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

Adaptive Reuse | Dec 16, 2021

An adaptive reuse of a historic building in San Francisco was worth the wait

A five-year-long project included extensive restoration.

Giants 400 | Dec 3, 2021

2021 Hotel Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. hospitality sector

Gensler, Jacobs, Suffolk Construction, and WATG top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest hotel sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.

Hotel Facilities | Nov 3, 2021

California’s Hotel del Coronado is finishing up the final piece to its Master Plan

A 75-residence Shore House will be family oriented and meeting commodious.

Hotel Facilities | Oct 28, 2021

At the end of Q3 2021, Dallas tops the U.S. hotel construction pipeline

The top 25 U.S. markets account for 33% of all pipeline projects and 37% of all rooms in the U.S. hotel construction pipeline.

Hotel Facilities | Oct 13, 2021

World’s first net zero carbon hotel launches in West London

The hotel is located in Chiswick, West London.

Hotel Facilities | Oct 12, 2021

510-room Hyatt Place Hotel completes in Chelsea

The project broke ground in January 2019.

Hotel Facilities | Sep 27, 2021

New resort will be carved directly into a mountainside

The project is is located in western Saudi Arabia.

Hotel Facilities | Sep 22, 2021

Will hotel developers finally embrace modular construction?

Last May, MiTek, a construction software and building services company that’s part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, formed a partnership with Danny Forster & Architecture to promote modular design and construction.

Giants 400 | Aug 30, 2021

2021 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.

The 2021 Giants 400 Report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.

Hotel Facilities | Aug 26, 2021

Building hotels with modules, with citizenM's Menno Hilberts

In this exclusive interview for HorizonTV, Menno Hilberts, Managing Director of Project Management with hotelier citizenM, explains how the company is employing modular construction to help double its presence in the U.S. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




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