Built: 1889 Cost: $5,000 Designed by: Frank Lloyd Wright Renovated: 1898 Renovated: 1974-1987 Type: Museum Location: 951 Chicago Avenue, Oak Park, United States
T his is where America's most famous architect found his inspiration and turned his ideas into reality. In the sleepy, leafy Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Frank Lloyd Wright did what many architects dream of -- he designed his own home, added a studio, and earned a living delighting clients and neighbors with his designs.
Thanks to a $5,000.00 loan from his boss, Wright began on the house in 1889. It is a dark, imposing combination of Tudor chalet and stone fortress. The inside is the exact opposite, with soaring ceilings and a surprising amount of natural light coming in through the art glass windows. The gables and rooflines slope at perilous angles more appropriate for the alps, but when you build your own house, you can do anything you want. The home bears some trademark features of the Wright/Prairie style, including long, low walls along the sides exposed to the public. This is especially evident along the Chicago Avenue side of the building where the Studio Annex was erected in 1898. It has a row of the most unusual columns featuring storks. This is the entrance that Wright's clients would use, and the storks were the first things to greet them when they arrived.
Even in the early years of Frank Lloyd Wright's career, the home was considered an architectural showpiece. But it would suffer several indignities over the years. In 1909, Wright took off for Europe with another man's wife, leaving his own wife and children behind in Illinois. When he returned, the Studio Annex was converted into living space for his real family while he chose to live in Wisconsin. The Oak Park home was converted into a rental property, then sold several times and in the process, sliced into a number of apartments.
It wasn't until the 1970's that a group calling itself The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation decided to step in and rectify the situation. They embarked on a fundraising campaign and eventually restored the building back to the way it looked in 1909 – the year the cad left for Europe. The restoration is so painstakingly exact that it takes 13 years to complete.
stephanie
Thursday, April 27th, 2006 @ 10:51pm
Rating: Five stars. this is the most beautiful bulidings i ever saw good jod frank
Amy
Friday, February 25th, 2005 @ 7:43am
Rating: Five stars. Great architect,ive been studyin his works and they're really fantastic..and i love his home in oak park but the kauffman faling water residence is his best work !
Lauren Infusino
Wednesday, October 27th, 2004 @ 8:35pm
Rating: Four stars. I love this building. I am in 8th grade, our class visited this site only two days ago. It is beautiful. I imagined his homes to be more elegant feeling yet this house had a warm welcoming feeling, like a home should have. I also found how there was a wall separating the boys and girls room interesting.
Jacopo
Sunday, September 12th, 2004 @ 11:50am
Rating: Five stars. I think this building is great.
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stephanie
Five stars.
Amy
Four stars.
Jacopo