Note: This section is still under construction; further additions and corrections to follow
Print Sources
"Ahead of Its Time," in: Cincinnati Magazine, September 2008, p. 161.
Article on Abrom Dombar's Irving and Betty Benjamin House of 1949 in Amberley Village, Cincinnati area, as its third owners prepare the house for sale.
American Restaurant Magazine, July, 1951, p. 50-52.
Description and drawing of Abrom Dombar’s original design for Sugar & Spice Restaurant, Cincinnati; the restaurant was apparently built to a modified design.
Bennett, Paul. University of Cincinnati: An Architectural Tour (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001).
Guidebook to the University of Cincinnati campus and its planning and buildings, including an account of the Wrightian-style Faculty and Alumni Center by architects Cellarius and Hilmer, and Glaser, Myers and Associates.
Bradner, Karen. "Mid-Century Marvel: Hilltop home in Lebanon saved after seasons of neglect," in: House Trends Cincinnati, August-September, 2018, pp. 24-34.
Magazine article on the rescue of Ben Dombar's deteriorated Testerman House in Lebanon, OH, with excellent photos of the recent rehabilitation of this unusual house with its two, circular rooms and "radiating" roof trusses.
Cramer, Polly. "Oriental Art at Home in Contemporary Setting," in: The Cincinnati Post, Tuesday, March 29 , 1955, p. 22.
Newspaper article recording completion of Ben Dombar-designed Simon A. Polasky House, Camargo Road, Cincinnati area.
Cramer, Polly. "Modern Furniture Adds Space to Old House," in: The Cincinnati Post, Tuesday, October 16, 1951.
Newspaper article with photos of interiors of Ben and Shirley Dombar's own house at 1011 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, recording their redesign and furnishing of a small, older house.
Cramer, Polly. “Ten Years’ Dreaming and Planning Go Into New Modern Home,” The Cincinnati Post, Tuesday 9 January 1951, p. 15.
Newspaper article with description and photographs of the Nathan Abrams House, 4527 Perth Lane, Cincinnati, designed by Abrom Dombar.
Cramer, Polly. "Traditional Furniture Warm, Homey in Modern House," in: The Cincinnati Post, Tuesday, August 19, 1953, p. 17.
Newspaper article recording the completion of Ben Dombar's Meyer Cholak House, Section Road, Amberley Village, Cincinnati.
Day, Michele. "Wright at Home," in: The Cincinnati Enquirer, Saturday, May 31, 2003 (Tempo, Section E, p. 1).
Newspaper article describing Frank Lloyd Wright's Boulter House in Clifton, as it was offered for sale by Miriam Gosling, the second owner.
Damschroder, Cindy Bailey. “The Gerald B. Tonkens House: A Study of the Usonian Automatic Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.” Master’s Thesis, Department of Art History, University of Cincinnati, 1996.
An unpublished thesis on Wright’s Tonkens House in Cincinnati; it is a complete monograph on the house, with original and new plans, drawings, and photographs; the author analyzes the Tonkens House within the larger group of Wright’s “Usonian Automatic” houses.
Dombar, Benjamin, “Bellevue Hill Shelter House,” from: Ohio Architect, 1955, p. 10-12.
Ben Dombar’s description of the Bellevue Hill park pavilion designed by R. Carl Freund, with photographs and a floor plan / site plan.
"First Apartment Complex for Brown County," in: Clermont Courier [pub. Batavia, OH], Vol CXXXXVI, No. 21 (Thursday, August 17, 1972).
Newspaper article announcing construction of a group of two-story apartment buildings designed by Ben Dombar, with Modernist glazing and balconies combined with Mansard roofs.
Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, “Modifying Wright’s Buildings and Their Sites: Additions, Subtractions, Adjacencies.” Chicago: Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, 2010.
The conference brochure of the FLW Building Conservancy’s 2010 annual meeting in Cincinnati, including tours, descriptions, and photographs of the three Wright-designed houses in Cincinnati [Boulter, Tonkens, and Boswell Houses], as well as the Wescott House of 1906-08 in Springfield, OH, and the Kenneth L. Meyers Medical Clinic of 1956 in Centerville, OH [Dayton area]; other Modernist sites in the Cincinnati area are included.
Friedlander, Roger and Harold Zellman. The Fellowship: The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright & The Taliesin Fellowship (New York: Harper Perennial, 2007).
The most complete history of Taliesin, Wright’s combined school-office-home, and his pupils; including information on Wright’s Cincinnati students Abrom and Benjamin Dombar and apprentice John deKoven Hill, who designed the Corbett House in Cincinnati.
Greinacher, Udo, and Elizabeth Meyer, Susan Rissover, Patrick Snadon, Margo Warminski. 50 From the 50s: Modern Architecture and Interiors in Cincinnati (Cincinnati: Urban Currents Press and Lulu Press, 2008).
A guidebook to Modernist buildings in the Cincinnati area, including Wright’s three Cincinnati houses [the Boulter, Tonkens, and Boswell Houses], the Corbett House by John deKoven Hill, and buildings by Abrom and Benjamin Dombar and R. Carl Freund.
Goldberg, Sue. "Good Living: The charm of this mid-century Modern masterpiece is all in the details," in: Cincinnati Magazine, February, 2008 [in Home & Garden special section].
Magazine article with numerous photographs of Ben Dombar's Runnels House of 1965 in Wyoming, Cincinnati.
Goodman, Rebecca. "Benjamin Dombar Studied with Frank Lloyd Wright," in: The Cincinnati Enquirer, Tuesday, October 10, 2006, p. B4.
Ben Dombar's obituary in the local newspaper with a resume of his career.
Groeber, Janet, and Chuch Lohre. The Boulter House: Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect, 1956 (Cincinnati: Privately Printed, 2017).
A visual monograph on Wright’s Boulter House, Cincinnati, compiled by its current owners, with original drawings, photographs, and letters from Wright to the Boulters; includes commentaries and captions explaining the design and construction process of the house from 1953-56.
Hayutin, Marnie, “ Growing up Mid-Century Modern” Cincinnati Magazine, Home & Garden supplement February 2006, p. 32-34.
An article on the career of Benjamin Dombar, based upon an interview with his daughter, Rockell Meese.
"Here's Home With Convenience, Comfort," in: Cincinnati [Enquirer, Post, Times-Star?], May 30, 1956.
Newspaper article with photos on completion of an $85,000 speculative house designed by Ben Dombar at Ridge Avenue and Galbraith Road, Amberley Village, Cincinnati area, for Edward Bentz, president of Norway Construction Company, Avondale. [A related newspaper article with no illustrations is: Heidler, Bob. "Bigger the Problem, Better the House, Builder Contends," in: Cincinnati Times-Star, Saturday, June 2, 1956. This article mentions that Dombar studied with the "controversial Frank Lloyd Wright." ]
Horner, James. "Hexagon Home Designed to Bring Outdoors In," Cincinnati Post & Times-Star, Monday, 20 November 1967, p. 56.
A newspaper article on the design and construction of Benjamin and Shirley Dombar's own house on Galbraith Road, Cincinnati; with a drawing and a construction photograph.
Iverson, Kurt. "Lebanon home receives lighting acclaim," Cincinnati Enquirer, Sunday Morning, 15 November 1970, Section E.
Newspaper article on the Testerman House, Lebanon, OH, designed by Benjamin Dombar, including an award for its interior and exterior lighting.
Langsam, Walter E., with photographs by Alice Weston. Great Houses of the Queen City: Two Hundred Years of Historic And Contemporary Architecture And Interiors In Cincinnati And Northern Kentucky (Cincinnati: Cincinnati Historical Society, 1997).
A book on outstanding examples of domestic architecture in the Cincinnati area, including photographs and descriptions of the Tonkens House by Wright and the Corbett House by John deKoven Hill, along with a discussion of Wright’s influence on Cincinnati.
Mertz, Patricia. "Home is 'Hexagon On Stilts," in: The Cincinnati Enquirer, Monday, June 16, 1969, p. 21.
A newspaper article published on the near-completion of Ben and Shirley Dombar's own house on Galbraith Road; good descriptions of the house supplied by Ben Dombar himself.
"Noted Cincy artist, architect dies at home," in: The American Israelite, Vol. 153, No. 14 (Thursday, October 26, 2006), p. 1 [pub. Cincinnati, OH].
Obituary of Ben Dombar including resume of his career.
Painter, Sue Ann, and Beth Sullebarger, with photographs by Alice Weston. Architecture in Cincinnati: An Illustrated History of Designing and Building an American City (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press and the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati, 2006).
A history of public architecture and planning in Cincinnati; chapters 6-10 focus on Modernism with references to Frank Lloyd Wright, R. Carl Freund, etc.
Penick, Monica. Tastemaker: Elizabeth Gordon, House Beautiful, and the Postwar American Home. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017).
A book analyzing the influence of House Beautiful editor Elizabeth Gordon and her "Pace Setter Homes" program; it discusses Gordon's relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright and Taliesin apprentice John deKoven Hill, who worked for her and designed the Corbett House in Cincinnati.
Pulfer, Mike. "Learning it Wright: Local man apprenticed under famous architect, then practiced his principles back home," in: The Cincinnati Enquirer, January 9, 2000.
Newspaper article on the career of Ben Dombar and his apprenticeship with Frank Lloyd Wright.
Schield, Dora. "The Master's Apprentice in which scenes are laid at Taliesin and beyond," in: Wisconsin River Valley Journal, Vol. 13, Issue 3 (July-September, 2006), p. 1.
Article on Ben Dombar's training with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin and on Dombar's later career.
Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993; revised edition, 2006).
A guide to Wright’s work that includes descriptions, drawings, and photographs of his three Cincinnati houses [the Boulter, Tonkens, and Boswell Houses].
Storrer, William Allin, The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright: A Complete Catalogue. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (1974); revised edition, 2002.
A guide that includes descriptions and photographs of Wright's three Cincinnati houses [the Boulter, Tonkens, and Boswell Houses].
Sullebarger, Beth, A Guide to Art and Architecture in Cincinnati’s Parks. Cincinnati: Cincinnati Park Board, 1995.
A guidebook to buildings in Cincinnati’s public parks; includes descriptions and photographs of R. Carl Freund’s surviving park structures.
"Sunken Terrace to be Part of Avondale Home," in: Cincinnati [Enquirer? Post?] March 7, 1953 (Real Estate section). Newspaper article with perspective drawing of Ben Domba'sr designs for the Ephraim Roth House at 3928 Warwick Avenue, Avondale, Cincinnati.
Web Sites
Cincinnati Modernation (Chris Magee)
Cincinnatimodern (Susan + Arlen Rissover)
Acknowledgements
The current staff of the Modernnati project:
Elizabeth Meyer, Interim Head Librarian, Design, Art, Architecture and Planning Library, University of Cincinnati
Udo Greinacher, Professor, School of Architecture and Interior Design, University of Cincinnati
Patrick Snadon, Design and Architectural Historian
Lavanya Varma, PhD Candidate, School of Architecture and Interior Design, University of Cincinnati
We gratefully thank these individuals for their assistance as this project has developed:
Lou Batsch
Cindy Damschroder
Michael Dingeldein
Jose Garcia
Kevin Grace
Bruce Goetzman
Janet Groeber
Beth Johnson
Walter E. Langsam
Chuck Lore
Chris Magee
Stewart S. Maxwell
Rockell Meese
Paul Muller
Susan Rissover
David Smith
Rebecca Stone
Beth Sullebarger
Dr. Jeffrey Tilman
Safina Uberoi
Margo Warminski
Alice Weston
Dr. Rebecca Williamson
(please let us know if we should add additional names to this list)