William and Jesse Adams House
Date: 1900
Address: 9326 South Pleasant Avenue, Chicago, IL
City: Chicago, Illinois
Category: Residential
Accessibility: Private
The William and Jesse Adams house features a square plan, double hung windows, and an ample third story attic. These elements seem incongruous with the type of residences Wright was designing by 1900, which eschewed attics and made use of polygonal architectural volumes. Scholars speculate that William Adams, who served as the contractor for Wright’s Heller and Husser houses, may have designed the house himself. Questions of attribution are complicated by the fact that Wright’s name is printed on one of the original drawings. At the very least, the house’s widely overhanging roofs suggest Wright’s influence, if not his hand.