clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Modernist Next Door

All month long, we're turning our lens on postwar architecture beyond the cliches and the coasts. These profiles highlight the often-forgotten regional architects who created modern designs in the second cities, suburbs, and small towns of the U.S.

Shared from:

Chestnut Hill midcentury modern has multiple levels for its 11 rooms

The Brookline house, done in contemporary design, is on the market for $1.8 million.

Richard Isenhour: A Kentucky architect with a creative vision

The Lexington architect took to midcentury modern during a midlife career change

A.D. Stenger: Austin’s eccentric, self-made architect

A Hill County Eichler, Stenger pursued his own vision of midcentury cool.

Ralph Haver: Modern visions for the Valley of the Sun

A multifaceted career, and Haver Hoods, brought midcentury modern to Phoenix.

Elizabeth Wright Ingraham: Master of architecture and ecology

Both an architect and advocate, she worked to preserve the landscape that served as her key inspiration.

Elizabeth Close: Minnesota’s midcentury pioneer

An unabashed advocate of the International Style and stripped-down design, "the word ‘decoration’ was almost a swear word to her."

Robert Lawton Jones: Tulsa’s ambassador of International Style

A key partner in the city’s most influential architecture firm, Jones refined modernism in Oklahoma.

O’Neil Ford: Texas’s godfather of modern architecture

His refined structures showcased handmade design and the local landscape

Saul Zaik: Keeping Portland modern

Elegant and earthbound, his homes are contemplative and connected with nature.

Paul Hayden Kirk: Architect of Puget Sound style

Like many of his contemporary modernists working in the Pacific Northwest, architect Paul Hayden Kirk had a particular affinity for the landscape.

Edward Loewenstein: Making way for minority architects

The early Greensboro modernist made an impact with how he built, not just what he built

Charles Haertling: Modernism in the mountains

Nature’s own intricate patterns inspired the architect’s outlandish homes

Albert Ledner: A New Orleans architect as playful as his hometown

A Southern modernist who strayed from traditional forms, Ledner offered a progressive vision

George & William Keck: Sibling architects who saw the future

The Midwest visionaries built the literal Home of Tomorrow decades before modernism made its mark

John S. Chase: A trailblazing Texas architect

With his dedication to the community, the state’s first African-American architect helped inspire generations of designers

Roger Lee: Bay Area’s modern architect for the common man

The pioneering East Bay architect showed regional modernism could be affordable, too

Judith Chafee: Dean of desert architecture

The renowned Arizona architect "smoked, drank, cursed, and built houses."

Mary Lund Davis: A champion of modernism in the Pacific Northwest

The architect and furniture designer helped define regional style

Arthur T. Brown: Tucson’s desert modernist

The humble architect’s stripped-down style presaged passive solar design

Meet the midcentury architect who made herself into a brand

Pioneering Indiana artist and architect Avriel Shull didn’t just design homes; she created an image.

Alden B. Dow: Designer of the Midwest’s most modern town

Heir of an industrial icon, one architect made his hometown a showcase for organic architecture

The man who brought folk art fantasies to architecture

A self-taught designer, Bruce Goff generated eccentric, exciting works beyond categorization

These sibling modernists helped shape Cincinnati

Brothers and former Taliesin apprentices, Abrom and Ben Dombar crafted wonders from southern Ohio’s uneven topography.

Hawaii’s master of midcentury design, Vladimir Ossipoff

Russian by blood, the tropical modernist designed with Japanese influences at heart

Filed under:

The Modernist Next Door

Exploring the multifaceted story of modernist architecture in America, from regional gems to forgotten midcentury architects