Cedric and Patricia Boulter House Cincinnati by Frank Lloyd Wright

Cedric & Patricia Boulter House
1 Rawson Woods Circle
Cincinnati, Ohio

Frank Lloyd Wright 1954

Originally built for University of Cincinnati professor Cedric Boulter and his wife in 1954, the 2,700 square feet Usonian occupies a corner lot not far from the bustle of the busy UC campus, and yet feels secluded enough to appear almost suburban. Constructed of concrete block, plate glass and mahogany (stained in "Taliesin red"), the home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Unlike most Usonian homes, which are usually single-story structures sitting on one to three acre lots, the Boulter House has two floors and sits on a smaller, sloped half-acre lot. Due to its placement, the home seems to dominate the block with its cantilevered balconies protruding from the main volume. From street level, one can admire the living room with its large windows and balcony. This lack of privacy seems almost un-Wrightian, though considering the location of the home it is understandable.

Like most Wright homes, the entrance is hidden from view, and is accessible through the parking area behind the house. A carport, which originally connected the main living space (on the left) to a storage room (on the right), was converted into a room in 1990. The room's fenestration and form were modeled after the storage room and do not seem to greatly hinder the design. By far the most interesting portion of the home from street level is the large living space and its mahogany panels, which not only give the home a textural appeal but also appear to shift during the day according to sunlight.

Its most recent owners (another University of Cincinnati professor and his wife) recently sold the home, which is one of three Wright houses built in Cincinnati, at auction for $400,000. Included in the auction were built in cabinetry, desks, beds, chairs and freestanding pieces designed especially for the Boulter house.

K. Bellon 2003

How to visit

Before being sold at auction, the home was a private residence and it appears as though it will stay as such under the new owners. Prior to this sale, the home was open for tours once a year; these tours will no longer be available.

The home is located in the Ludlow portion of Clifton (a neighborhood north of downtown Cincinnati), and is easily seen from street level. Not far from the University of Cincinnati campus (about a mile away from the Aronoff Center for Design and Art), the house is easily accessed from the campus area. Simply travel north on Clifton Avenue, make a left on Resor Avenue (just past Ludlow Ave.) making a right (North) on Middleton Ave and a left (West) on Rawson Woods Lane. The Boulter house will be on your right hand side.

The nearest highway is I-75, and the house is about two miles away from it. From I-75 northbound, take exit #3 , go East on Hopple St., East on Martin Luther King Dr., North on Clifton Ave. Clifton turn left on Warren, go 1 block, turn left on Middleton then right on Rawson Woods Lane.

Books and other web sites

Click the book titles to view and to order direct from

	Understanding Frank Lloyd Wright's Architecture Donald Hoffmann A highly readable, generalist account of the influences, development and innovations of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture, well illustrated.
	Wright Sites : A Guide to Frank Lloyd Wright Public Places Arlene Sanderson (editor) A practical visitors' guide to thirty six publicly accessible Frank Lloyd Wright sites, with a straightforward one or two page description of each, with black and white photographs.
www.geocities.com/SoHo/1469 provides both its own Frank Lloyd Wright content and a set of links to other Frank Lloyd Wright sites on the web. All links outside galinsky will open in a new window. Close it when you've finished, or use the Window menu on your browser, to return to galinsky.