This Untouched 1958 Gem is for Sale for the First Time Ever

For the first time ever, the famous Balogh House in Plymouth, Michigan is up for sale. In 1958, architect Tivadar Balogh designed the home for his family. The Baloghs performed much of the construction themselves, which kept the project at a modest cost of $32,000; Today, the listing price stands at $750,000, undoubtedly due in part to the home’s celebrated history and eye-catching design.

To say the home was well-received within the architectural community is an understatement: Within a year of Balogh designing the structure, it received the Progressive Architecture award, and in 2013, landed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

At 1,905 square feet, the Balogh Home’s boxy shape earned it the moniker “The Cube.” Behind its distinct dark wood siding is a multi-leveled open-floor plan accentuated by complementary mid-century furniture.  The home has two bedrooms.

Rob Yallop, an associate of Ann Arbor architecture firm Lord, Aeck & Sargent, described the unique appeal of the Balogh House.

“It demonstrates modern design principles, like simple geometric forms, expansive use of glass to bring sort of nature and sunlight into the house and an open, free-flowing floor plan,” Yallop says of the residence. “Another thing is lack of orientation—it doesn’t have any of the more traditional moldings and all that. It’s very simple and geometric, it doesn’t have all the other flourishes of early architecture.”

The home’s inaugural listing is connected to the Michigan Modern Project, a campaign helmed by the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office to bring Michigan’s pivotal role in Modernism in modern architecture to the foreground.

Shortly after building the home, Balogh founded an architectural practice, where he went on to design nearly 150 residential structures throughout Arizona, Illinois and Michigan. He retired in 1997 and passed nearly 10 years later. Up until her passing in August 2019, Balogh’s widow Dorothy resided in the beloved home.