Allen House a work of art

A century-old work of art, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Allen House must be handled with great care and safeguarded for future generations. That makes it especially welcome news for Wichita that the architectural treasure now is open not just by appointment but during regular hours, with more access to come.

The house at 255 N. Roosevelt in the College Hill neighborhood is open for tours at 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays; in May its hours will expand to include 10 a.m. the first Saturday of the month and 7 p.m. the first Thursday of the month (cost is $12, or $10 for seniors and students; for reservations or more information, go to www.fllwallenhouse.org or call 316-687-1027). Friday-night garden parties and Christmastime tours also are in the works.

To see the house from the inside is to realize its importance to the history of 20th-century American design, and how lucky Wichita is to have it.

Considered the last of the 200 homes that Wright designed in his famed prairie style, the Allen House is one of only two Wright-designed buildings in Kansas (the other is Wichita State University’s Corbin Education Center). The architect counted the house among his best, and its angles, colors, leaded glass, light fixtures and furnishings demonstrate both his attention to the last detail and his seamless interplay of living space and nature.

Wright designed the home in 1915 for Henry and Elsie Allen. Henry Allen, the publisher of the Wichita Beacon, would become governor (1919-23) and U.S. senator (1929-30).

Reportedly designed and built for $29,000, the Allen House is now priceless as a piece of Wichita’s heritage, and a magnet for Wright aficionados from around the world. Thanks are due the donors, volunteer gardeners and docents, and other caretakers who are enabling its easier access and wider appreciation.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Allen House a work of art."