Charles L. Manson House

Wright's concept of Usonian homes involved low-cost homes that embraced the natural landscape in both function and design. As inherently organic structures, these homes would provide a space for developing an individual's unique personhood through the freedom of creativity and expression. The Manson's home is an early example of Usonian design with the typical flat roof, long clean lines, and integration into the hillside.

Typical of Usonians, the walls are sandwich compositions of plywood and tidewater red cypress board and batten trimmed with local red (Ringle) brick. To protect the house against fierce winters, Wright sandwiched two extra layers into the walls. The house sits on a concrete slab with its back to the street.

Charles “Fritz” and his wife Dorothy were inspired by the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House, in Madison, Wisconsin, United States which is one of the first Usonian homes. They contacted Wright and requested that he build their home on a sloping hillside lot which was ideal for the organic architecture design.

Prior to his role at his family’s insurance business in Wausau, Fritz had experience as a journalist and photographer. While the house was being built, he used these skills to document the various phases of the construction process.

At the front hallway, a high ceiling, red tidewater cypress in a board and batten pattern and carved panels create visual interest. These elements extend to the outside to integrate the insight and outside. Throughout the 4 bedroom and 3 bathroom home, the continuity of indoor and outdoor spaces is achieved through the lack of boundaries. One room flows into the next quite naturally just as the exterior of the home was built to flow from within the natural landscape. The intentional lack of boundaries created large open rooms when occasions called for it, or small intimate areas where both light and nature were intrinsically woven together. What someone might call a “hallway” another may refer to as the “family room” or a “reading nook.” Common to many Wright homes, there are triptych panels that filter natural light as well as built-in bookshelves, window seating, and tables.

This concept of continuity is most evident in the living room space that is anchored by an asymmetrically designed fireplace which is typically the core of the Usonian house. In this layout, Wright endeavored to create a sense of interest off to the side—not on center—to challenge the mind to perceive more. In this case, the fireplace is visually appealing from all angles and would be difficult to define exactly where the front of the fireplace is indeed located. A multi-planed design, the fireplace extends naturally from the stairs and while it has no prominent front flat surface, it still maintains a statesman presence in the room. Both of the Manson daughters, Johanna and Mary were married in front of this fireplace.

Wright felt that flat planes created barriers which suggested confinement and containment, so he consciously sought to reduce them whenever doing so would not distract from the overall design. Towards this goal, the integration of brick, wood, and concrete was utilized to form a nearly fluid space as light and movement in the room would change depending on the light from the floor to ceiling curtain windows or the indirect lighting throughout.

For Wright, the beauty of a design was intangible and could not be fully described in a document, but rather its meaning could be found between the lines and the continuity of the flow. Although bricks are common building materials, in Wright’s application were not common in their effect. Effectively, the fireplace had only horizontal mortar lines between the bricks; the vertical lines had been painted the same color as the bricks to create a sense of natural flow.

Contributing to the multi-dimensional design, the firebox and hearth were both positioned at floor-level with no definitive boundaries. Varied ceiling heights overhead provided a sense of spaciousness and the natural light visible from the hallway and streaming in from the floor to ceiling windows across the living room provided ever-changing contrasts and shadows. Through his unique application of basic materials, Wright transformed the environment by building connections to other rooms through natural elements, indirect lighting and open flowing spaces. Wright’s intention was to release the “expected” containment of boxy rooms and rigid architecture so that all spaces were connected and interwoven.

Understanding the importance of connections, the Manson’s had simple decorative accents throughout their home. The Japanese prints in the hallway, a folding mini-partition, Asian vase and the hearth rug were artifacts from Dorothy’s time in Japan. Although she spent only a short time in the Orient, Asian influences continued to impact her life. This can be seen not only in the decor, but also in her personal expressions of faith and love. Like Wright, Charles and Dorothy were Unitarians and believed in the sacred connections of all things--appreciating sacredness of even the smallest details.

• Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 0-226-77621-2 (S.249)
• Aucutt, Donald. Wausau Beautiful; A Guide to Our Historic Architecture. Friends of Wausau Historic Landmarks, 2007, ISBN 978-0-615-16238-6.

• Listing of the Manson House on the National Register of Historic Places
• Wright In Wisconsin - Wright And Like Tours
• CHARLES L. MANSON HOUSE, WAUSAU, WISCONSIN (1938) (S.249)
• Manson House Photo - Wausau