Meyer May House
| Meyer May House | |
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| General information | |
| Type | Brick house |
| Architectural style | Prairie School |
| Location | 450 Madison Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI |
| Coordinates | 42°57′15″N 85°39′33″W / 42.954189°N 85.659189°WCoordinates: 42°57′15″N 85°39′33″W / 42.954189°N 85.659189°W |
| Construction started | 1908 |
| Completed | 1909 |
| Governing body | Steelcase |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
The Meyer May House is a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house in the Heritage Hill Historic District of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the United States. It was built in 1908-09, and is located at 450 Madison Avenue SE. It is considered a fine example of Wright's Prairie School era, and "Michigan's Prairie masterpiece".
The Meyer May House was commissioned in 1908 by Meyer S. May, president of May's clothing store in Grand Rapids, and his wife Sophie. The house's appearance stands in contrast to the Victorian houses typical of the period and the Heritage Hill neighborhood.
Meyer May House is stylistically typical of Wright's Prairie houses, a two story, T-plan constructed of pale brick, with hip roofs and long broad eaves, art glass windows and skylights. The first floor windows are tucked under the eaves and raised from ground level, providing both privacy and providing light to the staircase and second floor gallery.
Wright carefully sited the house to allow maximum southern exposure for the living room windows and skylights and to create a spacious yard for the perennial gardens. Leaded and colored glass accented doors and casement windows open out to terraces and gardens with garden walls and planters incorporated into the design.
Inside, wood grills hide the radiators, iridescent strips of gold art glass were placed in the horizontal grout lines of both brick fireplaces. A pastel mural of hollyhocks created by George Niedecken is featured on a dividing wall between the living room and dining room. The mural had been painted over, but has since been restored. Niedecken also supervised and coordinated the home's interior, which was completed in 1910.
In 1922, two bedrooms were added upstairs, as were servants' quarters on the ground floor. May died in 1936 and the house remained empty for six years, not selling until 1942. Sold again in 1945, carports and additional entrances were added, and the bedroom additions were rented out.
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