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BY SUSAN POLLACK
I
umpty Dumpty could have used the team
of wizards that put the Meyer May House
back together again.
Designed in the early 20th century by
America's leading architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, the
historic Grand Rapids home was painstakingly restored
to its original luster 15 years ago, courtesy of its current
owner, Steelcase, Inc.
Today, the house, a mature example of Wright's sig-
nature Prairie Style that had fallen into major disrepair,
is authentic down to the dozens of artglass windows
coated with metallic vapor to reflect interior colors,
retooled leather book-jackets in the library, and hand-
woven carpets whose custom-dyed yarn replicates orig-
inal textures and patterns.
Commissioned in 1908 by Meyer May, a prominent
Jewish clothier in Grand Rapids, the low-key brick
dwelling stands in dramatic contrast to the fancy
Victorian homes in the city's Heritage Hill neighbor-
hood, east of downtown.
"It's a totally integrated environment, inside and
out," says Don Dekker, site manager for Steelcase,
which uses the Meyer May House for company busi-
ness and offers free tours to the public three days per
week. "The front door is on the side because Wright
wanted the home to be a place of serenity and soli-
tude. He didn't feel the need to advertise with a dra-
matic entrance on the public side."
Intent on drawing nature inside, Wright also situat-
ed the house to allow maximum southern exposure for
the living room windows and skylights, and to create a
spacious yard for the perennial gardens. The furniture,
light fixtures, carpets — even the linens, andirons and
chevron-emblazoned living room clock — were artfully
designed by Wright as part of the total composition.
Many of the original furnishings survive today. The
rest are precise reproductions or compatible Arts and
Crafts-style items from the pre-World War I years
when May lived there with his first wife, Sophie, and
two adopted children.
Following her 1917 death from influenza, May
remarried a Chicago widow with two children. "She
didn't particularly enjoy the architecture of the house,"
says Dekker, shaking his head.
The Meyer May House, 450 Madison S.E., Grand Rapids,
is open 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., Thesday and Thursday and 1-5
p.m., Sunday. Visitors should arrive one hour before closing
to allow time to tour the borne and watch a video
documentary. Call (616) 246-4821.
Photos courtesy of Steelcase, Inc.
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TYLE \ I ' rHE
IN
Top: Wright carefully positioned the house to provide maximum southern
exposure for the skylights and windows.
Clockwise from left: To draw nature into the house, this child's bedroom faces
the gardens, while another opens onto an upper balcony. Art-glass windows
and skylights along the southwest living room wall provide a design theme
for embroidered table runners and woven carpets. Interior architect George
Niedecken's hollyhock mural was painstakingly recovered from beneath six
layers of paint. Its gentle pastels complement the color scheme of the house
and seem to dissolve the wall separating the entry hall and the dining room.
The formal, straight-backed chairs and the four-postered table create "a room
within a room."