North Carolina Modernist Houses To Host Public Tour of the 1959 Rothstein House

RALEIGH, N.C. - March 14, 2014 - PRLog -- On Saturday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to noon, the 1959 Philip Rothstein House in Raleigh, designed by celebrated architect Milton Small, Jr., will be open to public touring for the first time since 1981.

Hosted by North Carolina Modernist Houses (http://www.ncmodernist.org/) (NCMH), the award-winning non-profit organization dedicated to archiving, preserving, and promotion Modernist residential design, this home tour will allow the public to experience one of Raleigh’s finest examples of a mid-century Modernist house, which is now for sale.

Philip Rothstein owned Southeastern Radio, so the house also exemplifies what was state-of-the-art technology in the 1960s. Designed by Small and Joseph Boaz and built by the locally accepted dean of Modernist construction, Frank Walser, the house is perfectly preserved and all fixtures are original.

Milton Small Jr. designed many well-known Modernist buildings in the Triangle area, including Carter-Finley Stadium, the NCSU Student Center, WRAL-TV studios (with Joseph Boaz), St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Durham's Home Security Life Building, as well as a host of exceptional Modernist houses.

Sited deep within the property on the crest of a hill at 912 Williamson Drive off St. Mary’s Street, the Philip Rothstein house won a design award from the North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1962.  Its current owner, Marita Gilliam, purchased it in 1981. Gilliam and her husband added a porch in 2001 but, otherwise, maintained the original floor plan, materials, and fixtures.

“Entering the Rothstein house is like taking a step back in time,” said NCMH founder and director George Smart. “You can clearly imagine what it was like to be in the house in the 1960s.”

Timed admission tickets are $6.95 in advance for the general public. NCMH Mod Squad member tickets are $1 and are good anytime from 9-11:30 a.m.  Tickets will be $10 per person on the day of the tour if it hasn’t sold out.  Smart cautions NCMH tours sell out quickly. Proceeds benefit NCMH's ongoing documentation, preservation, and promotion projects. To purchase advance tickets, go to www.ncmodernist.org/tours.

For more information on NCMH, visit www.ncmodernist.org.

About NC Modernist Houses:

NC Modernist Houses (formerly Triangle Modernist Houses) is an award-winning 501C3 nonprofit established in 2007 and dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting Modernist residential design. The website is now the largest open digital archive for Modernist residential design in America. NCMH also hosts popular architecture events every month, giving the public access to the most exciting residential architecture, past and present. These tours and events raise awareness and help preserve these "livable works of art" for future generations. For more information: www.ncmodern.org.