frank lloyd wright’s rare usonian automatic house joins US national register of historic places

Oct 16, 2025 - 22:00

frank lloyd wright’s rare usonian automatic house joins US national register of historic places

Kalil House by frank lloyd wright gains national heritage status

The United States Secretary of the Interior has officially listed the Kalil House in Manchester, New Hampshire, US, in the National Register of Historic Places, a rare recognition for one of only seven Usonian Automatic homes ever constructed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The property, now owned by the Currier Museum of Art, stands as one of the best-preserved examples of the architect’s late-career vision for democratic, high-quality housing accessible to the American middle class.

Located on Heather Street in Manchester’s North End, just three doors down from Wright’s Zimmerman House, the Kalil House retains an extraordinary degree of authenticity. Since its completion in 1957, it has undergone no alterations or major restorations, preserving nearly all of its original Wright-designed furniture, lighting, fixtures, rugs, and textiles. Even the stainless-steel kitchen appliances remain largely intact, offering an almost time-capsule view into Wright’s holistic design philosophy.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kalil House in Manchester, New Hampshire, US | image via Currier Museum of Art

one of the seven Usonian Automatic ever built

The Kalil House represents a late chapter in Frank Lloyd Wright’s lifelong pursuit to redefine American domestic architecture. The Usonian Automatic series, a variant of his earlier Usonian concept, aimed to combine affordability, simplicity, and beauty through modular concrete construction. Wright patented a system of interlocking blocks reinforced with horizontal and vertical steel rods, theoretically allowing homeowners to fabricate and assemble their own dwellings.

In practice, the process proved far more demanding than envisioned. The Kalil House alone required 2,580 blocks weighing over 150 tons in total, and though its estimated cost was $25,000, the final figure tripled to $75,000.

Only seven Usonian Automatic houses were ever built, and among them, the Kalil House is recognized as the one retaining the highest level of integrity. Its single-story concrete structure rests on a red-tinted slab floor scored into 60-centimeter squares, with a flat roof that extends into deep overhangs. The home’s L-shaped plan organizes three distinct zones that include living and dining, kitchen and utility, and gallery and bedrooms. Inside, Philippine mahogany panels and doors line the concrete block walls, all fabricated locally by C.J. Boselli Fixture Manufacturing in Manchester, which also produced the built-in furniture, shelving, and lamps.

all images via Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, unless stated otherwise

From private home to public heritage

Dr. Toufic and Mildred Kalil commissioned Wright in 1954 after being inspired by the Zimmerman House belonging to their friends and neighbors, Dr. Isadore and Lucille Zimmerman. Dr. Kalil, a Lebanese-born physician and pioneer in medical radiation therapy, sought a residence that embodied both functionality and quiet innovation, qualities that Wright’s Usonian ideals promised.

The property also includes a small, unfinished guest house, the only original outbuilding ever designed to accompany a Usonian Automatic home. Though it was never completed for habitation, its design and materials mirror those of the main structure, further emphasizing the coherence of Wright’s modular vision.

one of only seven Usonian Automatic homes ever constructed | image via Currier Museum of Art

A new chapter under the Currier Museum

After remaining in the Kalil family for over six decades, longer than any other Usonian Automatic residence, the home opened to the public in 2019. Listed for the first time on the open market, it was purchased by an anonymous donor who entrusted it to the Currier Museum of Art. The museum, which already stewards the neighboring Zimmerman House, offers the rare opportunity to explore two distinct Wright homes in direct dialogue, one representing the Usonian ideal, the other its automatic evolution.

The Kalil House continues to embody Wright’s enduring experiment with modularity, material honesty, and the democratization of design. Its addition to the National Register of Historic Places secures its preservation and reinforces its significance as a rare, unaltered testament to mid-century modern innovation.

since its completion in 1957 the house has undergone no alterations or major restorations