Oak Park, IL and Mr. Wright

In March, my son and I took a quick spring break road trip to Chicago. We had less than a day to spend in Chicago so we decided to visit Oak Park, IL and tour some of the Frank Lloyd Wright sites. The first stop was the Wright Home and Studio. The early stages of Wright’s style can be seen developing here. The Studio looks like it would have been a stimulating place to come to work. As often happens when I’m touring or visiting a building, the question — what roof would you use? — came up. Very hard to answer, of course, without knowing the construction of the building. There are low slope and steep slope portions. Visit the site: http://tinyurl.com/z4b29 Yes, I know. This photo is not of Mr. Wright's home/sutdio.

Our next stop was the Unity Temple, which was designed by Mr. Wright in 1905. This is an amazing building. If you thought exposed concrete was in style in the 1970s, Mr. Wright was there 65 years ago. The sanctuary is particularly interesting. It can seat 400 people and none are more than 45 feet from the podium. Very impressive. Visit the site: http://www.oprf.com/unity/