modern on the market: 8.4.11
Robert C. Metcalf Collection, Bentley Historical Library
a2modern event: modern on the market
when: thursday 8.4.11
where: 830 avon road
time: 5:30 to 7:30 (note time change from earlier announcement!)
property: Dr. and Mrs. Richard Crane House, designed 1954 by Robert C. Metcalf
sponsored by: Bob Eckstein, Surovell Real Estate.
Please join us for a modern on the market mixer. The Crane house, Robert Metcalf’s first commission, is for sale. Come tour this significant house and socialize with other mcm enthusiasts.
Significance:
The architect of this home, Robert C. Metcalf, is one of the leaders in architectural modernism in southeast Michigan. The Crane house was Bob’s first commission after apprenticing under George B. Brigham from 1948 to 1952. At the same time he was designing the Crane house, Bob and his wife Bettie were building their own home.
Bob would go on to design over 40 residential structures in Ann Arbor for prominent business, research scientists and academic leaders in the Ann Arbor and SE Michigan.
The original homeowner, Dr. Richard H. Crane, was a distinguished experimental physicist of the 20th century. Dr. Crane’s early work on nuclear physics and the physics of accelerators culminated in the invention of the race track synchrotron, a design emulated by almost every particle accelerator since 1950. His pioneering measurements on the gyro- magnetic ratio of the free electron are a cornerstone of quantum electrodynamics.
During WWII, Dr. Crane worked as a research associate on radar at MIT and a physicist on the proximity fuse at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. He served as the director of proximity fuse research at U-M and as director of the atomic research project for the Manhattan District.
This event is an a2modern–a homeowners and friends organization interested in raising the awareness and appreciation of mid-century architecture and design. Contact modernists@a2modern.org for more information.