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10 great Frank Lloyd Wright home tours

Larry Bleiberg
Special for USA TODAY

Although Frank Lloyd Wright died more than a half century ago, he remains one of the world's most popular architects. His work still has a distinct, modern style using natural materials and light, and harmonizing with nature. "He was way ahead of his time," says Thomas Heinz, author of the Frank Lloyd Wright Field Guide (Northwestern University Press, $39.95). With Wright's 148th birthday on Monday, June 8, it's a perfect time to visit his creations. Heinz shares some favorite Wright buildings open to the public with Larry Bleiberg for USA TODAY.

B. Harley Bradley House
Kankakee, Ill.
Wright's first Prairie-style house, built in 1900, shows what would become the architect's hallmarks: long rows of windows, stained glass and a low-pitched roofline. In addition, Wright created an entire living environment. "He built all custom furniture for this house. All the clients did was bring their clothes," Heinz says. 815-936-9630; wrightinkankakee.org

David and Gladys Wright House
Phoenix
The architect built this house for his third son in 1950, designing the spiral building to capture desert breezes and cool the house naturally. Many consider it a precursor to Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum in New York. "It's circular, kind of unusual for Wright. He was really into geometry, but not perfect symmetry," Heinz says. 602-689-6140; davidwrighthouse.org

Kentuck Knob
Chalk Hill, Pa.
While many people visit Fallingwater, Wright's masterpiece that's built over a waterfall, Heinz suggests stopping by this nearby stone and wood home too. "It's on a great site, on the top of a hill," he says. "The kitchen is the best room. It's built as if it was a stone chimney, but the top is a skylight, and it's so beautiful." 724-329-1901; kentuckknob.com

Rosenbaum House
Florence, Ala.
Wright's only building in Alabama has been called the purest form of his Usonian design, the name he gave for affordable homes within the reach of middle-class families. This one features plenty of glass, blurring the distinction between indoors and outdoors. It also has a carport, a phrase Wright popularized. "These were made for the common man. It's a quiet house and that's what they wanted," Heinz says. 256-718-5050; wrightinalabama.com

Henry J. Allen House
Wichita, Kan.
This home, built for a former Kansas governor, was one of the last of Wright's Prairie style homes, and contains furnishings designed for the building. The architect called it one of his best works. Heinz particularly likes the distinct horizontal brick, which contains iron. "It sort of turns to an iridescent crusty brown, which is just beautiful," he says. 316-687-1027; fllwallenhouse.org

Zimmerman House
Manchester, N.H.
This home's simple design places all the rooms, except one, in a single line. Wright adapted the house to accommodate a rock just outside the front entrance. "It was there and he built around it," Heinz says. Furnishings include Wright innovations like a quartet music stand built for four people. The house is one of the few Wright homes owned and operated by an art museum. 603-669-6144; currier.org

Samara House
West Lafayette, Ind.
Wright made a special effort to cater this home to the needs of his client, a Purdue University professor, who still lives on the site. "The living room was made to accommodate 50-some people because he would have students come to his house," Heinz says. Wright designed the room with a long couch and also room for sitting on the stairs. This summer, visitors to Virginia's Tidewater area can see a temporary exhibit on the home at the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center. 765-409-5522; samara-house.org

Emil Bach House
Chicago
This building on Chicago's Far North Side is available as a vacation house rental. A rare urban Prairie-style building, it's based on a geometric cube design and similar to homes in Milwaukee and La Grange, Ill., although the exteriors are different. All have elements of plans the architect first published in Ladies Home Journal magazine in 1907. 773-654-3959; emilbachhouse.com

Paul Hanna House
Palo Alto, Calif.
Stanford University now owns this hexagon-shaped redwood house that Wright built for a professor and his wife. The house has no right angles on its floor plan, and shows the architect's experimentation with open-space design. Heinz particularly likes the tall kitchen and the house's siting. "It's beautifully situated on a little ridge." 650-725-8352; hannahousetours.stanford.edu

American System-Built Homes
Milwaukee
Wright experimented with a low-cost building system using pre-cut materials that would be assembled on site, reducing waste and construction costs. A few were built, including this concentration of two homes and four duplex apartments in Wisconsin. Tours are offered on most Saturdays. 608-287-0339; wrightinmilwaukee.org

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