Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House turns 100 in 2010, and The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust is celebrating throughout the year. In commemoration, all sorts of new opportunities for visiting the modern icon are being made available to the public:
New programs include family workshops, in-depth examinations of the museum, social events, themed guided tours and self-guided tours. For more information, visit GoWright.org.
Noted for its open floorplan, the Robie House was cutting edge in its day, and remains so even now. Other modern features of the 1909 design are stretches of windows, strong horizontal lines, built-in furnishings, and the use of steel framing to dissolve enclosing walls. Read more on the Frederick C. Robie House here.
Have you visited this residential masterpiece of Wright's? If so, please tell us all about your experience below. If not, this year just might be the perfect chance!
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Comments (11)
I visited the Robie house back in October. Renovations were still underway but the tour still went through almost all areas of the house (the bedrooms and bathrooms were not included in the tour). The tour guide was very knowledgable and had an understanding about the construction materials as well as the design. For a renovation junkie like me it was a fun experience. It's an amazing property but it saddens me when I see how in-reach that style of house is yet center-entrance Colonials and split-entry-vinyl-sided generahomes still grow here in New England like weeds.
i had the opportunity to visit the robie house in december, and it was in the midst of a major interior facelift. 1st floor was devoid of flooring and details, as was some of the other public spaces on the main floor.
it's still such a fantastic space no matter what and definitely worthy of a tour.
I took a tour in late 2007. They had just started the renovations so there were large portions of wall that were stripped of paint and none of the rooms had furniture. Even so, it was a nice visit. I visited FLW's home and studio in Oak Park last year and that was amazing!
I went there in October as well, and was very disappointed to pay full price and have a shortened tour, because most of the interior of the house was under renovation. It is an amazing piece of residential architecture, but I would call and make sure the renovations are finished before going.
It is very striking but it doesn't look like a very comfortable place to lounge around in.
Oh, I used to live across the street from the Robie House when I was a student at the University of Chicago...so lovely to see it featured here.
You know what strikes me about many of the modernist houses is that they don't seem to have been designed to last. I have a Victorian brick townhouse that was built in 1872. At some point early on, it was converted from coal stoves in each room to coal central heating, then to oil (and I replaced the coal to oil furnace last year). And at some other point, electricity was put in to replace the gas lighting. And it's had a few new flat, rolled asphalt or tar roofs over the years (and due for another soon). But that's it.
Things are very sound in my house -- sure, I do interior design-y things and have updated my kitchen and will update my bathrooms, but I've got the original windows, walls, plaster, bricks, the whole thing. This baby was built to last!
It seems that when I watch shows or see sites about modern-type houses with their steel beams and things that they need a lot of work -- structural things are failing, water is getting in all over the place. Were the modern houses built to be more consumable, like other consumer goods of their time, while the Victorians were thinking more about reaching eternity?
i have the immense pleasure of sharing this beautiful house with people as a tour guide. winter is actually a great time to check out the robie house because the tours tend to be pretty small, since most tourists visit chicago in the summer. often there are as few as 2-4 people on a tour in the winter months, so you can basically ask any and every question that comes to mind, and just really enjoy the home without the crowds.
as far as renovation is concerned, the house is still a work in progress (which i think the staff is pretty forthcoming about), but the second floor (the main living space) is basically complete (the first picture here reflects the current state of the living room, to give you an idea).
when my husband and I visited Chicago two years ago, we ALMOST made it to the Robie House. But I hurt my foot and our travels were very limited! Perhaps we'd have been there at a bad time anyways. We're hoping to get to Chicago again soon, and this is on the list for sure.
I went to the Robie House a few years ago. I was delighted to finally visit in person, but quickly realized I would hate to live there. The low ceilings felt claustrophobic. Also there was little privacy because, according to the guide, Wright did not believe in shades or curtains. T
It is very nice house, the well-known architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed in Prairie style, the first architectural style that was uniquely American. It is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. It was designed for LEGO architecture toy as follow:
"LEGO 21010 Robie House Frank Lloyd Wright"
and
"LEGO 21005 Falling Water Frank Lloyd Wright"