{"id":6906,"date":"2026-07-21T12:53:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T12:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/?page_id=6906"},"modified":"2026-07-21T21:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:11:47","slug":"wingspread","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/features\/wingspread\/","title":{"rendered":"Wingspread"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Wingspread was built for <strong dir=\"auto\">Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr.<\/strong> (H.F. Johnson Jr.), who was the president of S.C. Johnson &amp; Son (Johnson Wax). Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built the house between 1938 and 1939 on Lake Michigan in Wind Point, Wisconsin, near Racine. Wright named it &#8220;Wingspread&#8221; because of its four wings radiating outward from a central octagonal living space like a pinwheel.<\/p>\n<div class=\"markdown-block\" data-block-id=\"hast-99-227\">\n<p dir=\"auto\"><strong dir=\"auto\">Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr.<\/strong> and his family lived at Wingspread from 1939 until the property was donated in 1960. This included:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"markdown-block\" data-block-id=\"hast-229-243\">\n<p dir=\"auto\"><strong dir=\"auto\">His third wife:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"markdown-block\" data-block-id=\"hast-244-588\">\n<ul dir=\"auto\">\n<li dir=\"auto\"><strong dir=\"auto\">Irene Purcell Johnson<\/strong> (married 1941, died 1972) \u2013 She lived there from 1941 until the property was donated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"markdown-block\" data-block-id=\"hast-590-623\">\n<p dir=\"auto\"><strong dir=\"auto\">His children<\/strong> (with Gertrude Brauner):<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"markdown-block\" data-block-id=\"hast-624-806\">\n<ul dir=\"auto\">\n<li dir=\"auto\"><strong dir=\"auto\">Samuel Curtis Johnson Jr.<\/strong> (b. 1928) \u2013 later succeeded his father as president of S.C. Johnson<\/li>\n<li dir=\"auto\"><strong dir=\"auto\">Karen Johnson Boyd<\/strong> (b. 1924)<\/li>\n<li dir=\"auto\"><strong dir=\"auto\">Henrietta<\/strong> (b. 1927, d. 1931)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"markdown-block markdown-block--unstable svelte-wjdxdt\" data-block-id=\"unstable\">\n<p dir=\"auto\">After Irene Purcell married Hib in 1941, it became clear that the home did not fit her personal aesthetic or functional preferences. Wright famously resisted any rearrangement of furniture or modifications to his layout, leading the couple to plan a separate home on the property that better reflected Irene&#8217;s tastes.<br><br>The family donated Wingspread to the Johnson Foundation in 1960, and it became an educational conference center in 1961.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/wingspread-plans-south-on-top-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090145.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"783\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/wingspread-plans-south-on-top-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090145-1024x783.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6910\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/wingspread-plans-south-on-top-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090145-1024x783.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/wingspread-plans-south-on-top-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090145-300x230.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/wingspread-plans-south-on-top-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090145-768x588.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/wingspread-plans-south-on-top-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090145.jpg 1226w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Plans for Wingspread by Frank Lloyd Wright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/model-of-wingspread-courtesy-of-wingspread-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090246.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"761\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/model-of-wingspread-courtesy-of-wingspread-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090246-1024x761.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6912\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/model-of-wingspread-courtesy-of-wingspread-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090246-1024x761.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/model-of-wingspread-courtesy-of-wingspread-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090246-300x223.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/model-of-wingspread-courtesy-of-wingspread-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090246-768x570.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/model-of-wingspread-courtesy-of-wingspread-Screenshot-2026-07-21-090246.jpg 1186w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Model of Wingspread with architect Frank Lloyd Wright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HF-and-Sam-at-Wingspread-SC-Johnson_1685482730.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HF-and-Sam-at-Wingspread-SC-Johnson_1685482730-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6919\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HF-and-Sam-at-Wingspread-SC-Johnson_1685482730-768x1024.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HF-and-Sam-at-Wingspread-SC-Johnson_1685482730-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HF-and-Sam-at-Wingspread-SC-Johnson_1685482730-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HF-and-Sam-at-Wingspread-SC-Johnson_1685482730.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Herbert F. Johnson Jr. and his son Sam Johnson at the Wingspread (image credit: S.C. Johnson &amp; Son, Inc.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1940-census-of-Wingspread-servants-754159969_10228338372364286_5738956570751710847_n.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"504\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1940-census-of-Wingspread-servants-754159969_10228338372364286_5738956570751710847_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6922\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1940-census-of-Wingspread-servants-754159969_10228338372364286_5738956570751710847_n.jpg 960w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1940-census-of-Wingspread-servants-754159969_10228338372364286_5738956570751710847_n-300x158.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1940-census-of-Wingspread-servants-754159969_10228338372364286_5738956570751710847_n-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">1940 Census showing servants at Wingspread: Kenford Nelson (lodger), Roland Herbert (houseman), Martha Jacobson (housekeeper), Myrtle Larson (maid). Kenford Nelson went on to be head of the law department and a secretary of S. C. Johnson &amp; Son.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wingspread was built for Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr. (H.F. Johnson Jr.), who was the president of S.C. Johnson &amp; Son (Johnson Wax). Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built the house between 1938 and 1939 on Lake Michigan in Wind Point, Wisconsin, near Racine. Wright named it &#8220;Wingspread&#8221; because of its four wings radiating outward from&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":33,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6906","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6906"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6926,"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6906\/revisions\/6926"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vindustries.com\/racinehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}