.
Feedback

Frank Lloyd Wright-Designed San Anselmo Home Listed for $2.5 Million

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed a San Anselmo residence that Robert Berger, a Marin engineering teacher, could build on his own in the 1950s.

 

A Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in San Anselmo has been listed for $2.5 million.

The 1,760-square-foot home, designed and built in the 1950s, has views overlooking San Anselmo and the surrounding hills.

Designing the 259 Redwood Road home, called the Berger Residence, was a largely unfulfilled dream for the widely celebrated architect who designed the Guggenheim Museum in New York City in the 1950s as well as many other large projects. The attached PDF tells the story of how Wright, the designer of Marin’s Civic Center, often sought to design homes for the “person of modest means.”

Robert Berger, an engineering teacher in Marin, approached Wright in 1950 with the request Wright design a house Berger can build himself. His “shot in the dark” proposal was returned with news from Wright’s secretary that Wright would design the house for $15,000.

Berger lived in a tent during the first phase of the construction. It reportedly took him five years of building before he could move into the home. 

The family camped in sleeping bags until the bedroom wing was completed, two years after Berger’s wife, Gloria and their four children could move into the main living area. More details of the story can be found in the attached PDF.

Wright also designed furniture and a famous doghouse, which was commissioned by Berger’s son, to match the residence.

What do you think of the home? Would you want to own a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright? 

"Like" us on Facebook | Follow us Twitter | Get "Patched" in with our newsletter | Start a blog

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Mill Valley Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Loading comments ...
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Rhonda J. (Smith) McCormick May 18, 2013 at 04:14 pm
So wish I could be there for the Memorial Day Parade and picnic. I used to join in the fun forRead More years!
Rico May 15, 2013 at 05:16 pm
I guess I can't hit the enter button because that submits the post so from now on (until they fixRead More the problem), all of my posts will be one paragraph. What Angelina did was her choice, based on the multi-billion dollar per cancer industry, and by the people that like do unnecessary surgeries to line their pockets. Ask one of those male doctors if he is willing to have his testicles removed "just in case" he might get testicular cancer in the future. I'll bet that they would laugh at anyone who proposed that question. There are many ways that people can take care of their bodies to prevent cancer, like taking vitamin D, magnesium, selenium, turmeric and many more anti-inflammatory herbs. Also diet and environmental factors play a role in the pre-disposition to get cancer. In most cases, genes only play about a 5% role in a chance of inheriting or contracting cancer. But this big business of cancer research doesn't want hear about anything else besides expensive pharmaceutical drugs and surgery, anything else would threaten their business model. This post is a test of the new Patch commenting system.
Rico May 15, 2013 at 04:55 pm
Yes, and she also announced that she is considering having her ovaries removed also.
Rico May 15, 2013 at 11:04 am
Thanks Jim W. for your reply and explaining things to us. I look forward to a new Patch where peopleRead More are more considerate of other's opinions. I hope the new filters get rid of the hacker/trolls. And by the way, if you don't port over the comments about the transgender shower sharing article that I glanced at last night, you will be doing all of us a favor !
Jim Welte (Editor) May 15, 2013 at 10:32 am
Thanks Rico. You make great points. We had a bit of a tech glitch in that some content from earlierRead More this week did not migrate over yet to the new sites - but it'll all be there soon. And yes, we'll have more info on how to navigate the site. I'll direct you here with any specific questions for now: https://patchsupport.zendesk.com/home But if that doesn't cover it or if you'd prefer to ask me, feel free - happy to help. And that goes for anyone out there with a question about how to get around on the new site.