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Doing the Wright Thing in Chicago, Illinois
The Frederick Robie House is a seminal piece of American architecture, a must-see example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s signature Prairie style. Completed in 1910 and recently restored to stunning effect, this herald of modernism in architecture lends more than a little panache to the predominantly Gothic University of Chicago campus where it resides. In the land of Wright, horizontal is king: stop and marvel at the low, clean lines, the broad eaves made possible by ingenious cantilevering (and steel), the overriding sense that this place, equal parts sculpture and lodging, belongs to the land more than sits upon it. Sign up for a tour to explore the equally impressive interior, where long belts of art-glass windows and inventive sconces work magic with shadow and light. Thank your lucky stars that this national treasure wasn’t demolished to make room for a Chicago Theological Seminary dormitory back in 1957. "It all goes to show the danger of entrusting anything spiritual to the clergy," Lloyd Wright reportedly said of the (thankfully) thwarted plan.
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