When constructed in 1960, the Earl and Kathleen Chandler House was one of the first in the Upper Highlands. The house was designed by the Chandler?s nephew, Frank Brown, and represents one of only a few executed designs in his brief architectural career. Brown?s modernist approach to architecture resulted in a unique design which is adopted from the site and its setting. It takes full advantage of sun exposure and prevailing winds while incorporating natural materials such as redwood exterior siding and affords privacy while fully integrating the lot?s stunning views in outdoor and indoor living spaces. The result of these architectural concepts is a house, which when viewed from above, roughly takes the form of a spiral-shaped nautilus with sleeping and service spaces arranged around a central, circular living space.
Frank Brown, son of McCall, Idaho?s timber baron Warren Brown, was 22 and a senior in the University of Colorado?s architecture program in 1959 when asked to create the design for his aunt and uncle. The house, his senior project, was conceived while Brown was a member of the 1960 US Olympic Alpine Ski Team. Construction of the building was overseen by Earl Chandler who acted as his own general contractor managing the work of builder Mel Singley. Kathleen Chandler coordinated the home?s interior decoration, many features of which remain in place.
Earl Chandler was born in Bonners Ferry, Idaho in 1922. Having attended the University of Idaho on a football scholarship, Chandler served in the US Army during World War II. After moving to Boise in 1946, he was a national field representative of the American Legion before organizing Chandler Supply Company in 1956. By the late 1970s Chandler?s lumber wholesale operation was active around the nation and was a major supplier to the manufactured housing industry. His civic engagement includes service as a trustee of the Boise School District, the presidency of the Bogus Basin Recreation Association, and a stint as director of The Highlands Community Center. Marriage to Kathleen Jones of Malad, Idaho produced three sons.
This home was on the 11th Annual Heritage Home Tour in 2013, thanks to the generosity of the current homeowners Earl and Kathleen Chandler