Marcel Breuer, Starkey House (Alworth House), Duluth, USA, 1954-1955
n 1954, June Halvorson Alworth commissioned a house in Duluth, MN. Because Alworth was widowed and subsequently married Robert Starkey, the house was known as both the Alworth and the Starkey house. Breuer designed the residence to take advantage of its site on the shores of Lake Superior.
Details of the house suggested marine imagery, particularly the gangplank bridge suspended from wires and staircase banisters evocative of ship rails. A separate volume constructed of fieldstone and painted brick contained the garage. The house became one of Breuer’s most famous after it was featured in the October 22, 1956 issue of “Time Magazine.”
Design is fine. History is mine. 