Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the wide, flat, treeless expanses of America's native prairie landscape.
William Gray Purcell was a Prairie School architect in the Midwestern United States. He partnered with George Grant Elmslie, and briefly with George Feick. The firm of Purcell & Elmslie produced designs for buildings in twenty-two states, Australia, and China. The firm had offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Portland, Oregon.
The Edna S. Purcell house was designed by the firm of Purcell, Feick and Elmslie for architect William Purcell and his family in 1913. It is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Purcell & Elmslie (P&E), as it was most widely known, was a progressive American architectural practice. P&E was the second most commissioned firm of the Prairie School, after Frank Lloyd Wright. The firm was active from 1917 to 1921.
The Woodbury County Courthouse is located at 620 Douglas Street in Sioux City, the county seat of Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is regarded as "one of the finest Prairie School buildings in the United States" and has been declared a National Historic Landmark for its architecture. It is used for legal proceedings in the county.
Harold C. Bradley House, also known as Mrs. Josephine Crane Bradley Residence, is a Prairie School home designed by Louis H. Sullivan and George Grant Elmslie. It is located in the University Heights Historic District of Madison, Wisconsin, United States. A National Historic Landmark, it is one of just a few residential designs by Sullivan, and one of only two Sullivan designs in Wisconsin.
The Dr. Ward Beebe House, also known as the John Leuthold Residence, is a three-story stucco prairie house built by Dr. Ward and Bess Beebe and designed by Purcell and Elmslie in 1912. Purcell and Elmslie were prolific designers of prairie style homes. It is located in the West Summit Avenue Historic District, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States.
Merchants National Bank is a bank building in Winona, Minnesota, United States, designed in the Prairie School architectural style. It was built in 1912 and features elaborate terracotta and stained-glass ornamentation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 for having state-level significance in the themes of architecture and commerce. It was nominated for being the "largest and probably best example" of the 18 Midwestern banks designed by Purcell, Feick & Elmslie, a significant influence on early-20th-century American architecture. It is also a contributing property to the Winona Commercial Historic District.
The Charles and Grace Parker House is a house in the Lynnhurst neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota southeast of Lake Harriet. It was designed by notable local architects Purcell, Feick & Elmslie in the Prairie School style. Architecture critic Larry Millett calls it one of Purcell and Elmslie's greatest houses, citing the broad gabled roof, the groupings of windows, the side porch, and the detail surrounding the entry. The entrance includes a fretsawn arch and a frieze above the door, with beams and a pair of pendants on either side. George Grant Elmslie designed the leaded glass windows. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The Lawrence A. and Mary Fournier House is a historic bungalow in the Cleveland neighborhood of Minneapolis, built in 1910. It was designed by architect Lawrence Fournier as a home for himself and his family. It blends early Prairie School-style elements with American Craftsman architecture. It was also one of the first houses built in North Minneapolis.
The E.S. Hoyt House is a historic house in Red Wing, Minnesota, United States, designed by the firm of Purcell & Elmslie and built in 1913. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a contributing property to the Red Wing Residential Historic District.
The Hartington City Hall and Auditorium, also known as the Hartington Municipal Building, is a city-owned, brick-clad, 2-story center in Hartington, Nebraska. It was designed between 1921 and 1923 in the Prairie School style by architect William L. Steele (1875–1949).
The Ezra Abbott House is a historic house in Owatonna, Minnesota, United States. Built in 1913, it was designed by architects Purcell, Feick & Elmslie in Prairie School style patterned onto American Foursquare massing. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 for having local significance in the theme of architecture. It was nominated for being a leading example of Purcell, Feick & Elmslie's residential commissions in Southeast Minnesota, and for being Steele County's most outstanding Prairie School building.
The Merton S. Goodnow House at 446 S. Main St. in Hutchinson, Minnesota was built in 1913. It was designed by Purcell, Feick & Elmslie. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The College Hills Historic District is a 67-acre (27 ha) residential historic district in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It includes architect-designed homes by Purcell and Elmslie and other architects among its 114 contributing buildings. Among them is the Prof. Philip M. and Marian Raup House.
The Exchange State Bank in Grand Meadow, Minnesota, United States, is a Prairie School style building that was built in 1910. It was designed by architects Purcell & Elmslie. It has also been known as the First American State Bank. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The First State Bank of Le Roy at Main St. and Broadway in Le Roy, Minnesota, United States, is a small bank that was built in 1914. It was designed by architects Purcell & Elmslie in Prairie School architecture style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1986.
The Dr. J. W. S. Gallagher House is a 1913 Prairie School house in Winona, Minnesota, United States, designed by the architectural firm of Purcell & Elmslie. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 for having local significance in the theme of architecture.
The Jump River Town Hall, also known as McKinley Town Hall, is a historic Prairie School building located in Jump River, Wisconsin. Built in 1915, it was designed by the noted Prairie School architects Purcell & Elmslie, and is significant as the smallest public building they designed. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The River Forest Historic District is a national historic district encompassing much of the village of River Forest, Illinois. The district includes 830 buildings, most of which are houses as the village is almost entirely residential. The oldest structure in the district is the 1831 Bickerdike and Noble sawmill, the first permanent structure built by European settlers in River Forest; residential development began in the mid-nineteenth century and continued through the 1930s. The district has a considerable number of Prairie School houses, including a rare example of an entire block of small-scale Prairie homes. Several works by Frank Lloyd Wright are within the district, including the Winslow House and stable, the Chauncey L. Williams Residence, the Isabel Roberts House, the J. Kibben Ingalls House, and the River Forest Tennis Club. The Prairie School architects William Eugene Drummond, Tallmadge and Watson, Purcell & Elmslie, John S. Van Bergen, and Spencer & Powers designed homes in the district as well. Examples of other popular architectural styles, most prominently Italianate and Classical Revival, can also be found in the district.
