Timothy & Renda Carr - a photo on Flickriver

            Timothy and Renda Carr standing under the original carport of the Rosenbaum House.

Touring Alabama's one and only structure designed by the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  The Rosenbaum House is the second of Wright’s Usonian style homes to be built.  The Usonian style home was a new designed concept intended as a low-cost housing for middle-class American families.  In 1938, newlyweds Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum were given a two acre lot and funds to build a home by Stanley’s parents.  After reading about Frank Lloyd Wright, they commissioned Wright to design and build the house.  The first phase of the house cost the couple $14,000.  The Rosenbaums moved into their new home in September 1940.  The first photographs of the house were placed on exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Built in an L-shape, the house is made from natural materials, largely cypress wood and brick.  Multilevel low-rising steel-cantilevered roofs covering both the living spaces and adjoining carport.  The distinctive feature of the house is its glass, with most of the rooms have their own door to the outside.  The center of the house is the “service core”, built around a large stone hearth.  The original Usonian floor plan provided 1,540 square feet of living space.  After the Rosenbaums fourth child, the family needed more space in the already cramped house.  The Rosenbaums asked Wright to design an extension.  Wright’s 1948 modification added an additional 1,084 square feet in a second L-shape.

The house was occupied by the Rosenbaums until 1999 when Mildred was moved into a nursing home.  This makes the longest occupancy by the original owners of any of Wright’s other Usonian homes.  The Rosenbaum family donated the house to the City of Florence and sold the furniture and contents of the house to the city for $75,000.  When the city acquired house, the house was in poor repair, with extensive water penetration and termite damage.  According to the tour guide, “we almost lost the house for good after a building inspector looked over the house and saw the severity of the damage that he recommended for the house to be torn down since it was in an unsafe condition.”  City leaders came up with a plan to fund the restoration of the house.  With the help of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, along with the many volunteers and professionals, the Rosenbaum house was meticulously restored and opened to the public in 2002 as a museum.
The Rosenbaum House was place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

2:42 PM CDT, September 4, 2022
Florence, Alabama Trip September 4-5.
Frank Lloyd Wright - Rosenbaum House Museum, 601 Riverview Drive, Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama.
P2022-0904_144205 U1T
   

Taken in: United States / Alabama / Canaan (historical) (show map)

Taken on: September 4, 2022

Tags:

601 Riverview Drive Florence AL

Alabama

Architecture

Buildings and Structures

Built Circa 1938

Canaan (historical)

Face Tagged

Florence AL

Frank Lloyd Wright - Rosenbaum House Museum

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

GPS 34°47'35

87°40'50 W

Green

Historic Sites

Historic Sites In Alabama

Lauderdale County AL

M09

MD0904

Museum of Modern Art

Museums

Museums In Alabama

Name: Frank Lloyd Wright

Name: Mildred Rosenbaum

Name: Renda V. Carr

Name: Stanley Rosenbaum

Name: Timothy J. Carr

National Register of Historic Places

New York City New York

People

Renda V. Carr

Residential Structures

Riverview Drive Florence AL

Samsung SM-G965U1

September

September 04 2022

Smart Phone Photos: Timothy

Surname: Carr

Surname: Rosenbaum

Surname: Wright

Timothy J. Carr

Travel

Trip To Florence AL 2022-09

USA

United States

Usonian Style Homes

YMD 2022-0904

Year 1938

Year 1940

Year 1948

Year 1978

Year 1999

Year 2002

Zip Code 35630

Florence « less

Camera: samsung SM-G965U1, f/1.7, 1/40 sec, 2.9mm, ISO 64 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	samsung SM-G965U1
Aperture:	f/1.7
Exposure Time:	0.025 sec (1/40)
Focal Length:	2.9mm
ISO:	64
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 (Windows)
Show full info

Stats: 132 views