Imagine waking up one morning and learning that your home had a secret. A big one.
That's sort of what happened when Linda McQuillen, a retired teacher, discovered that she had been living in an American treasure with no idea of its true identity. The Associated Press reports that Linda has been living for nearly 30 years in a home designed by one of the most famous American architects in history: none other than Frank Lloyd Wright.
"Over time we have completely redone the house without any indication it was a significant house," she tells the Associated Press. "I didn't know it was a Frank Lloyd Wright home and had no imagination it would be."
McQuillen bought the home in poor shape in 1989 for about $100,000 dollars. But the Guardian reports that since it's secret has been discovered, the home is now valued at nearly five that at more than $480,000. Read on below to hear more about this incredible national treasure!
Linda McQuillen had been approached about the home's facade many times before.
"Some of them will say, 'Isn't it a Frank Lloyd Wright home? It looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright home,'" McQuillen tells the Associated Press.
The home's design had signature Wright features.
Framing studs in the home were 24 inches apart, which AP reports is signature Wright design. Additionally, the windows were custom Wright designs, and latches proved just another clue as to the home's identity.
Indeed, their suspicions were right...
Mary Jane Hamilton confirmed their suspicions about the home with a rendered drawing of a 1917 advertisement for Wright-designed homes, the final clue to discovering the home's true identity.
The ad offered Wright-designed homes at more affordable price points.
“The American System of Housebuilding has infinite variety — beautiful houses at less cost than ugly ones,” reads the ad for homes like Linda’s. What a sell!
See more pictures of this beautiful hidden treasure in the video below, and please SHARE this amazing story with your friends on Facebook!
