West Lafayette man, original Frank Lloyd Wright homeowner dies

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) – One of the few surviving Frank Lloyd Wright homeowners, John Christian, has died in his beloved West Lafayette home.

Christian and his wife Catherine commissioned Wright to design their home in 1950. The house which Lloyd called Samara was completed in 1956, and sits at the end of Woodland Avenue in West Lafayette.

Samara Trust associate curator Linda Eales said Christian died early Sunday morning, the same day as his 98th birthday.

In April, Samara was named a National Historic Landmark. Eales said Christian’s legacy lives on in the home.

“I’m getting calls from the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, from Brazil all these are people who want to come and visit his home that have heard about it, and want to see his legacy,” Eales said.

Eales said Christian’s daughter owns the home. She plans to turn it over to the trust her and her father established with Indiana Landmarks 22 years ago.