Just 40 miles West of Columbus, in Springfield, Ohio is the Westcott House.
It was once the home of Burton Westcott – wealthy businessman and president of the Westcott Motor Car Company. While Westcott remains famous for being one of the first to value luxury automobiles, his most notable page in history might be the hiring of architectural legend Frank Lloyd Wright to design his house.
The home, built in 1906, has gone through many renovations over the years, some better than others. While Wright’s houses today are revered and preserved, in the early 1940s, the Westcott House was converted into an apartment building, practically destroying all evidence of his work.
After the house sat unnoticed for many years, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and the Westcott House Foundation brought it back to life through detailed, meticulous and expensive restorations. For the past 15 years, it has been a museum.
The house attracts Wright fans, architects and curious travelers, says Marta Wojcik, executive director and curator of the house.
“This house is so important partly because even if people don’t have the background in architecture, it’s intuitive,” Wojcik says. “They drive by and see there’s something unique about it and when they have a chance to go inside. You can’t deny there’s something really impactful about Wright’s spaces, how special it is.”
Wojcik says the restoration was brutal at times.
“In 1990, we started looking at it to see if it would be able to be salvaged. It took a lot of optimism to see what it could be,” she says. “It’s remarkable that they took it back to its original form.”
Generally, when a historical house is restored to its original form, architects will look at old photos to match the aesthetic and layout. However, there were only two pictures of the Westcott House. In a rare and unique predicament, the restoration committee followed Wright’s original, preserved drawings of the house to rescue it from its shambling state.
“This house just has so much warmth inside,” Wojcik says. “People tell me, ‘Oh I could live in this house, it’s so comfy and cozy.’ It doesn’t feel like a museum.”
Prior to the pandemic, the Westcott House was open for tours and events so people could experience the house after hours with music and drink. While tours are temporarily on hold, Wojcik hopes they will be back up and running toward the end of spring.
While it can be daunting for a nonprofit to reopen after closing for a period of time, Wojcik is hopeful visitors will continue to come explore and experience the home.
“We have people who drive here from Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dayton because it’s unique enough to make that trip from those cities,” she says. “It’s just a really special place.”
For more information about the Westcott House, visit www.westcotthouse.org
Address: 85 S. Greenmount Ave., Springfield, OH 45505
Frank Lloyd Wright indicators
Architect and docent Thomas Arnold tells us what we might see when visiting the Westcott House:
Prairie style
“Wright’s designs from this period became to be known as the prairie style. Prominent features often included an emphasis on the horizontal, broad eaves and low roof profiles anchored by a singular vertical element in a large centrally located chimney,” Arnold says.
Because Wright’s rooflines deviated from the norm, people often joked that they were leaky.
“He pushed the limits of available construction technologies contractors were accustomed to using,” Arnold explains. “Consequently, clients would often complain about leaks.”
Low ceilings and passageways
Wright was 5’7”, thus often brought the scale of his homes down to suit his stature. He sometimes joked that, had he been taller, the proportions of his designs might have been different.
Furniture
“Wright pioneered what he described as organic architecture,” Arnold says. “It was important to him to integrate and control the design of all aspects of the house, even the furniture.”
Most recognizable, perhaps, are the high-back dining room chairs, which Wright used to enhance the intimate nature of gathering around the table for a meal.
“To him, designing the furniture was significant so that he could create a cohesive environment,” Arnold says. “He didn’t want to risk a homeowner dragging in Victorian furnishings that would not be in harmony with the overall composition.”
Open floorplans
Wright has been credited as one of the first to make use of the open floor plan.
Stained glass or art glass
Wright valued light and privacy, and he found a method of mixing the two. Stained glass allowed for natural light but also protected the house from people looking inside.
“He used art glass to celebrate the infusion of natural lighting in a unique way,” Arnold says.
Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired neighborhood
Rush Creek Village in Worthington consists of 49 homes built in the style of Wright. Theodore Van Fossen helped create the neighborhood in 1950, using his experience of working on Wright’s buildings to shape every house to be just so.
While none of the houses is open to tour, you can visit the neighborhood at East South Street.
Mallory Arnold is an editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
