by Rebecca BinnoIn our continuing efforts to bring readers of The Modern stories about unique 20th century architecture, we have finally found a house that is truly unique—one of a kind. There are no others like the Airplane House in Lansing.
In 1950, Mr. and Mrs. Talbert Abrams, both licensed pilots, were trying to create a plan for their new home. While cruising 15,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean, they saw the shadow of their plane on a rainbow-hued cloud. Inspiration hit—and they decided to design their house in the shape of an airplane. Mr. Abrams hired Grover Pratt and Norman Sedlander, who were in the engineering department at Michigan State College, to draw the working plans. The construction contractor was George Smith. It must have been a memorable job for all of the contractors involved!
The house was called "contemporary" in articles in the Detroit Free Press and Lansing State Journal in 1951. The contemporary design of the Airplane House is why we would include this structure in our broad classification of art deco today. It was a whimsical, yet radical design that stands out from the conservative brick Georgian revival mansions in the neighborhood. In fact, Governor Engler's mansion is just two doors down from the Airplane House.
When approaching the house, it appears to be a very typical 1950s "rambling" ranch house. The low- pitched roof line and wide-eve overhang create a slight resemblance to an airplane, but not enough to startle the tourist. Constructed of masonry and faced with fieldstone, the house is a study of horizontality and curved walls. The ashlar cut fieldstone facing can almost be mistaken for the "perma-stone" fake siding popular in the same era. But the original owners, the Abrams, built a very high quality home using only the best materials and technology of the day.
The house is a ranch with no basement or attic. A basement or attic would have diminished the airplane effect—the house seems to have just landed on the ground. By employing the then novel use of curved plexiglass in the end windows, the effect of a cockpit was achieved in the living room. The interior layout was entirely designed to the Abrams' specifications, with an emphasis on providing room for the flow of 1950s cocktail entertaining.
Today, the owner is Professor James C. Perkins, who teaches at the Architectural Studies Center at Lansing Community College. He is very proud to call the Airplane House his home.
