John and Syd Dobkins House


Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1953 and completed in 1954, the John and Syd Dobkins House is one of three Wright-designed Usonian houses in Canton, Ohio. Located farther east than the Nathan Rubin Residence and the Ellis A. Feiman House, it is set back from the road. It's a modest sized home with two bedrooms, and one and a half baths. Its distinctive geometric design module is based upon an equilateral triangle. The mortar in the deep red bricks was deeply raked to emphasize the horizontal.
Construction was supervised by Allan J. Gelbin, a Wright apprentice the architect sent from the Taliesin Fellowship. Gelbin acted as construction supervisor and contractor on this building as well as the two other buildings in Canton. The Gelbin house was built on a five-acre parcel that was once a cornfield. Along with a design for the house, Wright created an ingenious planting plan for the property which featured 14 pin oak trees planted in perfect relation to the structure.
The home was purchased and restored by current homeowners, Dan and Dianne Chrzanowski.