Goodale House (Minnetrista, Minnesota)

 residence, 1969_construction, Prairie School (architecture)

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The Dr. Robert and Kathryn Goodale House (1969) is a notable modern house build in the Prairie School style by John H. Howe (1913-1997). It was also referred to by Howe as the "Tower House" for the water tower that existed on the property to feed the neighboring Fred C. Van Dusen summer house to the immediate east (that mansion burned down in 2010). Howe was chief draftsman for famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright who became a noted architect of organic design, he worked in the Twin Cities a few times over his career. The house is noted for being substantially shaped like a ship's prow, including the ends which form an all-glass corner.

Dr. Robert L. Goodale (1930-2014) was a pioneering surgeon at the University of Minnesota who was instrumental in developing now commonplace noninvasive procedures; he was the founding director of the university’s Department of Endoscopy and helped to introduce laparoscopic technology to U.S. medicine. He retired in 2002 and made substantial philanthropic donations. When the Van Dusen estate was being broken up, he saw the opportunity to buy two of the lots to combine for his new summer "cabin" (due to his work, he could not be too far from the Twin Cities at a lake in the north).

The house was featured in the 2005 book "Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka" as well as tours of Frank Lloyd Wright-related houses.

Source:
Hession, Jane King, and Quigley, Tim (2015). John H. Howe, Architect: From Taliesin Apprentice to Master of Organic Design. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN: 9780816683017
Hammel, Bette (2005). Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN: 9780873517225

Property Line:
gis.hennepin.us/Property/Map/Default.aspx
PID: 3611724340011 & 3611724340010
4740 Baycliffe Road
Minnetrista, MN 55331