Of the “bootlegged” houses in Illinois, two are in LaGrange, two are in Oak Park, two were demolished and two were built side-by-side in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood—the George Blossom House and the Warren McArthur House. Serendipitously, both of these houses are on the market at the same time.

Join the Conservancy and realtor Louisa McPharlin of Coldwell Banker on Saturday, May 11 for an open house and reception from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. for the rare chance to tour these private homes. The McArthur House has been in Ms. McPharlin’s family since 1954. The Blossom house’s current owners, the Baum-Shaddle family, will be represented by their grandson, Cain Baum.

Both built in 1892 next door to one another, there is no chance of mistaking the Blossom House for the McArthur House. With a floor plan that is essentially a symmetrical Colonial Revival, the Blossom House’s yellow siding and white trim stands in direct contrast to the dark red bands of roman brick of the McArthur House. Once inside, however, Wright uses compressed entryways in both houses to emphasize the spacious interiors, adorned with built-ins and art glass throughout. Both houses also feature fully furnished rental properties that were converted from garages into coach house residences. These two additional structures are included in the afternoon tour. Four Wright structures plus a light reception and a good conversation with Conservancy members; a perfect spring afternoon in Chicago!

These houses are private residences (both currently for sale) so there may never be an opportunity to tour them again; literally a potential once-in-a-lifetime event.

Aside from the Home & Studio (restored to its 1910 state, so only semi-pre-Prairie), none of Wright’s pre-Prairie Style homes are open to the public (ignore the Charnley House, which may not be the work of Wright), yet they are incredibly important for understanding everything that followed — seeing Wright’s new ideas locked in mortal combat with traditional forms of late Nineteenth Century architecture is invariably enlightening.

(Follow this with a tour of the Robie House — BOOM! Mind blown; you’re welcome.)

Either there’s a Frank Lloyd Wright house there, or the Wright in Wisconsin guys can rock a d20.

May the Gygax smile upon your tour bus.

The second is a photo-heavy look at the preparations for the next phase in SC Johnson’s “At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright”. This phase is “Usonia” and the free exhibit opens May 3.

The Spencer House is a Solar Hemicycle designed in 1956; it resembles the Laurent House, though the floor plan is markedly different.

Designed in 1909, it is one of the last houses Wright completed before he left for Europe in 1910; the Edward Irving House is one of the fullest expressions of the Prairie House ideal. A classic example of gesamtkunstwerk, Wright designed the furniture, the silverware, china and fabrics, Walter Burley Griffin completed the landscape plan (together with the neighboring house designed by Marion Mahony) and George Niedecken painted a mural for the main. living spaces (since covered over). The spacious plan of Millikin Place offered a more open, prairie-like setting than the closer set neighborhoods of Oak Park and Hyde Park.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Roadtrip has great photos of the Irving House and its neighborhood. The Prairie School Traveler also has terrific exterior photos. The real estate agent’s site has a great gallery with numerous interior and exterior photos and a floor plan.

As Stipe explains, “If his admirers don’t know about his love for Japa- nese art, they are missing an important piece of the fascinating puzzle that is Frank Lloyd Wright. His appreciation for the Japanese aesthetic certainly resonated in his own work. While he claimed that his work was not influenced by Japanese architecture, he frequently credited the Japanese print with changing how he saw the world around him.”

The event is free and open to the public. You can call 217-788-9452 for more information.

This event is sponsored by the Dana-Thomas House Foundation in cooperation with the Springfield Art Association.

Bixler will be reading from her book this Saturday at The Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum at 11AM.

Here’s the opening:

Frank Lloyd Wright is often touted as the greatest architect in American history, but he is also remembered as a man corrupted by power.

Of course, Frank Lloyd Wright was never corrupt, and he never had all that much power.

It must be awesome to live a professional life unconstrained by facts.