The Midcentury Preservation Society recently released a list of cities with the most mid-century modern houses. While the top 25 included the usual suspects—New York, Chicago, Palm Springs, etc.—there were some surprises. The list reveals the extent to which the style truly swept the nation. It allows lovers of MCM architecture to find extraordinary examples of this distinctly American style and the changing postwar worldview that inspired it in some unexpected places!
The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio in Midland, Michigan. PC: Mid-Century Midland.
Midland, Michigan
A little less than two hours northwest of Detroit is Midland, Michigan, a small city with approximately 40,000 people. It was also the home of Alden B. Dow, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. Dow introduced revolutionary, Wright-inspired designs to Midland in the early 1930s, eventually designing more than 130 buildings over a 50-year period. Now, the city boasts more than 400 mid-century modern structures, and the star of the show is none other than Dow’s own home and studio. It’s distinguished by brilliant colors, sloping roof lines, and low profiles that make it almost appear as though it is floating on the surface of the pond that surrounds it.
A 1961 mid-century modern home in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Vista Larga Historic District. PC: Old House Dreams.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque doubled in size between 1950 and 1960, and that population boom drove a corresponding burst of mid-century modern home construction. New Mexico’s largest city, Albuquerque, is the site of the Vista Larga Historic District, the first such designation in the state that is awarded for the breadth and diversity of mid-century modern residential architecture found there. Vista Larga includes 112 homes and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It’s a noteworthy example of a postwar suburban housing development comprised entirely of modernist house styles. Local architects of the period include Art Dekker, whose own simply designed, streamlined, desert-colored home is a regional landmark.
The Hugo Victor Neuhaus Jr. house in Houston, Texas. PC: PaperyCity.
Houston, Texas
The home that Texas architect Hugo Victor Newhouse Jr. built for himself in 1950 – and where he lived for almost 40 years – has been a darling of mid-century design from the start. House Beautiful gave the home a multipage spread in 1954 and, in 1959, House & Garden magazine featured it as well. It is on the National Register, classified as a Landmark of the City of Houston, and there is a Texas Historical Marker. It is designed in the Miesian style, influenced by modernist icon Mies van der Rohe, and features a central steel framework that allows for sweeping floor-to-ceiling windows and doors, blurring the lines between inside and out—a key element of that style.
Philadelphia home designed for the Menon family by Kling Lindquist firm. PC: Philadelphia Magazine.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In the 1960s and ’70s, a loosely formed consortium of architects and design firms became informally known as the “Philadelphia School” of architecture. They established a philosophy of creating buildings that were even more open and flowing than those designed and built by their contemporaries elsewhere.
Their stated goal was to create expansive, flexible, and adaptable spaces, and the architecture firm Kling Lindquist was the largest and most influential in the city during this period. The house they designed for the Menon family in 1956, true to the characteristics of many mid-century modern homes, uses wood, stone, and glass in both exterior and interior spaces, with ample access to terraces that make the small but heavily wooded lot as much a part of the home as the structure itself. At the same time, the layout of the property maximizes privacy. The home is close to many of the city’s most visited cultural, recreational, and business districts but feels as though it is in a deep forest.
A 1961 Francis Gassner home in Memphis, Tennessee. PC: Atomic Ranch.
Memphis, Tennessee
A 1961 home in Memphis, Tennessee, is characterized by a linear plan organized around an entry courtyard, vaulted roof planes, deep overhangs, cove lighting, and tambour paneling throughout the interior. Interestingly, the current owners had no idea who the original architect was. The home had been remodeled and “improved” so much over the years that many of the features that might identify the designer were lost. However, while restoring the home, they discovered that its creator was Francis Gassner, one of the most prominent architects in the region from the 1950s until his death in 1977. In fact, every year AIA Memphis honors a local architect with its Gassner Award for outstanding contributions to Memphis’ built environments. Using original blueprints, the owners determined what needed to be reconstructed and what could be sensitively updated. As a result, the home is not only a glorious example of mid-century modern design but a thoughtful guide for updating these homes to accommodate today’s standards and lifestyles.
A 1963 Fritz Woehle home in Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. PC: Dezeen
Birmingham, Alabama
Deep in the woods in Mountain Brook, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, is a 1963 home designed by Fritz Woehle, a prominent local architect known for expressive modern design and the first from Alabama to be awarded the title of Fellow by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1975. The most distinguishing element is a two-story glass atrium that gives homeowners access to breathtaking mountain views, with most of the rooms oriented around that space and towards the exterior. In keeping with one of the unifying principles of mid-century modern design, the home was sited, designed, and built to interact with the nature that surrounds it, making the forest a part of the house itself.
A Truly National Style
Mid-century modern design can be found throughout the entire country. In every region—from the upper Midwest to the vast expanses of Texas, colonial-era cities, and into the Deep South—the philosophy and aesthetic that took root in American society after World War II found expression. Regional designers, craftsmen, and artisans made full use of elements unique to each area to create homes that speak to a uniquely American movement, wherever they lived, created, and built.
In Kansas City, the mid-century modern movement is definitely well represented with striking commercial buildings and hundreds of stunning residences across the metro! As a realtor with a deep passion for this design era, Ashley Kendrick has been instrumental in sharing that enthusiasm for mid-century modern design with homeowners throughout the area. If you are looking to buy, sell, or renovate your own mid-century modern home, contact Ashely Kendrick today!
