Skip to main content

Image / The dining area of the Berger residence in San Anselmo [photograph]

Have a question about this item?

Item information. View source record on contributor's website.

Title
The dining area of the Berger residence in San Anselmo [photograph]
Creator
Zimmerman, Scot
Date Created and/or Issued
circa 1987
Publication Information
Marin County Free Library, Anne T. Kent California Room
Contributing Institution
Marin County Free Library
Collection
Frank Lloyd Wright and the Marin County Civic Center
Rights Information
copyrighted
These interior and exterior views of the Berger House were taken by Scot Zimmerman and copyright resides with him.
Zimmerman, Scot
http://www.scotzimmermanphotography.com/
Description
The Berger House in San Anselmo was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Robert and Gloria Berger. In the early 1950s, mechanical engineer, Robert Berger, then a teacher at the College of Marin, decided to build a family home. He did not like the conventional “boxy” plans of the period and wrote to Wright asking him to design a home which was expandable, inexpensive and easy for one person to build. Wright wrote back requesting photographs and a topographical map of the site. The Korean War interrupted Berger’s plans but he had the opportunity to meet Wright in Wisconsin after a stint with the Army on the East Coast. Berger told Wright he could afford no more than $1500 for the architectural fee and a maximum of $15,000 for the home’s construction. Wright agreed to these terms and in January of 1953, sent Berger the preliminary drawings. Construction began the following April under the guidance of Wright’s San Francisco Associate, Aaron Green. By 1957 the core living area was complete and the couple and their four children moved in. Two years later, the bedroom wing was finished. Throughout this period, Berger did most of the work himself. The final details took much longer, particularly after Berger fell ill in 1969. When he died in 1973, Gloria Berger hired a professional carpenter to finish the job, including the construction of the Wright-designed furniture. The house is built of stone, glass, wood and concrete, complementing the colors and shapes of the surrounding landscape and exemplifying Wright’s concept of organic architecture. The windows frame views of the Fairfax and San Anselmo hills and a triangular deck juts off the main living area.
Type
image
Format
1 photograph : digital, TIFF file, color.
Identifier
csrcl_708
http://contentdm.marinlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/flw/id/29
Language
English
Subject
Architecture, Domestic
Organic architecture--California
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
Berger, Robert
Place
San Anselmo (Calif.)
Marin County (Calif.)
Relation
http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt0q2nc5z2
http://marinlibrary.org/californiaroom

About the collections in Calisphere

Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. View our statement on digital primary resources.

Copyright, permissions, and use

If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.

Share your story

Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.

Explore related content on Calisphere: