Wilson, Ralph, Sr., and Sunny, House
1714 S. 61st. St., Temple, TXThe Ralph, Sr., and Sunny Wilson House, completed in 1959, was the first mid-century modern-styled house built in Temple. The house was a synthesis of cutting-edge materials and design principles that were revealed in the California Case Study houses. The interiors made extensive use of decorative plastic laminate, one of the most widely used 20th-century building materials. Such use was unprecedented but soon became the norm, by the example of this house. Ralph Wilson, Sr., founder of Ralph Wilson Plastics, the largest manufacturer of laminate in North America, built the house for three reasons: to serve as a model home for his fledgling company; as a location where he personally could test the quality of the products his company manufactured; and as a private residence. Ralph Wilson, Sr., an influential Texas businessman, and prominent philanthropist, used the house as his personal residence from 1959 until his death in 1972. The house meets National Register Criterion C at the local level in the area of Architecture as an excellent residential example of the mid-century modern style in Temple, and Criterion A in the area of Invention at the national level for its experimental and highly innovative use of plastic laminates in a residential design setting. The Wilson House meets Criterion Consideration G as an exceptionally significant property less than 50 years of age.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.