Proceeds From Sale of This Handsome Usonian Home Will Go to Charity

In 1955, Illinois surgeon Chester Trowbridge commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for him in the west suburbs of Chicago. However, not long after Wright had produced some preliminary drawings, the relationship between the illustrious architect and his client turned sour. In a caustic resignation letter, Wright archly declared, “You will have the hard-earned distinction of being the first client we have disappointed since I started practicing Architecture sixty or more years ago. There is always a first. The episode will probably be good for our soul.”

Undeterred, Trowbridge found another architect to design his residence, which was completed in 1957 and dubbed “Enwilde.” The identity of its architect is a mystery, but in style, the home adheres closely to Wright’s Usonian vernacular, with a floor plan based on triangles and hexagons, with no square rooms, a strong connection to nature, and organic construction materials.

In 1971, the property was purchased by a couple of doctors, Ray and Patricia Santucci, who expanded the home in 1977, adding a family room and primary bedroom suite to the main residence, and a swimming pool and barn with a second-floor art studio to the grounds. It’s served as the Santucci family residence for the past half-century, but with her children grown up and her husband passed away, Patricia Santucci made the decision to donate Enwilde to the organization she has worked with for 45 years, the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD).The proceeds from the home’s sale will go to the organization, which provides free services for those suffering from eating disorders.

Located near the end of a winding cul-de-sac on a wooded 6.22-acre lot, the low-slung residence contains four bedrooms and three and a half baths within its 4,153 square feet. Distinctive architectural elements include cypress walls and ceilings, New York bluestone floors with in-floor radiant heat, beautiful brick masonry, multiple fireplaces, copious built-ins, skylights, clerestory windows and walls of glass providing bucolic views of the surrounding greenery.

The property is listed with Lou Zucaro of Modern Illinois, at an asking price of $1.25 million.