Open For decades, ruth and russell Kraus raised to purchase the house, its original fur- The open living and dining area of the Kraus house with the lived quietly in their small modern house in niture, memorabilia, and ten and a half acres central hearth as well as the Kirkwood, a saint louis suburb. Few people as of January 18, 2001. furniture and built-ins designed other than their friends and acquaintances even today ruth and russell Kraus’s house is by Frank Lloyd Wright. By Joanne Kohn knew that there was a Frank lloyd Wright trea- owned by saint louis county and operated as The black-and-white and Laura Meyer sure tucked into the secluded wooded site. But a house museum by the nonprofit Frank lloyd photographer Bob Kolbrener took these photographs in 1995 the house built between 1951 and 1955 for the Wright house in ebsworth Park, the name also while Russell Kraus still lived in Krauses, she a lawyer and he an artist, is not only formally bestowed on the house. the property the house. exemplary of Wright’s work and way of thinking it sits on is a county park named for alec W. and hotos hotos The restored P but also stands as testimony to what can happen Bernice W. ebsworth, the parents of philan- rener B when a small but determined group of people thropist Barney ebsworth. Kol Kraus house in B bands together to preserve historic architecture. Wright began designing his usonian houses Saint Louis is a after ruth Kraus died in 1992, russell real- in the 1930s for middle income clients with the hoto Bo hoto P ized he needed to sell the house and agreed to understanding that these modest and econom- Frank Lloyd Wright a plan to preserve it as a Frank lloyd Wright ical dwellings would be integrated into the sur- Usonian Gem museum. a nonprofit organization was formed rounding landscape. this is particularly true Kristen Peterson Peterson Kristen and, after an eight-year effort, $1.7 million was with the Kraus house, which is sited in a lovely grove of persimmon trees and nestled into a hill- slab. the Krauses made no structural changes side surrounded by woods and grassy fields. and retained all the original furnishings, making to reduce costs in his usonian houses, Wright the house an exceptional historical document as advocated a simplified approach to construction well as rare in a world where change is constant. and a paring down of elements. he developed a like other usonians, Wright designed the “unit system” method of design based on geomet- house without a basement, attic, interior trim, ric shapes—squares, rectangles, equilateral trian- radiators, overhead lighting, gutters, down- gles, hexagons, and parallelograms. For the Kraus spouts, or a garage (a carport was sufficient). house, he used intersecting parallelograms with Materials are the same inside and out: brick, 60 and 120 degree angles, which created geometric concrete, tidewater red cypress, and glass. the intricacies and dynamic spaces. interior walls are of wood board-and-batten the Kraus house has all the elements that construction, requiring no paint or plaster. Wright considered essential. true to Wright’s the architectural attributes and historical im- furniture rather than removing original finishes. tractor suggested slightly slanting the door sills usonian concept, the floor plan is open, includ- portance of the Kraus house were evident, but the neglected exterior cypress was cleaned, re- to shed water, and to repeat a layer of sikkens ing a living room, with a large central hearth, years had not been kind to it. Financial constraints stored, and treated with sikkens, a protective whenever the wood begins to weather. and shared dining area looking out onto vistas in his later years had left russell Kraus unable to wood coating. the terrace doors had suffered too drainage issues affected the brick even more of the persimmon grove and woods beyond. the adequately maintain the house—water had proved much water damage to be saved, so new cypress dramatically than the wood. Wherever the brick Another view of the open living living and dining space opens onto an adjacent, particularly destructive. after research, chica- doors were constructed; the original stained glass was exposed to the elements, it had spalled. Forty and dining areas, with the terrace efficient kitchen, and what Wright called the go architect John eifler, known for his expertise designed and executed by russell Kraus (who was percent of the brick had to be replaced, including doors to the left. The art pottery on “work space.” the bedrooms are small, typical and experience in the restoration of Wright uso- (2) hotos the shelves was collected after the P not only a painter but a designer of mosaics and walls of the motor court, main terrace, and mas- for usonians, but the Kraus house is one of the nian houses, was selected to direct the project. Jeff stained glass) was reinstalled in the doors. adding ter bedroom lanai. eifler found new brick ins ioux house was made into a museum. ielsen few Wright houses in which the shapes of the Markway was chosen as the contractor. n gutters to the roof above the doors would prevent city, Iowa, that was a perfect match to the original This wall of repetitive windows on This expansive view of the beds conform to the geometry of the house. the throughout the restoration, museum quality further water damage, but this was not an option alton Brick, which was no longer available. the eastern side of the house leads hoto hoto house from the southwest P to the motor court and the entrance entire house features built-in furniture, stor- standards and museum quality craftsmen were hoto because one of Wright’s core principles was that throughout the restoration, the walls were gives a sense of the dynamic P ielsen to the house. angles of Wright’s design. The age, bookshelves, and indirect lighting. It is effi- used. original finishes and materials were pre- n houses should be low and parallel to the ground made to look as Wright intended, but were forti- Ulmer motor court is on the right, ciently warmed by radiant heat, with hot water served whenever possible. stains were painstak- D and that gutters and downspouts called attention fied with protective measures to help prevent fu- A cantilevered roof covers the heree K. with the tool house at the end. flowing through pipes embedded in the concrete ingly removed from tables, countertops, and other s Davi to the vertical rather than the horizontal. the con- ture disintegration. For example, when rebuilding terrace off of Russell Kraus’s studio. 80 m o d e R n sUMMER 2014 sUMMER 2014 m o d e R n 81 crumbled when panels were removed. (a similar particle board was eventually found by the con- tractor and stained to match the original.) It is nerve-wracking to care for a Wright house. there are constant concerns about what will need to be fixed next and who is trained, sensitive to historic restoration and Wright’s original in- tention, and available to make the proper repair. It can make one crazy, but it is worth the chal- lenge. now, visitors from all over the world are able to experience a usonian house just as Wright intended it. m The house is open year-round for guided tours, Wednesday through Sunday, by advance reservation only. For further information, call (314) 822-8359 or visit ebsworthpark.org. Joanne Kohn led the campaign to raise the money to save the Kraus house and open it to the public, oversaw its restoration, and has chaired the nonprofit board that operates it since 1997. Laura Meyer has been administrative director of the house since 2008. The doors to the main a brick living room wall that had buckled from the saint louis art Museum textile curator Zoe terrace incorporate stained weight of the vaulted ceiling, steel rebar was incor- Perkins directed restoration of the original glass designed by Russell porated into the brick to make the wall stronger schumacher fabrics used for drapes, bedspreads, Kraus. and better able to absorb the weight of the ceiling. and chair, bench, and floor cushions. replacing Russell Kraus in a 1995 old brick was salvaged and reused on the new wall, cracked drapery linings, shortening draperies, photograph by Kolbrener. so all the brick inside the house remains original. spotting, and vacuuming the fabric were all done one of the three Taliesin restoring the concrete that Wright prescribed by hand to protect the fragile materials. lamps Wright designed for for inside and out has been the most challenging electrical problems included replacing alu- the Kraus house, all different task. Wright liked to use red concrete—which he minum light fixtures built into the brick terrace from one another. called cherokee red, as it reminded him of the walls. the fixtures, intended for interior use, earth, of clay—and almost all usonians have aging were dangling, exposing the light bulbs. they red concrete damaged by staining and weather- were rewired and replaced with exterior-grade hoto P ing. the repair of concrete is complicated, how- aluminum fixtures, but water seepage contin- ever, because it absorbs products deeply; if the ues to be a problem. still, the nighttime glow of wrong product is used, the concrete cannot be re- these lights is magical. hoto Ulmer hoto Several other Usonian houses are open to the public, includ- turned to its original state. John eifler suggested to improve the electrical system, wires were P ing the newly restored Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent House Kemiko english red wax for the interior concrete, buried underground and fed to circuit breakers, rener B in Rockford, Illinois, which opens on June 6.