within the home given to it by Bill and Mary Palmer and their two children. And, their guests; cultural leaders of the day, academics and actors, renowned musicians, writers and yoga masters. A metal stage ladder was placed in the backyard by a grateful Royal Shakespeare Company Director entertained by the Palmers a couple of decades ago. It remains today, propped up against a large shagbark hickory. Wright too visited and overnighted with the Palmers on at least two occasions after the home was completed. On one stay Wright got up in the middle of the night and all alone rearranged the furniture in the great room, including the grand piano, from where the Palmers had placed it to where he had designed the furniture to be. The Palmers were quite surprised the next morning.

The home is only slightly over 2,000 square feet. From above the home looks like an offset arrowhead pointing to the northeast. The triangular great room with its magnificent fireplace and two walls of windows dominates the footprint. Three bedrooms (the master bedroom has a fireplace and adjoining bath), a study, and the second bath are housed in one wing. The carport and kitchen in the other wing. The term “carport” comes to us from Wright, and he perfected the structure, even if he didn’t actually invent it.

A second structure on the grounds, the Teahouse, is located down an illuminated stepping stone path. Hidden among the large stemmed trees on a steep slope, it is an architectural masterpiece in its own right. Large floor-to-ceiling glass walls slide into pockets within the brick sections of wall to completely open the space to the outside. The Teahouse, approximately 350 square feet of space, has its own systems, fireplace, kitchenette, and bath.

The lot is comprised of three parcels totaling 1.5 acres. The land may never be divided. Wright was in part drawn to the project by the quality of the site itself: steep slopes, a hilltop into which he magnificently set the home, large trees and a great location. Ann Arbor is a wonderful town regularly cited in different surveys as one of the best places to live in America. The community’s life revolves around the University of Michigan and the Palmer House is a very pleasant two mile walk from the Central Campus, somewhat closer to the Medical Campus and somewhat farther from Ann Arbor’s delightful downtown. The Palmer House is located in the most beautiful and desirable section of Ann Arbor. The University’s Arboretum and the string of contiguous city and county parks that stretch for miles along the Huron River are steps away.

The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (99000340) in 1999 and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has held a Conservation Easement on the property since about that time. (See Quick Link to Conservation Easement.) The Conservancy’s experts have been involved in the replacement of systems and conservation since the easement was granted and will remain a tremendous resource for future owners. The easement requires consultation with the Conservancy on a number of matters, requires thoughtful custodial stewardship, and requires that the Wright collection contained within the home remain with the home.

The collection includes over two dozen Wright-designed freestanding furniture pieces, all designed specifically for the Palmer House and all in great condition. Included are a variety of tables, chairs (including “Origami” chairs) and ottomans. There are of course many built-in furniture pieces, as is common in Wright’s work

The Palmer House has been referred to as a “Michelangelo" and Wright’s finest home of the Usonian style. The beauty is everywhere and immensely pleasing, and the spirit created within this home is almost palpable. It is truly an icon of American design.

See many more photos in the various Quick Links at top of this page.

For a fuller appreciation of the home read Professor Grant Hildebrand's Frank Lloyd Wright's Palmer House, University of Washington Press, 2007. Discussions of the home and its impact on design may be found in numerous monographs on the evolution of architectural design and Wright's work.

I have been a Realtor with the Edward Surovell Company for five years, since retiring from the University of Michigan. I have a graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning and have previously worked as a Senior Consultant at the Urban Institute in Washington DC and as an economic development researcher and consultant. I have served as an Ann Arbor Planning Commissioner and City Councilmember and I know and love Ann Arbor. I specialize in property in Ann Arbor, the campus area in particular. I hope I have conveyed the essence of this remarkable house. Thank you for visiting.

Please give me a call 734-891-8482. Or email me at beckstein@surovell.com

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Quick Links

»	Conservancy Easement

»	August 8,2008. Front page story in the Ann Arbor News

»	Detroit Free Press 8/16/2008 article by John Galliger

»	Ann Arbor News slide show

»	Detroit Free Press photos

»	Ann Arbor News Video

»	Ann Arbor Observer article April 2002

»	Link to some very nice photos on the web

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Bob Eckstein
734.891.8482
beckstein@surovell.com

Contact Me

Edward Surovell Company
1898 W. Stadium Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734.761.6600

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