Several weekends ago I went on Wright & Like 2009: Madison, a tour of architectural wonders including homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and other Prairie School architects of that era. It was a wonderful experience, even though the threat of rain was ever-present. I went through six homes, including one that was open to a public tour for the first time (the John and Ruth Pew home.) It will take me a few weeks, but I’ll post photographs of the all of the homes I toured.
This immense home, approximately 10,800 square feet of space, was built as a wedding present for Harold C. Bradley, a professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and his fiancee, Josephine Crane, the grand-daughter of the founder of the Crane plumbing company. Her father engaged Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright’s mentor, to design the home. George Elmslie, one of the finest craftsmen in the period, did the exterior and interior woodwork and the elegant interior furnishings. The home was constructed in 1908-09. This was Louis Sullivan’s last residential undertaking, and in it he implemented many of the ideas of Wright and other Prairie School architects.
The home, located just south of the UW campus, was too large for the lifestyles of the Bradleys, and the size of the home made it difficult for the hearing-impaired Mrs. Bradley to supervise her young children. The Bradleys therefore sold the home to the Sigma Phi fraternity in 1915 and it remains a fraternity house to this day.
The Wright & Like tour provided an inside tour of the house, and though no interior photographs were allowed, it is evident that the Sigma Chi’s continue to maintain this architectural gem in the fashion it was intended. (I did find a blog which shows the lovely interior of several rooms, including a photograph of the circular dining room table which accommodates 16-well worth taking a look at.)
This home was nearly destroyed by a St. Patrick’s evening fire in 1972. Only one member of the fraternity was at home during the time and he escaped without injury. However, the second floor of the house was in ruins, and the first floor suffered from water and smoke damage. Due to the generosity of A. C. Nielson, the Nielson ratings guy and an alumnus of Sigma Chi, and other donors, a substantial restoration took place. Neilson and his son, also an alum, continue to assist in the support and maintenance of this architectural masterpiece.
Elmslie designed the fretwork of the home’s exterior, including this detail which is on the enclosed front room of the house, and originally an open sleeping porch. The home’s interior woodwork and furniture retained this design, and some of it still remains in the home.
The home was placed on the National Historical Landmark after the restoration, a designation given to only the most historically-important buildings. It really is one of the most interesting of all the Wright-inspired homes I’ve toured, and I really have to give credit to the members of Sigma Phi who are living a part of history and taking care of a national treasure.







