This Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired townhouse is for sale for $475,000 in Wauwatosa
When Henry and Mariann Cox Landa bought an empty lot in Wauwatosa thirty years ago, they saw it as a blank canvas.
Henry, an engineer by training, had tried his hand at architecture once before, when he built a small arthouse theater in Bayview.
For his second-ever project, he built a home from scratch, overseeing the design and construction himself. Mariann, a music teacher and a student of interior design, set the vision for its unique interior.
The unusual townhome — an angular, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired design with soaring windows — stands out on the quiet block of West Michigan Street.
Thirty years later, that home is for sale, listed for $475,000 by Judy Fox with Worth Realty.
Design inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Bogk House
When designing his own home, Henry turned to many architectural greats.
A plaque out front pays tribute to his influences: Bauhaus architects Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe — and, most importantly, Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Bogk House — a Frank Lloyd Wright house on Terrace Avenue — was the model for Landa's design.
Years back, Henry and Mariann got the chance to tour the house themselves. Henry was taken by its strong vertical lines, a prominent chimney and an overhanging roof.
Wright designed the home more than a hundred years ago for Milwaukee politician Frederick C. Bogk. Last year, it sold for the second time in the house's history, for $1.7 million.
Henry's homage to Wright is all rectangles.
A flat, rectangular roof juts out from the boxy home. Wide, rectangular windows stretch to the second floor.
Living room designed for acoustics, entertainment
Natural light floods in through the front windows and into the living room, where Henry and Mariann used to host dinner parties.
The spacious room, with red oak floors, was designed for entertaining. Mariann, an accomplished musician, would sit at the piano and perform for guests.
When he built the living room, the acoustics were top of mind. He made sure to pick sound-absorbing material for the ceiling, so Mariann's music wouldn't echo.
Mariann helped design the bold, colorful interior
Later in life, Mariann — who had a master's degree in music from the University of Michigan — took up interior design.
When designing the home's interior, Mariann enlisted the help of her Milwaukee Area Technical College instructor.
That bespoke style sets the home apart from its "Millennial gray" counterparts.
The kitchen island is lined with blue tile, and the kitchen floors are an asymmetric checkerboard. Blue walls in the kitchen give way to a purple stairwell. Upstairs, the bedroom carpeting is green.
"The Mariann Cox Townhouse" took years to design and build
Building a home from scratch takes time.
The Landas started construction in 1992 and didn't move in until 1996.
The plaque out front shares some of that history for future owners.
It also gives the home an official name: "The Mariann Cox Townhouse."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired townhouse listed in Wauwatosa for $475,000
