Robert P. Parker House

Coordinates: 41°53′38″N 87°48′2″W / 41.89389°N 87.80056°W / 41.89389; -87.80056
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Robert P. Parker House
Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District (ID73000699[2]
)
Added to NRHPDecember 4, 1973

The Robert P. Parker House is a house located in the

Registered Historic District
.

History

The Robert P. Parker House is one of three houses along Chicago Avenue in Oak Park which have come to be known as American architect Frank Lloyd Wright's "Bootleg Houses."[3][4] The triplet of houses includes the Thomas H. Gale House and the Walter Gale House as well as the Parker House and they were designed by Wright independently while he was still employed by Adler and Sullivan. Architect Louis Sullivan loaned Wright money during the construction of his own home and studio and Wright was working it off at the firm. Independent work was forbidden by Sullivan.[3][4] The Parker house is especially similar to the Thomas H. Gale House.[3] The houses were designed on a speculative basis for Wright neighbor Walter Gale in 1892.[5] In all, Wright designed nine "bootleg houses" moonlighting while still under contract with Sullivan.[4] When Sullivan found out about the side projects, in late 1892 or early 1893, Wright was dismissed.[4] The Parker House is one of four that still stand.

They were built later that same year, 1892, by real-estate agent Thomas Gale, who sold the Parker House to attorney Robert Parker.

LaGrange, Illinois.[5] Parker, an attorney, bought the house from the Gales early on in the building process as his name appears on the plans.[5]

Architecture

polygonal dormers
on the Parker House are featured in all of the bootleg houses that survive.

The design for the Parker House and the Thomas Gale House, and to some extent the Walter Gale House, were derived from the more expensive Emmond House in LaGrange.

Joseph Silsbee. Sullivan's influence can also be seen in the taut masses of the house, his philosophy of "geometric simplification" is evident in the Parker House's design.[3] While generally cast in the Queen Anne style of architecture the Parker House has more ample rounded forms than the common Queen Anne homes being built at the time.[3][4]

The small size is deceiving as the Parker House is spacious. The

symmetrical but adjacent buildings are built too close for the design to be seen clearly.[5]

Significance

Though small in size and adorned with inexpensive detailing, the Parker House and the Gale House are of significance because of what they reveal about Frank Lloyd Wright's development as an architect.

Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District.[6] The historic district was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1973.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Frank Lloyd Wright Architectural Guide Map, Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust.
  2. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0961691506
    ). Retrieved 9 June 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d e Lockwood, Charles. "The houses Wright built," The New York Times, 8 June 1986. Retrieved 9 June 2007.
  5. ^
    ISBN 0785821457
    ).
  6. ^ "Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District," Property Information Report-District listing, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 9 June 2007.

References

  • Storrer, William Allin. The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. University Of Chicago Press, 2006,
    ISBN 0-226-77621-2
    (S.017)
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