During his career, Frank Lloyd Wright built only one house in Tennessee: the Shavin House, perched on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga. Now, this unique piece of American architectural history is on the market.
The home, at 334 North Crest Road, was built in 1949 after newlyweds Seamour – a building materials salesman with an appreciation for modern design – and Gerte Shavin decided that, rather than buying an existing home, they would channel their savings into commissioning a residence from the era's most celebrated architect. They paid roughly $33,000 for the house and its Wright-designed built-in furniture, a considerable sum for the time.
Wright designed the home in his Usonian tradition – a design philosophy centred on the idea of the ideal American home: modest in scale, with open interiors, abundant natural light and a strong relationship between architecture and landscape. The Shavin residence embodies these principles, built from native Tennessee Crab Orchard stone and Louisiana cypress.
Wright himself never set foot on the Chattanooga site; construction was overseen by Marvin Bachman, one of his apprentices from Taliesin, Wright’s home, studio and school complex in Wisconsin. Bachman died in a car accident before the project was finished, but the house was nonetheless completed in 1952. It remained in the Shavin family for more than seven decades – Seamour, who also served as the home's general contractor, lived there until his death in 2005, while Gerte remained part-time until 2020.
Signature Wright touches are everywhere: a hidden entrance that reveals the main living spaces only after entry, clerestory windows, mitred glass corners that dissolve the visual boundary between interior and exterior, and a massive stone fireplace centerpiece. A dramatic cantilevered carport roof extends outward from the main building, while inside, Wright's signature built-in seating, shelving and cabinetry unify architecture and interior.
The Shavin House does depart from Wright’s usual style in one notable way: while many of his houses tuck into their surroundings, this one commands the top of Missionary Ridge, with sweeping views of the Tennessee River, Lookout Mountain and downtown Chattanooga. This distinctive character earned the home a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, and it became Chattanooga's first official local landmark in 1995.
With its entrance to market, the Shavin House offers the chance to steward one of fewer than 100 completed Usonian houses in existence. While it may not carry the fame of Fallingwater or the Robie House, many consider it one of the finest surviving examples of Wright’s residential philosophy.
The Shavin House is on the market with Sotherby’s International Realty for $1.6 million.