Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago

Limestone wall plaque outside the Wright Studio (all photos by me).

Chicago was a “bucket list” destination for me, one that did not disappoint. Among the reasons why is because it was in Chicago that a young Frank Lloyd Wright would first come to prominence as an entirely original talent who sought nothing less than to create a uniquely American form of architecture. Of course, several of Wright’s most noteworthy projects figured prominently on my list of “must see” sights while in the Windy City.

Most who have little more than a casual interest in the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright know something about his formative years in the profession. He learned much from his early work experience as a draftsman, first under Joseph Lyman Silsbee and then later as an apprentice for the firm of Adler & Sullivan, gaining not only technical proficiency but also a preference for an American architecture not grounded in the classical teachings of the then-fashionable École des Beaux-Arts. It is in the village of Oak Park, west of Chicago, during the period spanning from 1889 to 1909,(1) that his built works displayed a progressive melding of the ideals of the Arts & Crafts movement, Louis Sullivan’s foreshadowing of modernism, and his own notions of an “organic” architecture fitted to the long, low landscape of the Midwest.

During my stay in Chicago, I made time to visit Oak Park, which offers a remarkable concentration of projects from this first and pivotal part of Wright’s lengthy and consequential career. I enjoyed a guided tour of his Home (1889) and adjoining Studio (1898), which served as his primary residence and professional office during this time. Additionally, there are 25 Wright-designed buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, of which I visited the Unity Temple (completed in 1908) and conducted a self-guided audio tour of ten houses displaying the full evolution of his design principles toward what became known as the Prairie Style of architecture.  

Unity Temple (1908)

Nathan G. Moore House (1895)

Hills-Decaro House (1896)

Frank Thomas House (1901)

Peter A. Beachy House (1906)

Arthur B. Heurtley House (1902), a favorite of mine.

I also made a pilgrimage to the Frederick C. Robie House (completed in 1909), which many (including me) consider to be the apotheosis of the Prairie Style. The Robie House is not located in Oak Park, but rather adjacent to the campus of the University of Chicago in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park. Historians attribute its architectural significance to its quintessential combination of Prairie Style features, notably the design’s decidedly horizontal emphasis, structurally expressive brick piers and cantilevered roofs, continuous bands of windows, not to mention its influence upon domestic design and lifestyle. I previously was not entirely familiar with the history of the house, so I was surprised to learn the Robie family’s time there was very short-lived (only one-year), that it would change hands several times, and that it was threatened with demolition before being acquired by the University of Chicago. The university turned over tours, operations, and necessary fundraising to the Frank Lloyd Trust in 1997. The Trust completed restoration of the Robie House in 2019, at a cost of over 11 million dollars.

Frederick C. Robie House (1909)

Steel beams supporting the roof cantilever 17 feet beyond their supports.

Detail view, exterior.

Living room.

Central fireplace. Note the split chimney and the opening through which the ceiling of the dining room beyond is seen as continuous.

While the Robie House was everything I expected it to be, I found the Wright Home and Studio to be a revelation. Given his relative youth—a mere 22 years and 31 years of age when he designed the home and later studio, respectively—I was entirely impressed by how fully Wright realized such architectural principles as the ideal of open living and working spaces (innovative at the time). The Studio is nothing less than fantastic, with carefully controlled daylight, thoroughly inventive detailing and ornamentation, and a masterful orchestration of space and volume. To say his talent was precociously mature is an understatement.

Wright Home (1889).

Inglenook.

Master bath:  The niche with the vase was initially a window with a view directly out. With the addition of the Studio, Wright placed a window to the left in a niche where the original window was located, thereby continuing to provide a source of daylight in the room while providing privacy.

Children's playroom. The mural over the fireplace is inspired by a tale from the Arabian Nights.

Exterior view of the Studio (1898)

Tour group inside the drafting room.

Looking up at the underside of the tall ceiling in the drafting room. The chains restrain the outward thrust of the octagonal dome.

The Studio's library. Wright like the room so much, he converted the library to be his personal office.

The work of Frank Lloyd Wright has served as a touchstone throughout my life in architecture. I am grateful for the opportunity to have traveled to Chicago and see so many examples in person. While a flawed human being, Wright was clearly a great and pioneering architect. That many of his projects have been maintained, restored, and are open to visitors is truly a blessing for Wright afficionados like me.

(1)    Wright married Catherine Tobin and settled in Oak Park in 1889, where they would raise six children). He scandalously left his family for a new life in Europe with Mamah Cheney, his neighbor and wife of a client, ending his period of residence and professional practice in Oak Park.