Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Finds More Frank Lloyd Wright Homes
In addition to Robie House, several of Wright's earlier works, still privately owned,
dot the streets of Hyde Park, such as the Heller House, 5132 S. Woodlawn Ave.
(1897); the Blossom House, 1332 E. 49th St. (1882); and the McArthur House,
4852 S. Kenwood Ave. (1892). These homes are not open to the public but can be
admired from the sidewalk.
hours of 11am to 3pm on Saturdays, as a massive, 10-year restoration project accelerates
to be completed in time for the house 's 100th anniversary in 2010. Advance ticket pur-
chases are recommended. After O ctober 2009, please call or check the w ebsite for ne w
details. Allow 2 hours.
5757 S. Woodlawn Ave. (at 58th St.). & 773/834-1847. www.gowright.org. Admission $12 adults, $10
seniors and childr en 7-18, fr ee for children 6 and under . Mon-Fri tours at 11am, 1, and 3pm; Sat-Sun
every half-hour 11am-3:30pm. Bookshop daily 10am-5pm. Bus: 6 or M etra Electric train to 57th St. and
Lake Park Ave.
Unity Temple Ages 10 & up. After fir e destr oyed its chur ch ar ound 1900, a
Unitarian Universalist congregation asked one of its members, F rank Lloyd Wright, to
design an affordable replacement. Using poured concrete with metal r einforcements—a
necessity, owing to the small budget of $40,000 allocated for the poject—Wright created
a building that on the outside seems as forbidding as a mausoleum but that on the inside
contains in its detailing the entir e architectural alphabet of the P rairie School that has
since made Wright's name immor tal. Following the example of H. H. Richar dson (of
Glessner House fame; see below), Wright placed the building's main entrance on the side,
behind an enclosure—a feature often employed in his houses as w ell—to create a sense
of privacy and intimacy. Front entrances w ere too anonymous for these two ar chitects.
Wright complained, fur thermore, that other ar chitectural conv entions of the chur ch
idiom, such as the nave in the Gothic-style cathedral across from the future site of Unity
Temple, were overpowering. Of that particular church, he commented that he didn't feel
a part of it.
Yet his vision in this r egard was some what confused and contradictor y. He wanted
Unity Temple to be “ democratic.” But perhaps Wright was unable to subdue his o wn
personal hubris and hauteur in the cr eative process, for the ultimate effect of his chapel,
and much of the building 's interior, is v ery grand and imperial. U nity Temple is no
simple meetinghouse in the tradition of Calvinist iconoclasm. I nstead, its principal cha-
pel looks like the chamber of the Roman Senate. Even so, the interior, with its unpredict-
able geometric arrangements and its decor reminiscent of Native American art, is no less
beautiful.
Wright used color sparingly within Unity Temple, but the pale, natural effects that he
achieved are owed in par t to his decision to add pigment to the plaster rather than use
paint. Wright's use of wood for trim and other decorativ e touches is still ex citing to
behold; his sensitivity to grain and tone and placement was akin to that of an exception-
ally gifted woodworker. Wright was a true hands-on, can-do person; he knew the materi-
als he chose to use as intimately as the ar tisans who carried out his plans. And his
stunning, almost-minimalist use of form is what still sets him apar t as a r elevant and
brilliant artist. Other details to which the docent guide will call y our attention, as y ou
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