Col. George Fabyan and Nelle Fabyan House Remodel
Date: 1907
Address: 1511 South Batavia Avenue, Geneva, Illinois
City: Geneva, Illinois
Accessibility: Public
Category: Residential
Links: Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley
Wright was commissioned to renovate the Geneva, Illinois home of Colonel George Fabyan and his wife, Nelle, after designing the nearby Hoyt and Gridley houses. Fabyan, an eccentric textile manufacturer and dealer, retired to this vast country estate where he entertained guests and pursued research into an idiosyncratic range of subjects, including Japanese landscaping, cryptology, Shakespeare, acoustics, levitation, philosophy, and natural history. The estate, which he called Riverbank, included Japanese gardens, recreational facilities, a private zoo with exotic animals, and fountains. Wright‘s remodeling of Fabyan’s house, or “villa,” entailed giving the structure a more horizontal appearance through the addition of verandas.