Prairie Style, 1900-1920
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Frank Loyd Wright's home and studio, Oak Park, IL |
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| The Prairie Style is a uniquely American style of architecture developed by a group of primarily Midwestern architects including Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan. This group, known as the Prairie School, sought to create an architectural style that did not incorporate any elements or influences from past styles of architecture from other countries. While Sullivan designed many commercial buildings, Wright directed his efforts almost exclusively towards domestic design. Many excellent examples of Prairie Style homes are found in and around Chicago. Two Chicago suburbs, Oak Park and River Forest, are particularly rich in Prairie Style architecture, but the style can be found in many Midwestern suburbs. | |
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411 W. Indiana |
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| The Prairie School was influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. Some common architectural features of the Prairie Style include low-pitched hipped roofs with widely overhanging eaves; two stories, with one-story wings or porches; eaves, cornices, and façade detailing emphasizing horizontal lines; massive, square porch supports; horizontal rows of windows with geometric glazing patterns; trim accenting the top half of the upper story; second story window boxes; and flattened pedestal urns. The horizontal lines were said to be symbolic of the flat plains of the prairie. Most Prairie Style houses have modern forms with very little excess ornament. If ornament was present, it was an abstraction of nature expressed in geometric patterns. Frank Lloyd Wright made the Prairie Style famous with his idea of “organic architecture” where his buildings were design to express and reflect the landscapes within which they were set. With the help of Wright, pattern books, and popular magazines, the style was widely spread and was fashionable from 1900 to 1920. It was one of the most short-lived styles and the style faded from architectural fashion after World War I. | |
