Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
The city of Chicago, and surrounding communities, are home to many Frank Lloyd Wright designs. Especially the Village of Oak Park, where the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio is located. Oak Park has the largest number of his homes anywhere. The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, established in 1974 as the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation, is a not-for-profit organization, which is dedicated to preserving Wright’s Home and Studio in Oak Park.
Wright built this now historic house in 1889 at 951 Chicago Avenue in Oak Park. He lived there with his family until 1909. The home has been restored to much as it was at that time. Wright spent the first twenty years of his architectural career in Chicago where he formulated many of the architectural principles he continued to apply throughout his life. The Home and Studio was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. In 1997, the Home and Studio Foundation, working with the University of Chicago assumed responsibility for the management, operation and restoration of Wright’s Robie House. The Robie House is located on the University of Chicago campus.
In the immediate vicinity of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studios several other Wright designs are found. Also on Chicago Avenue, are three other early Wright houses, The Thomas H. Gale House, the Walter Gale House, and the Robert P. Parker House.
Robert P. Parker House
Thomas H. Gale House
1027 Chicago Ave.
Oak Park, IL
The Thomas H. Gale House also features an irregular roof with high pitches and polygonal turrets and dormers. This design was also one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s moonlight projects while contracted with Adler & Sullivan.
The 1892 house Thomas H. Gale house is another example of Wright’s early, subdued Queen Anne style residences, without the more ornate features typically found in that style of architecture.
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Walter H. Gale House
Unlike the previous two homes on this page, this was not one of the of four “bootleg” houses designed by Wright while he was with Adler & Sullivan. This was actually the first house Frank Lloyd Wright designed after leaving the firm.
The Walter H. Gale House is located 1031 Chicago Ave. in Oak Park, IL. The 1893 house used very similar plans to that of the other homes Wright designed and built around that time. Like the others, the Queen Anne styling shows the influence of the architect’s first teacher, Louis Sullivan. Wright would soon move toward the more modern designs for which he is best known.
Gale was a real estate agent who purchased plans for other houses built in Oak Park as well. Walter Gale is considered to be among the founding families of Oak Park
The rounded turret is balanced on the left by a
narrow, angular dormer that extends two stories from the second floor to the attic. The second floor master bedroom is wrapped with a band of curved windows with diamond pane leaded glass. The window arrangement is similar to the continuous band of leaded glass windows found in the semi-circular dining room bay of Wright’s William Winslow house, built in 1893.
Being one of the first independent designs by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Walter H. Gale House is historically significant in that it represents an important step in the architect’s development. It incorporates some design features typical of Wright’s early modern style.
The house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 17, 1973. The porch was restored in 1977.
Nathan G. Moore House
333 Forest Ave., Oak Park, IL
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Built: 1895
Also known as Moore-Dugal Residence, this house was Frank Lloyd Wright’s first independent commission in Oak Park after he left the firm of Adler & Sullivan. Wright had only recently opened his studio in downtown Chicago when his neighbors, Nathan G. Moore and his wife Anna, visited the architect’s new office. They contracted Wright to design a house for them that was to be influenced by English half-timber style architecture.
Wright reluctantly agreed to design a Tudor Revival style home for the couple but he was not keen on doing historical revivals. Wright later claimed to be embarrassed about the house and said his “heart was not in it”. The 1895 house was quite different than it is today.
An electrical fire broke out on December 23, 1922, which severely damaged the lower floors of the house. Although involved with several projects in California at the time, Frank Lloyd Wright agreed to Moore’s request to redesign the house. While retaining the esesence the Tudor style, the 1923 design significantly changed the appearance of the house. The new design has more ornamental features and incorporates some Gothic features with lancet windows on each side of the house.
Nathan Moore died in 1946, leaving the house to his daughter, Mary Hills. More recently the house was owned by Robert Dugal. The house was dubbed the Moore-Dugal Residence and was opened for seasonal public tours. Tours were curtailed in 2001, as Mr. Dugal’s health was failing. Robert Dugal died in 2020 from coronavirus and other complications.
Frank Thomas House
210 Forest Avenue
Oak Park, IL
The Frank W. Thomas House was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1901 and cast in the Wright-developed Prairie School of Architecture. By Wright’s own definition, this was the first of the Prairie houses – the rooms are elevated, and there is no basement. The house also includes many of the features which became associated with the style, such as a low roof with broad overhangs, casement windows, built-in shelves and cabinets, ornate leaded glass windows and central hearths/fireplaces. Tallmadge & Watson, a Chicago firm that became part of the Prairie School of Architects, added an addition to the rear of the house in 1923.
On September 14, 1972, the Frank Thomas House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Portions of the above text are reused from wikipedia with under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Arthur B. Heurley House
318 Forest Ave.
Oak Park, IL 60302
Built: 1902
This Frank Llloyd Wright house was constructed in 1902, in Oak Park. The Heurley is especially significant in Wright’s history of developing his architectural style in that it is one of his earliest Prairie Style designs.
The Heurley House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and designated as a National Historic Landmark on February 16, 2000.
Ward Winfield Willits House
Highland Park, IL
Willits House
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Location: 1445 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, IL
Built: 1902
This house was designed for Ward Winfield Willits in 1901 and built in 1902. It is considered to be his first “mature” Prairie style design with its rectangular central space, including a fireplace, and two rectangular wings to each side. Two more large wings extend to the front and back.
Wright designed custom furniture, wooden screens, and bookshelves for this house, as he did with man of his later designs. Much of the furniture has been sold off over the years. Many of the iconic set high-back chairs now are on display in museums. There was a set of six high-back chairs and five with lower backs along with a large dining table designed by Wright.
Some of the exotic, leaded glass windows were also sold to raise funds for renovation. They were removed and carefully replicated before the originals were sold.
The house has gone through much renovation, including replacing the foundation, and has changed ownership many times. A gardener’s cottage stands behind the house, which matches the wood frame and stucco system of construction of the main residence. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Hills-DeCaro House
313 Forest Avenue
Oak Park, IL
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Built: 1906
The Edward R. Hills House, later known as the Hills-DeCaro House, was originally designed by architect Charles C. Miller in 1883. The three-story, Stick Style house had tall sash windows below bracketed hoods, and a covered porch that extended across the front facade.
The house was purchased by Nathan Moore, who planned to remodel it as a wedding present for his daughter Mary. Mary Hills has significant interior renovation done in the years that followed. The house later underwent a major redesign by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Tom and Irene DeCaro purchased the house in 1977 and began further restoration, employing architect John Tilton. A fire severely damaged the property in 1976, after which it was reconstructed.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on
December 4, 1973 and was designated an Oak Park Landmark in January 2002.
Peter A. Beachy House
Originally a Gothic Cottage, this is a 2-story single-family residence was completely redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1906 in the Prairie School style.
The architect designed the reconstruction shortly after returning from a trip to Japan and the house has hints of Japanese styling. This is a masonry house on a poured concrete foundation. The house has four gabled dormers.
The Peter Beachy House is listed as a contributing property to the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1973.
