Robie House

-Frank Llloyd Wright's Prairie School style house on South Side

The Frederick C. Robie House is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous works. It was built 1908-10 as the residence for the Robie Family, and is situated in the Hyde Park district, next to the university campus on the South Side. It is a US National Historic Landmark and is considered the greatest example of Prairie School style, where the architect designed also the interior and furnitures. Robie commissioned the legendary architect Wright to design his home at an age of only 28. Wright designed it in his home at Oak Park, a west Chicago suburb where you also can find several of his works. The residence was built mostly in red brick, and has many special features like Wright's signifcant windows. It also looks very modern for being built in the early 1900s. Unfortunately Robie had to sell the house after only living there for 14 months, due to financial problems, the death of his father and the divorce with his wife. The second tenant, David Lee Taylor, died only a year after he moved in to the house. After that the Wilber family lived there for 14 years, later the university took over the house. In 1971 Robie House was saved from demolition by declaring it a landmark, and when the university moved out in 1997, the house was restored to its original appearance. Today it is a display house, open for visitors.

We visited Robie House on a guided tour a very hot day, combined with walking around at the University campus. It was easy to reach by bus from downtown. The address is 5757 S. Woodlan Ave, at 58th St.