The Emil Bach House is a Prairie style house in the Rogers Parkneighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States that was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was built in 1915 for an admirer of Wright's work, Emil Bach, the co-owner of the Bach Brick Company. The house is representative of Wright's late Prairie style and is an expression of his creativity from a period just before his work shifted stylistic focus. The Bach House was declared a Chicago Landmark on September 28, 1977, and was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on January 23, 1979.[2]
On December 5, 1914, Emil Bach and his wife Anna purchased the site of the Bach House from Amelia Ludwick and her husband. In 1915 Bach commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design the house. Joseph Peacock purchased the house from the Bachs in 1934 and owned it until 1947. The property changed hands twice in 1951; the final sale was in December to Manuel Weiss who held the property until 1959. That year he sold the house to Joseph Blinder.[3]
In 2003, Toulabi put the home up for sale with a price of US$2.5 million, it was later listed at $1.9 million.[4] The house lingered on the market for months before it was finally put up for auction with a starting bid of $750,000, less than a third of the original asking price. Factors contributing to the slow market for the Wright designed landmark included the restrictive nature of local landmark ordinances which prevent owners from making significant alterations without prior approval.[5] The Rogers Park neighborhood changed from a once quiet lake front, country area to a busy street, which also contributed to the sluggish demand for the house.[5] Preservationists expressed concern surrounding the auction and the question of the final destiny for the expansive 45ft (13.72 m) by 150ft (45.72 m) side yard.[4][6] The yard is zoned "RT-4" which, among other residential uses, allowed bidders the option to develop high rise apartments or condominiums.[4][7] When the home finally sold at auction, "well above the opening bid of $750,000," the new owners revealed that they intended to live in the house and preserve the yard.[6]
In 2009, according to Crain's Chicago, Jennifer Pritzker paid $1.7 million to acquire the house. "The seller, Jane Elizabeth Feerer, bought the famous architect's Prairie-style home at a 2005 auction for $1.17 million. She financed the acquisition with a loan for just under that amount from a trust controlled by Ms. Pritzker, president and CEO of investment firm Tawani Enterprises Inc., according to property records."[8]
facade bricks detail view
Following an extensive restoration, the house was re-opened to the public in 2014.[9] It is no longer open to the public or available for rent.[10]
Architecture
The Bach House in November 2009.
The Bach House is one of the homes that Wright designed after his late 1910 return from Europe which is still extant in the city of Chicago. The home is part of a series of geometric, cubic homes with overhanging, flat roofs designed by Wright in the early 20th century. These details were first published by Wright in a 1907 Ladies Home Journal article.[11] The first was the Laura Gale House in Oak Park, Illinois, followed by the Oscar Balch House, also in Oak Park, Coonley Kindergarten, the Frederick C. Bogk House and then the Bach House.[12] Of the houses of this type in Chicago, with cubic masses and a slab roof, the Bach House is the only one left standing.
The 2,700ft2 (250.84 m2) house was designed as a two-story single family residence with a basement.[4][12] When the house was constructed it was a "country home" with a clear view of Lake Michigan from its rear (east) facade.[5][12] Due to the changing nature of the Rogers Park neighborhood, the house now stands among commercial properties and apartment buildings on a busy city street (North Sheridan Road).[5] Because of the lake view, the original building had a large rear porch and sun deck; they were both enclosed when houses were built between the Bach House and the lake, obstructing the view. The enclosure of the sun deck and porch utilized mainly glass, to aid in the alteration's melding with Wright's intended vision. Nonetheless, the current owner intends to restore the rear porch and sun deck. Other alterations included the removal of some of Wright's signature built-in features. A built-in seat was removed from the living room and a built-in counter removed in the dining room. Both have since been restored. On the second floor, the servant's room was converted into a second bathroom.[12]
Significance
The Bach House is an example of Frank Lloyd Wright's late Prairie style and was designed in the period just prior to his transition to a more expressionist, Japanese influenced aesthetic.[12] The home's individuality, coupled with its high artistic merit, and famous architect, make it significant historically and culturally.[12] The city of Chicago declared the structure a Chicago Landmark on September 28, 1977, and on January 23, 1979, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[2][13]
The Bach House is on prime Chicago real estate, one block from Lake Michigan.[14] The neighborhood has been an area where developers bought property with the intent of building high-rise apartment and condominium buildings.[14] According to experts such as Ronald Scherubel, the executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in Chicago, a historic preservationeasement has likely been the only thing that has prevented demolition of the Bach House. The easement prohibits the destruction or alteration of the house without approval from the city and the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois.[14]
The Winslow House is a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house located at 515 Auvergne Place in River Forest, Illinois. A landmark building in Wright's career, the Winslow House, built in 1894–95, was his first major commission as an independent architect. While the design owes a debt to the earlier James Charnley House, Wright always considered the Winslow House extremely important to his career. Looking back on it in 1936, he described it as "the first 'prairie house'."
The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio is a historic house and design studio in Oak Park, Illinois, which was designed and owned by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. First built in 1889 and added to over the years, the home and studio is furnished with original Wright-designed furniture and textiles. It has been restored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust to its appearance in 1909, the last year Wright lived there with his family. Here, Wright worked on his career and aesthetic in becoming one of the most influential architects of the 20th century.
The Frank Lloyd Wright/Prairie School of Architecture Historic District is a residential neighborhood in the Cook County, Illinois village of Oak Park, United States. The Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District is both a federally designated historic district listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and a local historic district within the village of Oak Park. The districts have differing boundaries and contributing properties, over 20 of which were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, widely regarded as the greatest American architect.
The Isidore H. Heller House is a house located at 5132 South Woodlawn Avenue in the Hyde Park community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The house was designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The design is credited as one of the turning points in Wright's shift to geometric, Prairie School architecture, which is defined by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, and an integration with the landscape, which is meant to evoke native Prairie surroundings.
John Shellette Van Bergen was an American architect born in Oak Park, Illinois. Van Bergen started his architectural career as an apprentice draftsman in 1907. In 1909 he went to work for Frank Lloyd Wright at his studio in Oak Park. At Wright's studio he did working drawings for and supervised the Robie House and the Mrs. Thomas Gale House. Van Bergen designed prairie style homes in the Chicago area, mostly in the suburbs of Oak Park and River Forest. His home designs are recognized as excellent examples of Prairie style architecture and several are listed as local landmarks. A few of his homes are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Laura Gale House, also known as the Mrs. Thomas H. Gale House, is a home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The house was designed by master architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1909. It is located within the boundaries of the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District and has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since March 5, 1970.
The Arthur B. Heurtley House is located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The house was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in 1902. The Heurtley House is considered one of the earliest examples of a Frank Lloyd Wright house in full Prairie style. The house was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places when it was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 16, 2000.
The Walter H. Gale House, located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and constructed in 1893. The house was commissioned by Walter H. Gale of a prominent Oak Park family and is the first home Wright designed after leaving the firm of Adler & Sullivan. The Gale House was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on August 17, 1973.
The Peter A. Beachy House is a home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois that was entirely remodeled by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1906. The house that stands today is almost entirely different from the site's original home, a Gothic cottage. The home is listed as a contributing property to the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District, which was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The George W. Smith House is a home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1895. It was constructed in 1898 and occupied by a Marshall Field & Company salesman. The design elements were employed a decade later when Wright designed the Unity Temple in Oak Park. The house is listed as a contributing property to the Ridgeland-Oak Park Historic District which joined the National Register of Historic Places in December 1983.
The Robert P. Parker House is a house located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The house was designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1892 and is an example of his early work. Real-estate agent Thomas H. Gale had it built and sold it to Robert P. Parker later that year. The house was designed by Wright independently while he was still employed by the firm Adler & Sullivan, run by engineer Dankmar Adler and architect, Louis Sullivan; taking outside commissions was something that Sullivan forbade. The Parker House is listed as a contributing property to a U.S. federally Registered Historic District.
The Thomas H. Gale House, or simply Thomas Gale House, is a house located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The house was designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1892 and is an example of his early work. The house was designed by Wright independently while he was still employed in the architecture firm of Adler & Sullivan, run by engineer Dankmar Adler and architect, Louis Sullivan; taking outside commissions was something that Sullivan forbade. The house is significant because of what it shows about Wright's early development period. The Parker House is listed as contributing property to a U.S. federally Registered Historic District. The house was designated an Oak Park Landmark in 2002.
The George W. Furbeck House is a house located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. The house was designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1897 and constructed for Chicago electrical contractor George W. Furbeck and his new bride Sue Allin Harrington. The home's interior is much as it appeared when the house was completed but the exterior has seen some alteration. The house is an important example of Frank Lloyd Wright's transitional period of the late 1890s which culminated with the birth of the first fully mature early modern Prairie style house. The Furbeck House was listed as a contributing property to a U.S. federal Registered Historic District in 1973 and declared a local Oak Park Landmark in 2002.
The William H. Copeland House is a home located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. In 1909 the home underwent a remodeling designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The original Italianate home was built in the 1870s. Dr. William H. Copeland commissioned Wright for the remodel and Wright's original vision of the project proposed a three-story Prairie house. That version was rejected and the result was the more subdued, less severely Prairie, William H. Copeland House. On the exterior the most significant alteration by Wright was the addition of a low-pitched hip roof. The house has been listed as a contributing property to a U.S. Registered Historic District since 1973.
The Oscar B. Balch House is a home located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The Prairie style Balch House was designed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1911. The home was the first house Wright designed after returning from a trip to Europe with a client's wife. The subsequent social exile cost the architect friends, clients, and his family. The house is one of the first Wright houses to employ a flat roof which gives the home a horizontal linearity. Historian Thomas O'Gorman noted that the home may provide a glimpse into the subconscious mind of Wright. The Balch house is listed as a contributing property to a U.S. federally Registered Historic District.
The Charles E. Roberts Stable is a renovated former barn in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The building has a long history of remodeling work including an 1896 transformation by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Francis J. Woolley House is located in Oak Park, Illinois, United States, a Chicago suburb. The house was designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1893. The Queen Anne style home is reflective of Wright's early designs for lower-cost, more affordable housing. The Woolley House is similar to the trio of homes in Oak Park that are widely known as the "bootleg houses." The design is heavily influenced by Wright's first teacher, Joseph Silsbee, and the Arts and Crafts movement. The house is listed as a contributing property to a local and federal historic district.
The Harrison P. Young House is a home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The 1870s era building was remodeled extensively by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, early in his career, in 1895. The home's remodeling incorporated elements that would later be found in Wright's pioneering, early modern Prairie style. Some of the remodel work included setting the home back an additional 16 ft from the street and an overhanging porch over the driveway. The House is similar in some ways to Wright's other early work and was influenced by his first teacher, Joseph Silsbee. The house is considered a contributing property to both a local and federally Registered Historic District.
The F. F. Tomek House, also known as The Ship House or as the Ferdinand Frederick and Emily Tomek House, is a historic house in Riverside, Illinois. It is a prominent example of Prairie School design by Frank Lloyd Wright. Designed in 1904 and construction finished in 1906, the Tomek House is a well-preserved example of the style. In addition to being a good example of the Prairie style, the Tomek house documents the development of the style, which reached its clearest expression in Wright's Robie House in 1908. It is included in the Riverside Historic District and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1999.
The 1905 Mary W. Adams House, is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home that was constructed in Highland Park, Illinois. The Adams House is a two-story home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a light stucco exterior and wooden trim that emphasizes the horizontal.
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