flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

The Usonian Inn, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired motor lodge, is on the market for $665,000

Hotel Facilities

The Usonian Inn, a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired motor lodge, is on the market for $665,000

The Usonian Inn proudly displays many Wright-inspired characteristics, the most prominent of which is the use of cantilevered overhangs.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | March 30, 2016

Photo Credit:  Teemu08, Wikimedia Commons 

For any horror movie fans or aspiring horror filmmakers out there, having an inn of your own would provide the perfect canvas for reenacting your favorite horror moments, such as the shower scene from "Psycho" or “Here’s Johnny!” from "The Shining" (come to think of it, if you ever find yourself in a scenario reminiscent of a horror movie, stay away from the bathroom). But for one particular inn that just hit the market, it isn’t just horror movie buffs that might be interested in making the $665,000 purchase, but fans of architecture, as well.

The Usonian Inn, which was previously known as the Rest Haven Motel (which sounds like a name that could have been taken directly from an old horror movie), is an 11-room motor lodge in Spring Green, Wis., that was constructed in 1952. What makes this particular inn noteworthy is that Jesse C. Caraway, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the structure.

As Curbed.com reports, the Park Inn in Mason City, Iowa, is the only hotel still in existence that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright himself, but The Usonian Inn proudly displays many Wright-inspired characteristics. The most prominent of which is without question the use of cantilevered overhangs.

The V-shaped building was one of the first to use aluminum siding, which was provided by Reynolds Metals for free as a promotional tool, and was also once considered for a feature in Life magazine. Currently, the inn is listed on the State and National Register of Historic places.

And don’t let the old horror trope of haunted or creepy inns scare you away, the Usonian Inn has undergone more than a few facelifts in an effort to keep the structure looking young. In 1992, the inn’s grounds were freshly landscaped and the current owners, Carolina and Theo Dursina, have provided significant upgrades, as well, such as the addition of sustainable fixtures and double-glazed windows and a new roof.

While the $665,000 price tag certainly isn’t cheap, the building’s unique history and quality location near Spring Green, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin home and studio, and the Wisconsin River do make for an intriguing purchase.

Related Stories

Hotel Facilities | Feb 13, 2018

6 trends shaping smart hotels

From real-time guest feedback to AI-driven hyper-personalization, the hotel of the future will emphasize service, convenience, authenticity, and just the right amount of technology.

Hotel Facilities | Feb 12, 2018

Circular hotel will be world’s first energy positive hotel concept above the Arctic Circle

The hotel will provide 360-degree views of the Svartisen glacier and the surrounding arctic nature.

Hotel Facilities | Feb 8, 2018

Nashville hotel takes authenticity to the extreme with dedicated recording studio, performance spaces

Music City has experienced a hotel construction boom in recent years, making for a more competitive market.

Hotel Facilities | Jan 24, 2018

U.S. hotel markets with the largest construction pipelines

Dallas, Houston, and New York lead the way, with more than 460 hotel projects in the works.

Hotel Facilities | Nov 10, 2017

The hotel of the future has just the right amount of tech

CallisonRTKL’s recent survey helps shed some light on how the hotel of the future might strike a balance between tech and the human touch.

Hotel Facilities | Oct 6, 2017

This year’s Radical Innovation Award winners showcase portable and flexible hotel designs

The grand prize hotel concept gives new meaning to “back to nature.” 

Adaptive Reuse | Oct 5, 2017

Wexford’s latest innovation center breaks ground in Providence

The campus is expected to include an Aloft hotel. 

Giants 400 | Sep 22, 2017

Welcome home: Hotels want guests to feel more like residents than visitors

Because hotels can take as long as six years to complete, spotting trends—and differentiating them from fads—is tough when tastes and systems change so rapidly.

Giants 400 | Sep 22, 2017

Top 80 hotel construction firms

Turner Construction Co., Swinerton, and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest hotel sector contractor and construction management firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



3D Printing

3D-printed construction milestones take shape in Tennessee and Texas

Two notable 3D-printed projects mark milestones in the new construction technique of “printing” structures with specialized concrete. In Athens, Tennessee, Walmart hired Alquist 3D to build a 20-foot-high store expansion, one of the largest freestanding 3D-printed commercial concrete structures in the U.S. In Marfa, Texas, the world’s first 3D-printed hotel is under construction at an existing hotel and campground site.


halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021