Oak Park/Frank Lloyd Wright, Chicago

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This is a suburb city that drew many to the close in to commute to downtown Chicago. It used to the the upscale feel, but now is mo0re "mixed" and generally being run down and deteriorated form when I left in 1976, bacause I left, maybe? Bordered by Harlem and Austin Blvd E & W and North AVe and Roosevelt Rds N & S, it is in the middle of much activity and only 10 miles from Chicago center. I was a commuter for about 1 year, and getting to the city was a "trip" so to speak, due to the elements that would board the L train that I was not used to. I moved out of town.
Seeing Frank Lloyd Wright homes architecture and Hemingway home are the featured icons here.

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Price is $8 and steep for the short tour (maybe 15 minutes) of the interior. This was the designing of Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905. The first Unity church burned that years and Wright started the first of 1,100 buildings in his design years. This took 4 years to complete and has not steeple, nor front entry different and unique, and the majority is formed concrete outside As can be seen, the interior is patterned with wood designs and a Mission look style, I think.

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Oak Park is a well known suburb of Chicago for two reasons, first because it is filled with homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and second because it was the birth place of Ernest Hemingway. It's an easy daytrip from Chicago, either by car or public transportation, as it is only about 10 miles outside Chicago's downtown.

I finally got around to visiting on a beautiful sunny June afternoon after many years of saying "gee we really should go there sometime". There are several ways to visit Oak Park, I'd suggest that you make your first stop the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio which has information about Frank Lloyd Wright plus information on Oak Park in general. They have guided tours leaving from here on the weekends, self guided audio tours or a map of the significant architecture which you can purchase for about $4. The Chicago Architecture Foundation also has guided tours on foot or by bus.

For more information on visiting this community, please see my Oak Park page

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Maher may have inspired with, or competed with Frank Lloyd Wright, both of which featured this style of Prairie home in late 1800's. This home was built in 1897, and is on 217 Home Ave, Oak Park. It is just south of the CTA rail tracks in a different section of town.There are 30 rooms. It is $5 to enter, and has a lot of wonderful looking wood motif colors and shapes.

Nine miles west of Chicago, Oak Park is best known as the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and it's Prairie style homes built by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Oak Park, Illinois is home to the world's largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings and houses, with 25 structures built between 1889 and 1913. It was in Oak Park that Wright developed and perfected his signature Prairie Style architecture, emphasizing the use of interior light and open spaces in low, earth-hugging buildings. His designs changed the course of 20th century architecture. Many of the Wright houses and buildings in Oak Park and River Forest are registered National Historic Landmarks

This is the address for the walking tours that will bring you past many Frank Lloyd Wright homes.
951 Chicago Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60302

Oak Park, Illinois is just a little train ride from downtown Chicago. The home of Frank Lloyd Wright is a good tour of a fantastic house...with much of his original furniture in place. There are knowledgeable guides who give insights into the man and his family. Oak Park is also the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway, altho I didn't get to view that museum. There is a visitors Center at 158 N. Forest Ave....when you've walked from the Oak Park stop at Marion Street. (Metro West Line) The whole neighborhood is interesting, so plan to do a walking tour on your own. See my t'logues for more pics at Wright's home and neighborhood.

It is worth the short train ride to go out to see Wright's home. (several blocks from the train) Again I was warned not to go by train and walk around the immediate neighborhood, but it was fine. The house is just marvelous..furnished with pieces he created. There is an excellent tour and book store. Interesting stories about how work as well as personal tidbits about the man and his life.

I didn't research the various houses I saw in Oak Hill, but photographed those which I thought were probably Wright's work. Here we see the trademark row of windows which so characterizes his work. If not a Wright house, then certainly someone drew their ideas from him. If anyone knows the specifics of any of these houses, please leave a comment to tell me about it.
UPDATE: thanks to the VT community we have now identified this house and it is in fact a Wright creation. Thank you, DABS. Exerpts from the site re: his home and work....
"This house was commissioned by James C. Rogers for his daughter and her husband, Frank Wright Thomas. In some ways, it resembles the Heurtley House: Both homes have leaded glass windows, an arched entryway, and a low, long profile. The Thomas house is widely considered Wright's first Prairie Style home in Oak Park. It is also his first all stucco home in Oak Park. Using stucco instead of wood meant that Wright could design clear, geometric forms.

The main rooms of the Thomas House are raised a full story above a high basement. The L-shaped floor plan of the house gives it an open view to the north and west, while obscuring a brick wall located on the south side. A "false door" is located just above the arched entryway."
REFER TO: http://architecture.about.com/library/blflwthomas.htm