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

Giants 400 | Sep 22, 2017

Top 30 hotel engineering firms

NV5 Global, WSP, and DeSimone Consulting Engineers top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest hotel sector engineering and EA firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

Giants 400 | Sep 22, 2017

Top 60 hotel architecture firms

Gensler, WATG and Wimberly Interiors, and HKS top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest hotel sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

Architects | Sep 13, 2017

Leo A Daly hires hospitality-design veteran to lead its Dallas office

Ken Martin views this sector as an incubator of innovation.

Hotel Facilities | Sep 6, 2017

Marriott has the largest construction pipeline of any franchise company in the U.S.

Marriott has the most rooms currently under construction with 482 Projects/67,434 Rooms.

Hotel Facilities | Aug 25, 2017

Hotels savor demand in northern California's wine country

New entrant, Hotel Trio, will play up location and affordability.

Hotel Facilities | Aug 17, 2017

Seattle hotel will be the largest in the Pacific Northwest

The 45-story, 500-foot-tall tower is composed of two primary volumes.

Hotel Facilities | Aug 14, 2017

New W hotel takes a leap in its interior design

The brand’s focus will incorporate aspects of its properties’ surrounding communities.

Mixed-Use | Aug 9, 2017

Mixed-use development will act as a gateway to Orange County’s ‘Little Saigon’

The development will include apartments, ground-floor retail, and a five-story hotel.

Lighting | Aug 2, 2017

Dynamic white lighting mimics daylighting

By varying an LED luminaire’s color temperature, it is possible to mimic daylighting, to some extent, and the natural circadian rhythms that accompany it, writes DLR Group’s Sean Avery. 

Hotel Facilities | Jul 28, 2017

Achieve hospitality architecture that impresses – Multigenerational appeal, local connections

Did guests get the experience that they paid for? This question has long haunted hotel operators.

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