ASBH In New Jersey

In doing some recent research on Frank Lloyd Wright's American System-built House designs, I learned that the designs were resurrected in the late 1990s for a neighborhood development project in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I decided to do a little more digging and see if I could find out more of this story and if any were built. More after the jump...

Turns out that around 1999, an state government entity called The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) was interested in trying to redevelop major areas of Atlantic City using casino money (hence the name of the organization). I did a little internet digging and found a press release and a New York Times article about CRDA choosing the Taliesin Associated Archtiects (the now defunct legacy firm started by Frank Lloyd Wright) to use Wright's American System-built House designs as the basis for affordable-housing neighborhood called Washington Square.

From there, I did a little more searching until I uncovered the area in question on a map and then got a Bing bird's-eye view of the area to see if I could pick out anything that looked "Wright." Here's what I found:

Bingo! To sweeten the deal, I also came across one of the homes listed for sale with some better exterior and interior photos:

 

Follow the link to see interior shots, but be warned--they are not "Wright" by any means. It's amazing what you can find on the internet with a little luck and a lot of persistance. It would be great to see this Organic Architecture approach to affordable housing given new life in other places of the country (and maybe with a more "PrairieMod" approach to the interior.)

If anyone has any other information or photos they want to share about this New Jersey project, feel free to send it along and we'll be happy to post on it.

Images via HABS, Bing Maps and realtor.com

Comments

[Anthony Thompson]

Couldn't find any interior shots, but love the exteriors! : ) Nice find!