Waxberg House

Nathaniel Streitman

1956

Description

The Waxberg House, set on a grassy plot in a residential neighborhood, is a Wrightian-inspired wood-frame house clad with cypress siding and covered with low, flat roofs. However, unlike many sprawling Prairie-style houses, the Waxberg house is decidedly vertical, with an irregular floor plan featuring living spaces on three compact floors organized by a central staircase and a central hearth. Decks or terraces at each level connect the interior spaces to the outdoors. The property also has an attached two-car carport and brick retaining walls.

Significance

In 1956, Joseph D. Waxberg purchased an unimproved 1.3-acre parcel from Hearthstone Park, Incorporated. Waxberg and his wife Carol commissioned architect Nathan Streitman to design a house for the site. The Waxbergs have maintained the house in its original condition and continue to live there today. The house retains remarkably high integrity, including the exterior wood siding and brickwork, custom wood windows and doors, and on the interior, the kitchen cabinets and countertops, built-in furniture, bathroom finishes and furnishings, and the layout of the house.