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Architecture 🏛 Mid-century modern houses
- Thread starter WSU MUP Student
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I have to say I love this thread so much
WSU MUP Student
Cyburbian
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Lately I've been running through some neighborhoods I've never really explored and when running through a typical suburban subdivision, I usually make an effort to eventually run out and back on every dead end and cul de sac. I was doing this yesterday morning through a really large neighborhood of '50s and '60s ranches. Most of the homes were pretty standard for this area, although quite a few had some sort of MCM flourish, then I turned down a very short cul de sac with 4 houses and 3 of them were real MCM gems.
Looking on Zillow, one of the houses was on the market a couple years ago and thankfully the pictures are still available. Here's a few standouts:
The three houses in question were built in '56 and '57, and looking at some old tax documents, I have a feeling they were all built/designed together by the same team. The three also all have detached garages which is sort of out of place in this neighborhood. I wouldn't be surprised if they originally had carports.
Looking on Zillow, one of the houses was on the market a couple years ago and thankfully the pictures are still available. Here's a few standouts:
The three houses in question were built in '56 and '57, and looking at some old tax documents, I have a feeling they were all built/designed together by the same team. The three also all have detached garages which is sort of out of place in this neighborhood. I wouldn't be surprised if they originally had carports.
DVD
Cyburbian
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I like going through the pictures and looking at design ideas. My house isn't MCM, but I think the furniture style would fit it.
A nice book about MCM buildings in my area. I think you can get you a better price then Amazon though. I think there is also a book about MCM homes and restoring them. I'd have to look, but I could find it if you want a copy.
A list of some buildings in the area:
A nice book about MCM buildings in my area. I think you can get you a better price then Amazon though. I think there is also a book about MCM homes and restoring them. I'd have to look, but I could find it if you want a copy.
Midcentury Marvels: Commercial Architecture of Phoenix, 1945 - 1975: City of Phoenix Historic Preservation, Ryden Architects: 9780615409894: Amazon.com: Books
Midcentury Marvels: Commercial Architecture of Phoenix, 1945 - 1975 [City of Phoenix Historic Preservation, Ryden Architects] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Midcentury Marvels: Commercial Architecture of Phoenix, 1945 - 1975
www.amazon.com
A list of some buildings in the area:
JNA
Cyburbian Plus
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800 S Pleasant Ridge Rd, Bloomington, IN 47401 | Zillow
Recently sold: $690,000. This streamlined mid century home in Hoosier Acres has been tastefully updated on a 1 acre site and in one of Bloomington's most established neighborhoods. The state of Indiana has designated this as an "outstanding" mid century home and a recent architectural addition...
www.zillow.com
WSU MUP Student
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This one probably isn't considered MCM (and looking at the tax information, it looks like it was actually built in the '80s) but it definitely caught my eye while I was out on a run this weekend.
It's on a very oddly shaped lot with a pretty steep slope and even though it's got about 3+ acres, much of it in the back is a pond and wetland. Still, it was a pretty cool house from the front:
It's hard to see on Streetview, but the back of the house is just 3 or 4 stories of glass. Very cool looking:
It doesn't appear that it's been on the market in years so unfortunately I cannot find any interior shots.
It's on a very oddly shaped lot with a pretty steep slope and even though it's got about 3+ acres, much of it in the back is a pond and wetland. Still, it was a pretty cool house from the front:
It's hard to see on Streetview, but the back of the house is just 3 or 4 stories of glass. Very cool looking:
It doesn't appear that it's been on the market in years so unfortunately I cannot find any interior shots.
ChairmanMeow
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The front looks more like a school or something than a house.
WSU MUP Student
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That's what I thought too when I ran past that one (it actually looks very similar to our local community arts center).
___________________
On my run this morning I ran down a particular road I love: winding, hilly, and dirt in an otherwise built up area; plenty of large houses on large lots, a few of the houses are nice examples of MCM or MCM-inspired. Today there was a for sale sign at the end of a driveway. I couldn't see the house so of course I looked it up.
The tax information says it was built in '99 but it was designed by somebody from Yamasaki's firm, a couple of the bathrooms still look pretty 1950s or 1960s, and even comes with the quintessential 1950s feature - a bomb shelter! (Knowing how our county property tax records work, I have a feeling the '99 date was actually a big remodel/renovation.)
The house looks pretty cool (and it has some fantastic gardens!), but it's 5,000+ square feet and, like the previous house I posted, it definitely has a bit of an institutional feel to it, especially from the exterior. Maybe there's some sort of maximum size for MCM and once it gets above that point, the homes begin to get more strange and impersonal
WSU MUP Student
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Detroit has a neighborhood just outside of downtown called Lafayette Park which consists primarily of two mid-rise residential apartment buildings a small subdivision of detached and attached garden apartments designed by Mies Van der Rohe.
One of the detached apartments just popped up on the market and it's really pretty gorgeous.
Photo Gallery
One of the detached apartments just popped up on the market and it's really pretty gorgeous.
Photo Gallery
John Tewksbury
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Actually, those are even newer pictures that I put up on https://www.zillow.com/homes/18050-Kinross-Ave-Beverly-Hills,-MI,-48025_rb/24584115_zpid The old pictures, from when we bought the house 4 years ago, are still up at https://www.trulia.com/p/mi/beverly-hills/18050-kinross-ave-beverly-hills-mi-48025--2325178315 I guess they're "better" in an early-90's ArtVan/Ikea stage-rental-furniture sense, but I like our crazy modern style better and am not into Facebook that much so Zillow is my only social media outlet. It gave me a warm-fuzzy to know that people notice the constantly updating Zillow non-listing ;-].
John Tewksbury
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Wow that was weird! A couple days after I posted that link to the Trulia site with the old pictures they were taken down after being there for 5 years! And the new pictures I've been uploading to Zillow are now on Trulia as well if you search it for the address of the house! It's got to be because of my posting here on this forum!
WSU MUP Student
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Thank you for posting up the links to the newer photos. Still definitely one of my favorites in the area.
____
I was out on a run this weekend and ran down a street I had never been on in an already interesting neighborhood. The neighborhood was primarily developed with a bunch of random condominium (some attached and some detached) developments of all different architecture styles and sizes of homes. I would label the homes on this street as primarily international style (but that seems tangentially related to MCM) and from the exterior, it was a pretty cool sight. FWIW, there are a couple of homes from this street currently listed (like this one and this one) and the interiors are definitely not MCM, but it's still an interesting street.
78rpm
Cyburbian
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From (online) Architectural Digest, November 16, 2020:
For MCM architecture enthusiasts, the (relatively short) article is worth reading in its entirety.
The restoration is so stunning that it may leave you wishing that the photography were of equally stunning quality.
(This may sound a bit harsh... until you see the photography.)
Step Inside This Meticulously Restored Midcentury Modern Masterpiece
Working with designer Oliver M. Furth, artist Mary Weatherford safeguards the future of a stunning modernist landmark in Los Angeles
Step Inside This Meticulously Restored Midcentury Modern Masterpiece
Working with designer Oliver M. Furth, artist Mary Weatherford safeguards the future of a stunning modernist landmark in Los Angeles
www.architecturaldigest.com
Step Inside This Meticulously Restored Midcentury Modern Masterpiece
Working with designer Oliver M. Furth, artist Mary Weatherford safeguards the future of a stunning modernist landmark in Los Angeles
For MCM architecture enthusiasts, the (relatively short) article is worth reading in its entirety.
The restoration is so stunning that it may leave you wishing that the photography were of equally stunning quality.
(This may sound a bit harsh... until you see the photography.)
Doohickie
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That's...... too MCM if there's such a thing.
By way of explanation, maybe what I mean is that a good MCM house takes you bake to the Space Age and evokes the ethos of that time. This house bludgeons you over the head with it. Or like the difference between spiking the ball after a touchdown and performing a multiplayer choreographed dance routine in the end zone.
By way of explanation, maybe what I mean is that a good MCM house takes you bake to the Space Age and evokes the ethos of that time. This house bludgeons you over the head with it. Or like the difference between spiking the ball after a touchdown and performing a multiplayer choreographed dance routine in the end zone.
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whoa check this out kidz
78rpm
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This West Hollywood MCM must have been absolutely stunning before the Hollywood-elite interior decorators got to it:
www.architecturaldigest.com
(It still looks OK. I like the bookcase.)
Alternate universe:
"Sorry, all we we want is a carpet runner for our aging dog. Come back when you have one. Buh-bye."
Step Inside This Stylish West Hollywood Home
Jane Hallworth breathes new life into Harley Neuman and Daniel Lam’s tailored 1950s house
Alternate universe:
"Sorry, all we we want is a carpet runner for our aging dog. Come back when you have one. Buh-bye."
WSU MUP Student
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An update on this Yamasaki house I posted back in 2020: I run past through here every other week or so and today I noticed a For Sale sign out front. I pulled it up on Zillow hoping there'd be new photos but unfortunately all that was available on there was a new exterior photo:
The last listing I found said the house was more than 5,000 sqft but now it shows up as 3,100 sqft. They must have been including basement space before or something. I remember after seeing that it sold for about $650k last time around thinking to myself, "Maybe if it hits the market again, I can convince my wife that we should buy this architecturally significant house in this gorgeous neighborhood!" Talk about a pipe dream. It was listed a couple weeks ago at $1.6 million and is already showing up as pending. It looks like the current owners are in line for a nice profit on that house in just a decade!
Edit:
I should have gone to the listing agency's site instead of Zillow
WSU MUP Student
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When I pulled up Zillow to look for photos of the above house, this house popped up as a new nearby listing in my area:
The listing says it was built in 1951 and mentions that it's built in the shape of a "Z" with the bedrooms in one leg of the Z and the living area in the other. Sounds cool and like a perfect reason to use a drone to get an aerial shot but no dice. Oh well... Google maps gives the gist:
The interior shots look pretty nice to me...
Since the Yamasaki house is a) out of my price range, and b) sold, maybe I can convince my wife that we need this one instead?
The listing says it was built in 1951 and mentions that it's built in the shape of a "Z" with the bedrooms in one leg of the Z and the living area in the other. Sounds cool and like a perfect reason to use a drone to get an aerial shot but no dice. Oh well... Google maps gives the gist:
The interior shots look pretty nice to me...
Since the Yamasaki house is a) out of my price range, and b) sold, maybe I can convince my wife that we need this one instead?
WSU MUP Student
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Anyone happen to catch CBS Sunday Morning yesterday? They had a segment on a Frank Lloyd Wright house being relocated/rebuilt.
www.perfectduluthday.com
CBS Sunday Morning: Frank Lloyd Wright's Mäntylä House - Perfect Duluth Day
A piece of Cloquet history popped up on CBS Sunday Morning today, but it’s in Cloquet no more. Mäntylä House, designed by visionary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, has been rebuilt at Polymath Park in southwest Pennsylvania. In the video, CBS Correspondent Lee Cowan talks with the park’s...
www.perfectduluthday.com
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Slightly off-topic: Colden, New York, deep in Buffalo's Southtowns, has more than its share of unusual residential architecture.
A million dollars will buy you this 2,800 square foot modern house.
When I moved for the job I had now, this house was available for rent. It was too small for me and my dogs, so I passed.
www.realtor.com
A million dollars will buy you this 2,800 square foot modern house.
When I moved for the job I had now, this house was available for rent. It was too small for me and my dogs, so I passed.
Minimalist Masterpiece! Cube House Quickly Finds a Buyer in Upstate New York
The Cube House in Ithaca, NY, came on the market just two weeks ago for $289,000 and is now under contract after a flurry of offers came in.
www.realtor.com
Those are near here. I haven't been yet, bit plan to schedule a tour in the fall.Anyone happen to catch CBS Sunday Morning yesterday? They had a segment on a Frank Lloyd Wright house being relocated/rebuilt.
CBS Sunday Morning: Frank Lloyd Wright's Mäntylä House - Perfect Duluth Day
A piece of Cloquet history popped up on CBS Sunday Morning today, but it’s in Cloquet no more. Mäntylä House, designed by visionary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, has been rebuilt at Polymath Park in southwest Pennsylvania. In the video, CBS Correspondent Lee Cowan talks with the park’s...
WSU MUP Student
Cyburbian
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When I moved for the job I had now, this house was available for rent. It was too small for me and my dogs, so I passed.
View attachment 54478
Minimalist Masterpiece! Cube House Quickly Finds a Buyer in Upstate New York
The Cube House in Ithaca, NY, came on the market just two weeks ago for $289,000 and is now under contract after a flurry of offers came in.
That cube house is very cool. I occasionally daydream of buying some piece of property on a lake here or somewhere isolated Up North and putting up some minimalist house like this one. It seems like it would be relatively inexpensive to construct and would be nice and cozy when visiting on a snowy winter weekend.
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It seems like the nation's housing bubble hasn't hit Northeast Ohio.
Here's one from the suburb of Cleveland where I lived in the 00's. From the description:
www.realtor.com
$225,000.
Really. Not a typo. $225,000.
Here's one from the suburb of Cleveland where I lived in the 00's. From the description:
1757 S Belvoir Blvd, South Euclid, OH 44121 | realtor.com®
View 30 photos for 1757 S Belvoir Blvd, South Euclid, OH 44121, a 3 bed, 3 bath, 2,425 Sq. Ft. single family home built in 1968 that was last sold on 12/13/2021.
$225,000.
Really. Not a typo. $225,000.
WSU MUP Student
Cyburbian
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It seems like the nation's housing bubble hasn't hit Northeast Ohio.
Here's one from the suburb of Cleveland where I lived in the 00's. From the description:
View attachment 54598
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1757 S Belvoir Blvd, South Euclid, OH 44121 | realtor.com®
View 30 photos for 1757 S Belvoir Blvd, South Euclid, OH 44121, a 3 bed, 3 bath, 2,425 Sq. Ft. single family home built in 1968 that was last sold on 12/13/2021.
$225,000.
Really. Not a typo. $225,000.
Looks like a pretty cool marriage between MCM and shed architecture.
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Hard to tell what the entire house looks like, from the listing, but built in 1962, lakefront/steep slope, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,698'², kind of time capsule-ish, $950K. Looking at the 3D tour, the place is going to need another million dollars of work for updates, repairs, and fixing floorplan weirdness.
www.realtor.com
And ... uhhhhh ... a European detail, I guess, because they're not so uptight about things and stuff.
961 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca, NY 14850 | realtor.com®
View detailed information about property 961 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca, NY 14850 including listing details, property photos, school and neighborhood data, and much more.
And ... uhhhhh ... a European detail, I guess, because they're not so uptight about things and stuff.
WSU MUP Student
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^ So much potential but so much required work.
If I bought it, I'd work to convince my wife we need to keep that exposed toilet next to the hot tub. Ya know, it really helps with the flow of the room!
Alternate comment: Feng shui? More like feng sh!t!
If I bought it, I'd work to convince my wife we need to keep that exposed toilet next to the hot tub. Ya know, it really helps with the flow of the room!
Alternate comment: Feng shui? More like feng sh!t!
Most of photos shown were from mid 60s built for upper, and upper middle class people, and explains their location.
The mid 1960s executive modern houses are amazing looking...but built for and with long winding streets and cul de sac and far away from other people and conveniences. It became a large part of subdivision planning in the U.S and Canada, which many people see as suburban disasters.
I dont understand the interest in the mid century design, which is almost obsession with many younger Millennials and people leaving schools now. I'm interested in the sociology and psychology of this trend stared in in the mid to late 2000s. Was it because of magazines like Wallpaper that became hip, or was it the influence of curtain wall glass condos and the disappearance of walls except for bedrooms.
The Millennial interest played out or is now playing out in very uncomfortable 1950s style sofas, that would break your neck if attempted to sleep in them. But better than the huge over stuffed fake leather furniture from before that were inspired by furniture in mansions. or the horrid bar level kitchen or dining table.
The mid 1960s executive modern houses are amazing looking...but built for and with long winding streets and cul de sac and far away from other people and conveniences. It became a large part of subdivision planning in the U.S and Canada, which many people see as suburban disasters.
I dont understand the interest in the mid century design, which is almost obsession with many younger Millennials and people leaving schools now. I'm interested in the sociology and psychology of this trend stared in in the mid to late 2000s. Was it because of magazines like Wallpaper that became hip, or was it the influence of curtain wall glass condos and the disappearance of walls except for bedrooms.
The Millennial interest played out or is now playing out in very uncomfortable 1950s style sofas, that would break your neck if attempted to sleep in them. But better than the huge over stuffed fake leather furniture from before that were inspired by furniture in mansions. or the horrid bar level kitchen or dining table.
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Here's another great example for sale in the mid-ring NW suburbs of Chicago:
Observe and desire for peak 1960 mid-cent mod design
Observe and desire for peak 1960 mid-cent mod design
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WSU MUP Student
Cyburbian
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Here's another great example for sale in the mid-ring NW suburbs of Chicago:
Observe and desire for peak 1960 mid-cent mod design
The exterior looks pretty cool. I wish it had more photos.
The interior..... has some interesting design choices. This is probably a listing that could have benefitted big time from a professional staging before the photos were taken.
Doohickie
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I'll say it: You simply DON'T put "traditional" design cues like scrolly curtain valences and mock-candle chandeliers in a MCM setting. It's so wrong. And brass beds do NOT go with wingback chairs. Make up your mind!
I went to an estate sale there in October 2020. Guess they got rid of the Jim Beam collection. Interesting property though tons of deferred maintenance. When I was there the property was filled with junk cars which seemed odd for a property like this.Here's another great example for sale in the mid-ring NW suburbs of Chicago:
Observe and desire for peak 1960 mid-cent mod design
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Cool. Thanks for the insight.
The property is also bisected by an active freight railroad which is interesting. The nearby trail technically dead ends on both sides of the rail line, though no one takes the signs seriously.
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I saw that weird driveway over the rails. Seems like an odd allowance.
I think the current price is about presumed land value. The house itself seems like a major liability.
RandomPlanner
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In 2021, I looked at a billion houses and I've gotta say -- this one may very well be the worst! Sure, it's MCM, but it does NOT look like it was done well or maintained at all. In this market, I'd be interested to see how much they get for it.Here's another great example for sale in the mid-ring NW suburbs of Chicago:
Observe and desire for peak 1960 mid-cent mod design
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Well, they're asking $850,000 which in it's market is likely just land value.
Doohickie
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I went to the open house for this one yesterday. They've been working on it for the better part of a year. Built in 1954.
Here's a video that shows more of the house.
Here's a video that shows more of the house.
Bubba
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The partial wall screen in front of the entrance door is out of place - that's a Miami Modern ("MiMo") design element...This one is blowing up on social media after being posted on the Zillow Gone Wild FB page
View attachment 57112
This is what it looked like (in 2018) before renovation. Scary!
View attachment 57111
Doohickie
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I see that sort of thing on lots of MCM homes here in TX