255 Bedford St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA

Malcolm Willey House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Willey House is Minnesota's most significant Frank Lloyd Wright design of the Depression years. In 1934, Wright designed the house for Malcom Willey, an administrator at the University of Minnesota. The Willey house pioneers in the development of the small house while emphasizing interplay of spaced, orientation to site, and utilization of natural light. It is one of his early designs to incorporate many built-ins" and to eliminate unnecessary ornament while taking its primary quality from expert use of natural materials, both interior and exterior. The design of the house predicted Wright's mature "Usonian House" of the later 1930's such as the Herbert Jacobs House (Wisconsin) of 1937. The Willey House continues to be preserved and occupied by owners who have recognized its design quality with high respect. The house has been recognized by the University of Minnesota School of Architecture and by the Minneapolis Planning Commission as one of Wright's finest "small houses" in Minnesota.