There are two homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in tiny St. Joseph, MI (pop. 8,316), but only one has beautiful views and a perch above Lake Michigan.

Now, this four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, L-shaped property sits proudly on the market for the first time in 25 years. Known as the Dr. Ina M. Harper House, the residence is crafted from two of Wright’s beloved building materials: Tidewater Cypress and Chicago Common Brick.

It’s available for $1.96 million with Anne Gain of @properties.

It was built in 1950—just nine years before Wright’s death—for Harper and her husband, and the sellers have also poured a lot of love, labor, and money into a full restoration. They worked closely with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in Chicago, hiring an approved contractor to carry out Wright’s original intent.

“The owners have maintained every aspect meticulously,” says Gain. “It is definitely move-in ready. When you come in and see the design … [you see] they just don’t build homes like this anymore.”

Ina Harper owned the home for just six years before dying in a tragic accident. Before the current owners snapped it up 25 years ago, the 1,700-square-foot layout had already been expanded to 3,150 square feet, and two additional bedrooms were added to the original two. Both current and past owners kept the home as their primary residence.

Design details throughout the home that clearly bear Wright’s signature include recessed lighting, stained-glass entry doors, a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace, banquette seating, and walls of windows.

In the most recent rounds of renovation, the owners installed Toto toilets, a tankless water heater, and Brizo Litze fixtures in the bathrooms.

They also installed a Bosch security system, Emtek door hardware, and energy-efficient windows throughout. But where the most modernization occurred is in the kitchen, which now boasts new KitchenAid appliances, a touchless faucet, granite counters, and slide-out pantry drawers.

In 2017, all the home’s skylights were replaced. The pitched and angled roof was repaired in 2012, and the flat roofs worked on in 2018. Today, the home features central air conditioning and an automatic sprinkler system.

The sale price includes all furnishings, with a number of custom-designed pieces ready to convey to the buyer—including a vanity in the half-bathroom and a custom glass cocktail table.

A number of artworks, including a full-size reproduction of a sculpture designed by Wright in 1914, are also included in the sale price. For a buyer with a musical bent, a Baldwin grand piano currently in the home will also go to the buyer.

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So far, Gain has attracted interest from New York City, California, and Chicago.

“Anybody with a passion for architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright will appreciate this,” she says. “It’s really a work of art.”

She’s also hoping a family might move in.

“It’s very much a family home,” she says.

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The other Wright-designed home in the town of St Joseph is the Usonian-style Carl Schultz House. It was built in 1957 and was the subject of a recent Newsweek article in which a family chronicled their recent experiences restoring it.

As for life in St. Joseph—three hours west of Detroit and two hours northeast of Chicago—it’s home mostly to year-round residents, something not all towns in the area can claim.

Many residents are attracted to the good schools. With remote careers now a possibility, interest in the area has grown during the pandemic.

“We’re seeing so many people from the city say, ‘Hey, we can work by the lake, enjoy the views, and go into the city once a week,’” says Gain.

Old Lake Shore Road, on which the home sits, has prestige because it’s “one of the most well-known streets in St. Joseph,” says Gain. “It’s like Michigan Avenue in Chicago, [but] you’re up on the bluff here, and nothing will ever be built [to block the view].”

The closest public beach (Silver Beach) is only three-quarters of a mile away.

“The sunsets never get old,” says Gain. “They are that stunning.”