A big name in Bakersfield
Soon after George Ablin, a neurosurgeon from Chicago, and wife Millie, a registered nurse, moved to Bakersfield in 1955, they asked architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a house for them.
The request was mostly a lark, their son Robin Ablin recalled. “They thought he would be too busy and too famous to consider building in Bakersfield.” They were wrong.
Wright responded to their inquiry and after much correspondence and a few meetings, agreed to the commission, one of his last. He designed the house in 1958 and died the next year at age 91.
After the house was completed in 1961 on a 1.5-acre gated hilltop, the Ablins raised seven children there. It remained their home until their recent deaths. “The property is being sold by my mother’s estate,” Ablin said.
About this house: Furniture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the house is available at an extra cost of $400,000.
The house was created from concrete block, Philippine mahogany and glass in Wright’s Prairie style.
Asking price: $1,595,000
Size: The house has five bedrooms and four bathrooms in 3,233 square feet.
Features: The home has valley and mountain views, living and dining rooms, a kitchen with a family dining bar, an office, a family and play room, a terrace, patio, storage building and triangular pool. The roof, plumb- ing and heating/air-conditioning system are new, and the lighting and telephone and computer wiring have been upgraded.
Where: Bakersfield, overlooking the sixth fairway of the Bakersfield Country Club
Listing agent: Robin Ablin, RSC Realty Co., Bakersfield, (661) 323-5456
To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, please send color interior and exterior photos (copies only, please; we cannot return the pictures) and a brief description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; or e-mail homeoftheweek@latimes.com.
