When is a Bruce Goff house not a Bruce Goff house? When the architect and his protégé client have a dispute. Such is the case with the semi-circular “Round House” in Dallas, Texas. Built over a course of nearly six years beginning in 1957 by importer Eddie Parker who studied architecture at Auburn University, the house remained substantially unaltered prior to its sale for the first time in 2009. The most drastic alteration was the tragic removal of the magical trellised dome covering the motor court; hopefully it will be restored in the future. And that’s a possibility as the house is once again on the market, allowing us to take a tour of the inside!
As you’ll see, there is plenty of originality still intact… let’s hope it stays that way! While its attribution remains murky, the house sure looks, walks and quacks like a Bruce Goff house:
The Round House as it appeared in 2008. The signature domed trellis still covered the motor court. Image courtesy Google Street View.
The curved entry window wall of Frankoma tiles is remarkably similar to the entry of Goff’s Frank House. Image source: zillow.com
The fireplace in the conversation pit in the living area. Image source: zillow.com
Another view, with the entry virtually hidden in the curved window wall at right. Image source: zillow.com
The stone-veneered wall screens the kitchen from the dining room. Image source: zillow.com
The kitchen has had some updates… Image source: zillow.com
Of all the delightful circular forms in this house, my favorites are the ones built into the masonry which are illuminated! Image source: zillow.com
Or maybe the circles on this ceiling… Image source: zillow.com
Wait! No; it’s the round bed! Image source: zillow.com
One of several great tiled mosaics and a dramatic open staircase in the basement… on what appears to be a terrazzo floor. There was an indoor pool in the basement originally, but it has been moved outdoors. Image source: zillow.com
Another bedroom… Image source: zillow.com
This tiled bath is still a knock-out after more than half a century. Image source: zillow.com
An aerial view of the house after the dome was removed. the angular roof section behind the house covers the outdoor pool – a later addition. Image courtesy Google Satellite.
The new pool replaced the original indoor one in the basement.
The exterior in 2008. Image courtesy Google Street View.
The exterior since the dome was removed. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Entrance to the motor court from the driveway. Image source: zillow.com
The front doors within the Frankoma-tiled window wall. Image source: zillow.com
A final look at the magical domed trellis before its removal.
Amazing place! It certainly “reads” Goff to me. I wonder why the trellising came down? Simply cosmetic, or I wonder if there was some structural issue. Thanks for sharing this – not all 100% there, but still pretty darn amazing!
From what I’ve read online, it appears that the removal of the dome took place just before the property was listed for sale. I’m just speculating, but my guess is that it was done in an attempt to “normalize” the house and make it attractive to more buyers; I don’t think there were any problems with it physically. How cool would it be to come home and pull into a round motor court covered with a dome of ivy?! Hopefully the next owner will restore it – and other lost features.
Yes! That would be cool. I find it interesting that some people just can’t/won’t live “normal”. Who wouldn’t want to live in something that just screams happy thoughts all day? I probably said this earlier, but Syd, who lives at the Ford House, told me that it was actually difficult to be unhappy while in the house. It just perked him up while he was there. A natural anti-depressant.
I need to start making my own house much weirder, then! Everyone should! I think that our physical surroundings do have a much deeper affect on us than is generally acknowledged. They don’t have to be expensive or fancy, but do need to be interesting… life is just too short to have boring surroundings!
Derek, I was raised across the street from the Ford home in Aurora Illinois. Our mid century house was built in 1947 by the same contractor, who was working with Bruce Goff.
The Ford house was a ball for the kids who lived in it (Conrad Hilton’s son and grandson and family in 1960) and for the kids who visited another owner and his family in the mid seventies.
That is the coolest house I’ve ever seen.
COWABUNGA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE goff houses make FLW stuff look like trailers or tar paper shacks. It’s like some of the better early 20th really big mansions – every detail is thought out and works with every other detail. stuff isn’t just ordered from a catalog and everyday items are used but in such unique ways they become extraordinary. places like these should have protection. it should be a crime to alter them. i hope this finds a sympathetic new owner who will bring back the dome.
While I admire Goff’s work and his brilliance, and am often gobsmacked by it, I don’t love his work.
But…I love love love this house.
Goff’s work often embodies an, ahh, tackiness which is lacking in this highly elegant house.
So, my two cents? This is an Eddie Parker house.
Nothing about this house said GOFF to me.
That Frankoma-tiled wall! WOWOWOWOWOWOW! So, there are only two of these walls in the world? This one and the one at the Frank house? Yes, there are certainly things about the house that are a bit much for me…. Too much stone, too much wood, too much terrazzo, but I don’t care, I would live there in a heart beat (setting aside my pact with a friend that I will never live in Texas). This house is stunning on every level and I can only hope somebody can see it for what it is and carry forward the beauty that is (and restore the dome as well).
Gone are the days when successful entrepreneurs would hire architects to build ground breaking and interesting homes in the US (they still do abroad). Now they just want another McMansion just like their friends but always a few thousand feet larger.
I’m so sad to say that the beautiful Frankoma tile glass wall was damaged in a storm over a year ago. The house has sat empty since the damage (it was on the market when the storm hit on 6/9/19 and they took it off the market and they never put it back on). I drove by yesterday and there were workmen REMOVING THE FRANKOMA TILE!!! 😩 They we’re replacing all of it with clear glass and tossing it in the trash! They were kind enough to give me a few tiles. I’m heartbroken!
This is truly tragic. At least you have preserved some of the tiles… you might let the next owner know you have some just in case they might want to replicate the original intent. Not likely, I know, but we can always be hopeful. Thanks for caring.
I am happy to say it appears, as of now at least, that the glass tile wall that creates the front door will remain. But all the other was tossed. I was happy to see some of it remaining, but heartbroken to see the other tossed in the trash.
Glad to know that some of glass tile wall survives! Thanks for the update.
This time capsule is absolutely amazing but I’m really posting to echo A.O.’s comment about making his home “weirder.” I’m a real estate broker and see so many homes which in most ways are just like every other home, in many cases because owners think that something “unusual” will affect resale value. What’s that old line, “Live Hard, Die Young, and leave a nice corpse”, which might translate into “enjoy your home and let your heirs worry about selling it.”
Thanks, Lancaster John! It’s true; too many people refrain from expressing personality for fear of perceived impact on resale value. Why second-guess the desires of a future buyer when no one ever anticipated yours? I am in the process of making my house much weirder, although I spend most of my time making other people’s houses look normal, sadly. My house will one day be clad entirely in salvaged corrugated steel or new corrugated plastic — the inspiration being Bruce Goff’s Bachman house!