Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
192
The (Frank Lloyd) Wright Stuff
Oak P ark has the highest c oncentration of houses or buildings an ywhere
designed and built by Wright, probably the most influential figure in American
architectural history. People come here to marvel at the w ork of a man who
saw his lif e as a t wofold mission: t o wage a single -handed battle against the
ornamental excesses of architecture, Victorian in particular, and to create in its
place a new form that would be at the same time functional, appropriate to its
natural setting, and stimulating to the imagination.
Not everyone who comes to Oak Park shares Wright's architectural philoso-
phy. But scholars and enthusiasts admir e Wright for being consistently true to
his own vision, out of which emerged a unique and genuinely American archi-
tectural statement. The reason for Wright's success could stem from the fac t
that he himself was a living ex emplar of a quint essential American t ype. In a
deep sense, he embodied the ideal of the self-made and self-sufficient indi-
vidual who had survived, even thrived, in the frontier society—qualities that he
expressed in his almost-puritanical insist ence that each spatial or struc tural
form in his buildings ser ves some useful purpose. But he was also an aesthet e
in Emersonian fashion, deriving his idea of beaut y from natural environments,
where apparent simplicity often belies a subtle complexity.
The three principal ing redients of a t our of Wright-designed struc tures in
Oak Park are the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio tour, the Unity Temple
tour, and a walking tour —guided or self- guided—to view the ex teriors of
homes throughout the neighborhood that were built by the architect. Oak Park
has, in all, 25 homes and buildings b y Wright, constructed between the years
1892 and 1913, which c onstitute the core output of his P rairie School period.
Visiting another 50 dw ellings of ar chitectural interest by Wright's contempo-
raries, scattered throughout this c ommunity and neighboring R iver Forest, is
also worthwhile.
6
There's a city-operated par king lot next door . The hear t of the historic district and the
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio are only a few blocks away.
An extensive tour of the neighborhood surr ounding the F rank Lloyd Wright Home
and Studio leaves from the Ginkgo Tree Bookshop, 951 Chicago A ve. ( & 708/848-
1606 ), on w eekends fr om 10:30am to 4pm (tour times ar e some what mor e limited
Nov-Feb). This tour lasts 1 hour and costs $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and stu-
dents ages 11 to 18, and $5 for children 4 to 10. If you can't make it to Oak Park on the
weekend, you can follow a self-guided map and audiocassette tour of the historic district
for the same price; the audio tour is av ailable at the Ginkgo Tree Bookshop from 10am
to 3:30pm. In addition to homes designed b y Wright, you will see that of sev eral of his
disciples, as w ell as some v ery charming examples of the Victorian styling that he so
disdained. A mor e detailed map ($3 at the bookshop), Architectural Guide Map of O ak
Park and River Forest, includes text and photos of all 80 sites of interest in Oak Park and
neighboring River Forest.
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