Hand-drawn overhead design of the "Residence for Dr. Donald S. Grover, Syracuse New York," executed under Frank Lloyd Wright's oversight at his studio, 36 x 27, with the inside of the hand-drawn red 'Taliesen' box to the bottom left signed by Wright in pencil, "F. LL. W, Mch. 15/50." Impressively triple-matted and framed to an overall size of 45 x 37.5. The drawing is accompanied by a complete bound set of nine printed working blueprints, 36.5 x 29.75, comprising plans for the plot (including layout, gravel, elevation, and grading); ground floor (including plumbing and heating details); main floor (including wiring and electrical symbols); mezzanine (including masonry); elevation; sections-work (including space, glazing, linoleum, carpentry, millwork, and hardware); mezzanine framing; roof framing; and millwork details. In overall very good to fine condition, with light creasing and stains to the drawing, and edge tears and creasing to the rolled blueprints, heaviest to the edges, with the ninth blueprint sheet no longer bound to set.
The Grover House was based on Wright's 'solar hemicycle' concept, in which curved walls optimize a structure's exposure to the sun. The famed architect employed the principle in a number of dwellings, including the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs Second House in Middleton, Wisconsin [Jacobs II, 1948], a design of which he was so proud, that Wright merely reversed that plan, with minor changes, for the Grover commission. Due to either cost or design or both, Grover ultimately rejected the plan and the house was never built. A remarkable, meticulous design from one of the world's greatest architects.
