The Buildings of Wright’s Chicago Years
Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural principles were forged in the pioneering environment of late-nineteenth-century Chicago. Arriving in 1887, Wright would spend the first twenty years of his career working in the city and its suburbs. Chicago offered Wright an immersive environment of creativity and inspiration that shaped his architectural philosophies and laid the foundation for his future career. Listed here are the projects designed and built by Wright during his Chicago years. The buildings appear chronologically, dated by their original drawings. To learn more about each building click on the building’s name.
In early 1888, following a brief tenure with the architect Joseph Silsbee, Wright secured a position with the prestigious architectural firm of Adler & Sullivan. Wright was profoundly influenced by Louis Sullivan's idea of a uniquely American architecture reflecting the Midwestern landscape and suited to a modern American way of life.
- Auditorium Building, 1888, Chicago, Illinois
- Frank Lloyd Wright Home, 1889, Oak Park, Illinois
- Louis Sullivan Summer Cottage, 1890, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
- James Charnley House, 1891, Chicago, Illinois
- James Charnley Summer Cottage, 1891, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
During his tenure at Adler and Sullivan, Wright supplemented his salary by undertaking several independent commissions. - W.S. MacHarg House, 1891, Chicago, Illinois
- George Blossom House, 1892, Chicago, Illinois
- W. Irving Clark House, 1892, La Grange, Illinois
- Robert Emmond House, 1892, La Grange, Illinois
- Thomas and Laura Gale House, 1892, Oak Park, Illinois
- Dr. Allison Harlan House, 1892, Chicago, Illinois
- Warren McArthur House, 1892, Chicago, Illinois
- Albert Sullivan House, 1892, Chicago, Illinois
- Robert Parker House, 1892, Oak Park, Illinois
In 1893, Wright left his position as head draftsman at Adler and Sullivan. From his studio workroom on the second floor of his Oak Park Home, Wright began his own architectural practice, soon taking office space in the Schiller Building in downtown Chicago - Robert Lamp Summer Cottage, 1893, “Rocky Roost”, Governor’s Island, Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin
- Walter Gale House, 1893, Oak Park, Illinois
- Francis J. Woolley House, 1893, Oak Park, Illinois
- Mendota Boathouse, 1893, Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin
- William Winslow House, 1893, River Forest, Illinois
- Frederick Bagley House, 1894, Hinsdale, Illinois
- Dr. H.W. Bassett, Remodeling, 1894, Oak Park, Illinois
- Peter Goan House, 1894, La Grange, Illinois
- Four Houses for Robert Roloson, 1894, Chicago, Illinois
- Francis Apartments, 1895, Chicago, Illinois
- Luxfer Prisms, 1895
- Nathan G. Moore House, 1895, Oak Park, Illinois
- Chauncey Williams House, 1895, River Forest, Illinois
- Francisco Terrace, 1895, Chicago, Illinois
- Apartment Building for Edward C. Waller, 1895, Chicago, Illinois
- Expansion of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home, 1895, Oak Park, Illinois
- Alterations to the Harrison P. Young House, 1895, Oak Park, Illinois
- H.C. Goodrich House, 1896, Oak Park, Illinois
- Charles E. Roberts House, Additions, 1896, Oak Park, Illinois
- Isidore Heller House, 1896, Chicago, Illinois
- George Furbeck House, 1897, Oak Park, Illinois
- Romeo and Juliet Windmill Tower for the Hillside Home School, 1897, Spring Green, Wisconsin
With funds secured through a contract with the Luxfer Prism Company, Wright built a new studio addition to his Oak Park residence. It was here that Wright pioneered a unique new vision for American architecture, the Prairie style. The Oak Park Studio years were an incredibly prolific period in Wright’s career, with more than a quarter of his life’s work produced at the site. The same year the Studio opened, Wright relocated his secondary business office downtown to Steinway Hall on Michigan Ave in 1897. - Oak Park Studio for Frank Lloyd Wright, 1897, Oak Park, Illinois
From 1898 to 1899, Wright retained secondary business office space at The Rookery Building in downtown Chicago. Wright would work from 8 am to 11 am at the Oak Park Studio before departing for Chicago to receive clients at his office from noon to 2 pm. Evening hours at the Studio were conducted from 7 pm to 9 pm. - Rollin and Elizabeth Furbeck House, 1897, Oak Park, Illinois
- River Forest Golf Club, 1898, River Forest, Illinois
- George Smith House, 1898, Oak Park, Illinois
- Joseph Husser House, 1899, Chicago, Illinois
- Edward C. Waller House Interior Remodel, 1899, River Forest, Illinois
- William and Jesse Adams House, 1900, Chicago, Illinois
- B. Harley Bradley House, 1900, Kankakee, Illinois
- Stephen A. Foster Summer Cottage, 1900, Chicago, Illinois
- Warren Hickox House, 1900, Kankakee, Illinois
- Edward and Mary Hills/Thomas and Irene DeCaro House, Remodel, 1906, Oak Park, Illinois
- Fred B. Jones Summer House, Gate Lodge, Barn, and Stable, 1900, Lake Delavan, Delevan, Wisconsin
- Fred B. Jones Boathouse, 1900, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
- Warren McArthur Garage, 1900, Chicago, Illinois
- Henry Wallis Summer Cottage, Scheme 2, 1900, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
- E. Arthur Davenport House, 1901, River Forest, Illinois
- William G. Fricke House, 1901, Oak Park, Illinois
- Frank Henderson House, 1901, Elmhurst, Illinois
- Frank W. Thomas House, 1901, Oak Park, Illinois
- Edward C. Waller, Entrance Gates, Poultry House, and Stable, 1901, River Forest, Illinois
- T.E. Wilder Stable Building, 1901, Elmhurst, Illinois
- Susan Lawrence Dana House, 1901, Springfield, Illinois
- Delavan Lake Yacht Club, 1902, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
- Mary Gerts Summer Cottage, 1902, Whitehall, Michigan
- Walter Gerts Summer Cottage, 1902, Whitehall, Michigan
- Dr. A.W. Herbert House, Remodel, 1902, Evanston, Illinois
- Arthur and Grace Heurtley House, 1902, Oak Park, Illinois
- Arthur and Grace Heurtley Summer Cottage, Remodel, 1902, “Les Cheneaux”, Marquette Island, Michigan
- Hillside Home School, for Jane and Ellen Lloyd Jones, 1902, Spring Green Wisconsin
- E.H. Pitkin Summer Lodge, 1902, Sapper Island, Desbarats, Ontario, Canada
- Charles Ross Summerhouse, 1902, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
- George Spencer Summer Cottage, 1902, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
- Ward W. Willits House, 1902, Highland Park, Illinois
- George and Delta Barton House, 1903, Buffalo, New York
- Mamah Borthwick and Edwin H. Cheney House, 1903, Oak Park, Illinois
- W.H. Freeman House, 1903, Hinsdale, Illinois
- William R. Heath House, 1903, Buffalo, New York
- Robert Lamp House, 1903, Madison, Wisconsin
- Larkin Company Administration Building, 1903, Buffalo, New York
- Francis W. Little House, 1903, Peoria, Illinois
- Darwin D. and Isabelle Martin House, 1903, Buffalo, New York
- William E. Martin House, 1903, Oak Park, Illinois
- Scoville Park Foundation, 1903, Oak Park, Illinois
- J.J. Walser Jr. House, 1903, Chicago, Illinois
- Frederick F. Tomek House, 1904, Riverside, Illinois
- Mary M.W. Adams House, 1905, Highland Park, Illinois
- Charles A. Brown House, 1905, Evanston, Illinois
- E.A. Cummings Real Estate Office, 1905, River Forest, Illinois
- E-Z Polish Factory for D.D. Martin and W.E. Martin, 1905, Chicago, Illinois
- W.A. Glasner House, 1905, Glencoe, Illinois
- Thomas P. Hardy House, 1905, Racine, Wisconsin
- Arthur P. Johnson House, 1905, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
- Lawrence Memorial Library, 1905, Springfield, Illinois
- Darwin D. Martin Gardener’s Cottage, 1905 (revised 1908), Buffalo, New York
- The Rookery Building, Alterations, 1905, Chicago, Illinois
- Col. Frank L. Smith Bank Building, 1905, Dwight, Illinois
- Harvey P. and Eliza Sutton House, Scheme 3, 1905, McCook, Nebraska
- Unity Temple, 1905-08, Oak Park, Illinois
- Emma and Peter A. Beachy House, 1906, Oak Park, Illinois
- K.C. DeRhodes House, 1906, South Bend, Indiana
- Mrs. A.W. Gridley House, 1906, Batavia, Illinois
- Mrs. P.D. Hoyt House, 1906, Geneva, Illinois
- George Madison and Alice Millard House, 1906, Highland Park, Illinois
- Frederick Nichols House, 1906, Flossmoor, Illinois
- Emma Glasner Pettit Memorial Chapel, 1906, Belvidere, Illinois
- River Forest Tennis Club, 1906, River Forest, Illinois
- Orpha and Burton J. Wescott House, 1906, Springfield, Ohio
- George Blossom Garage, 1907, Chicago, Illinois
- Avery and Queene Ferry Coonley House, Stable, and Gardener’s Cottage, 1907, Riverside, Illinois
- Col. George Fabyan and Nelle Fabyan House, Remodel, 1907, Geneva, Illinois
- Fox River Country Club, Additions, 1907, Geneva, Illinois
- Stephen M.B. Hunt House, 1907, La Grange, Illinois
- Larkin Company Exposition Pavilion, Jamestown Tercentenary Exposition, 1907, Norfolk, Virginia
- Emma Martin Garage, 1907, Oak Park, Illinois
- Pebbles and Balch, Storefront Remodel, 1907, Oak Park, Illinois
- Jane and Andrew W. Porter House, 1907, “Tanyderi”, Hillside, Wisconsin
- Edward E. Boynton House, 1908, Rochester, New York
- E.D. Brigham Stable, 1908, Glencoe, Illinois
- Browne’s Bookstore, 1908, Chicago, Illinois
- Walter V. Davidson House, 1908, Buffalo, New York
- R.W. Evans House, 1908, Chicago, Illinois
- E.A. Gilmore House, 1908, Madison, Wisconsin
- Lena Kent and Samuel Horner House, 1908, Chicago, Illinois
- Meyer S. May House, 1908, Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Isabel Roberts House, 1908/1955, River Forest, Illinois
- George C. and Eleanor Stockman House, 1908, Mason City, Iowa
- Frank J. Baker House, 1909, Wilmette, Illinois
- Hiram Baldwin House, Scheme 2, 1909, Kenilworth, Illinois
- Como Orchards Summer Colony, 1909, University Heights, Darby, Montana
- The Bitter Root Inn, 1909, Stevensville, Montana
- City National Bank and Hotel, 1909, Mason City, Iowa
- Cora G. Robert D. Clarke Alterations to Stable, 1909, Peoria, Illinois
- Dr. William H. and Frances Copeland House and Garage Alterations, Scheme 2, 1908-09, Oak Park, Illinois
- Laura Robeson Gale Three Rental Cottages, 1909, Whitehall, Michigan
- Laura Robeson Gale House, 1909, Oak Park, Illinois
- James Kibben Ingalls House, 1909, River Forest, Illinois
- Edward P. and Florence Bernice Irving House, 1909, Decatur, Illinois
- Ingwald Moe House, 1909, Gary, Indiana
- Frederick C. Robie House, 1908-10, Chicago, Illinois
- Oscar M. Steffens House, 1909, Chicago, Illinois
- Emily and George C. Stewart Summer Cottage, 1909, Montecito, California
- Peter C. Stohr Arcade Building, 1909, Chicago, Illinois
- Edward C. Waller Bathing Pavilion, 1909, Charlevoix, Michigan
- Reverend Jessie R. Ziegler House, 1910, Frankfort, Kentucky
- Herbert and Blanche Angster House, 1911, Lake Bluff, Illinois
Between September 1909 and October 1910, Wright spent a year in Europe working on the publication his Wasmuth Portfolio, a substantial monograph of his buildings and projects, the majority of which had been designed in his Oak Park Studio. Upon his return he immediately began plans for a new home and studio, Taliesin, which he would build in Spring Green, Wisconsin. - Oscar B. Balch House, 1911, Oak Park, Illinois
- Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railway Station, 1911, Glencoe, Illinois
- Avery and Queene Ferry Coonley Stable, Rebuilding, 1911, Riverside, Illinois
- Lake Geneva Hotel, 1911, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
- Park Shelter, 1911, Banff, Alberta, Canada
- Frank Lloyd Wright House, Studio, and Farm, “Taliesin”, 1911, Spring Green, Wisconsin