Gropius House, 68 Baker Bridge Road, Lincoln, Middlesex County, MA

Significance: Built in 1938, the Gropius House is important as an exemplary example of the International style and for its association with pioneering Modernist architect Walter Gropius, who designed it as his own residence. As the founder of the German Bauhaus and an early proponent of the International style, Walter Gropius is considered one of the founding fathers of the Modern architecture movement in America. He immigrated to the United States in 1937 and accepted a position at Harvard's Graduate School of Design where he indoctrinated new generations of architects with his modern design philosophy. His house combines conventional materials such as fieldstone and wood with new materials such as glass block, chrome, and acoustical plaster to create a nontraditional, asymmetrical dwelling based on principles of simplicity, economy and functionality. In keeping with the International style, the house incorporates broad expanses of glass to allow for natural light while blurring the boundaries between inside and out in to be in harmony with the surrounding landscape.
Survey number: HABS MA-1228
Building/structure dates: 1938 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 00000709