The Buildings of Wright’s Chicago Years

Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural principles were forged in the pioneering environment of late-nineteenth-century Chicago. Arriving in 1887, Wright would spend the first twenty years of his career working in the city and its suburbs. Chicago offered Wright an immersive environment of creativity and inspiration that shaped his architectural philosophies and laid the foundation for his future career. Listed here are the projects designed and built by Wright during his Chicago years. The buildings appear chronologically, dated by their original drawings. To learn more about each building click on the building’s name.


In early 1888, following a brief tenure with the architect Joseph Silsbee, Wright secured a position with the prestigious architectural firm of Adler & Sullivan. Wright was profoundly influenced by Louis Sullivan's idea of a uniquely American architecture reflecting the Midwestern landscape and suited to a modern American way of life.

  1. Auditorium Building, 1888, Chicago, Illinois
  2. Frank Lloyd Wright Home, 1889, Oak Park, Illinois
  3. Louis Sullivan Summer Cottage, 1890, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
  4. James Charnley House, 1891, Chicago, Illinois
  5. James Charnley Summer Cottage, 1891, Ocean Springs, Mississippi

    During his tenure at Adler and Sullivan, Wright supplemented his salary by undertaking several independent commissions.
  6. W.S. MacHarg House, 1891, Chicago, Illinois
  7. George Blossom House, 1892, Chicago, Illinois
  8. W. Irving Clark House, 1892, La Grange, Illinois
  9. Robert Emmond House, 1892, La Grange, Illinois
  10. Thomas and Laura Gale House, 1892, Oak Park, Illinois
  11. Dr. Allison Harlan House, 1892, Chicago, Illinois
  12. Warren McArthur House, 1892, Chicago, Illinois
  13. Albert Sullivan House, 1892, Chicago, Illinois
  14. Robert Parker House, 1892, Oak Park, Illinois

    In 1893, Wright left his position as head draftsman at Adler and Sullivan. From his studio workroom on the second floor of his Oak Park Home, Wright began his own architectural practice, soon taking office space in the Schiller Building in downtown Chicago
  15. Robert Lamp Summer Cottage, 1893, “Rocky Roost”, Governor’s Island, Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin
  16. Walter Gale House, 1893, Oak Park, Illinois
  17. Francis J. Woolley House, 1893, Oak Park, Illinois
  18. Mendota Boathouse, 1893, Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin
  19. William Winslow House, 1893, River Forest, Illinois
  20. Frederick Bagley House, 1894, Hinsdale, Illinois
  21. Dr. H.W. Bassett, Remodeling, 1894, Oak Park, Illinois
  22. Peter Goan House, 1894, La Grange, Illinois
  23. Four Houses for Robert Roloson, 1894, Chicago, Illinois
  24. Francis Apartments, 1895, Chicago, Illinois
  25. Luxfer Prisms, 1895
  26. Nathan G. Moore House, 1895, Oak Park, Illinois
  27. Chauncey Williams House, 1895, River Forest, Illinois
  28. Francisco Terrace, 1895, Chicago, Illinois
  29. Apartment Building for Edward C. Waller, 1895, Chicago, Illinois
  30. Expansion of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home, 1895, Oak Park, Illinois
  31. Alterations to the Harrison P. Young House, 1895, Oak Park, Illinois
  32. H.C. Goodrich House, 1896, Oak Park, Illinois
  33. Charles E. Roberts House, Additions, 1896, Oak Park, Illinois
  34. Isidore Heller House, 1896, Chicago, Illinois
  35. George Furbeck House, 1897, Oak Park, Illinois
  36. Romeo and Juliet Windmill Tower for the Hillside Home School, 1897, Spring Green, Wisconsin

    With funds secured through a contract with the Luxfer Prism Company, Wright built a new studio addition to his Oak Park residence. It was here that Wright pioneered a unique new vision for American architecture, the Prairie style. The Oak Park Studio years were an incredibly prolific period in Wright’s career, with more than a quarter of his life’s work produced at the site. The same year the Studio opened, Wright relocated his secondary business office downtown to Steinway Hall on Michigan Ave in 1897.
  37. Oak Park Studio for Frank Lloyd Wright, 1897, Oak Park, Illinois

    From 1898 to 1899, Wright retained secondary business office space at The Rookery Building in downtown Chicago. Wright would work from 8 am to 11 am at the Oak Park Studio before departing for Chicago to receive clients at his office from noon to 2 pm. Evening hours at the Studio were conducted from 7 pm to 9 pm.
  38. Rollin and Elizabeth Furbeck House, 1897, Oak Park, Illinois
  39. River Forest Golf Club, 1898, River Forest, Illinois
  40. George Smith House, 1898, Oak Park, Illinois
  41. Joseph Husser House, 1899, Chicago, Illinois
  42. Edward C. Waller House Interior Remodel, 1899, River Forest, Illinois
  43. William and Jesse Adams House, 1900, Chicago, Illinois
  44. B. Harley Bradley House, 1900, Kankakee, Illinois
  45. Stephen A. Foster Summer Cottage, 1900, Chicago, Illinois
  46. Warren Hickox House, 1900, Kankakee, Illinois
  47. Edward and Mary Hills/Thomas and Irene DeCaro House, Remodel, 1906, Oak Park, Illinois
  48. Fred B. Jones Summer House, Gate Lodge, Barn, and Stable, 1900, Lake Delavan, Delevan, Wisconsin
  49. Fred B. Jones Boathouse, 1900, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
  50. Warren McArthur Garage, 1900, Chicago, Illinois
  51. Henry Wallis Summer Cottage, Scheme 2, 1900, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
  52. E. Arthur Davenport House, 1901, River Forest, Illinois
  53. William G. Fricke House, 1901, Oak Park, Illinois
  54. Frank Henderson House, 1901, Elmhurst, Illinois
  55. Frank W. Thomas House, 1901, Oak Park, Illinois
  56. Edward C. Waller, Entrance Gates, Poultry House, and Stable, 1901, River Forest, Illinois
  57. T.E. Wilder Stable Building, 1901, Elmhurst, Illinois
  58. Susan Lawrence Dana House, 1901, Springfield, Illinois
  59. Delavan Lake Yacht Club, 1902, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
  60. Mary Gerts Summer Cottage, 1902, Whitehall, Michigan
  61. Walter Gerts Summer Cottage, 1902, Whitehall, Michigan
  62. Dr. A.W. Herbert House, Remodel, 1902, Evanston, Illinois
  63. Arthur and Grace Heurtley House, 1902, Oak Park, Illinois
  64. Arthur and Grace Heurtley Summer Cottage, Remodel, 1902, “Les Cheneaux”, Marquette Island, Michigan
  65. Hillside Home School, for Jane and Ellen Lloyd Jones, 1902, Spring Green Wisconsin
  66. E.H. Pitkin Summer Lodge, 1902, Sapper Island, Desbarats, Ontario, Canada
  67. Charles Ross Summerhouse, 1902, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
  68. George Spencer Summer Cottage, 1902, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
  69. Ward W. Willits House, 1902, Highland Park, Illinois
  70. George and Delta Barton House, 1903, Buffalo, New York
  71. Mamah Borthwick and Edwin H. Cheney House, 1903, Oak Park, Illinois
  72. W.H. Freeman House, 1903, Hinsdale, Illinois
  73. William R. Heath House, 1903, Buffalo, New York
  74. Robert Lamp House, 1903, Madison, Wisconsin
  75. Larkin Company Administration Building, 1903, Buffalo, New York
  76. Francis W. Little House, 1903, Peoria, Illinois
  77. Darwin D. and Isabelle Martin House, 1903, Buffalo, New York
  78. William E. Martin House, 1903, Oak Park, Illinois
  79. Scoville Park Foundation, 1903, Oak Park, Illinois
  80. J.J. Walser Jr. House, 1903, Chicago, Illinois
  81. Frederick F. Tomek House, 1904, Riverside, Illinois
  82. Mary M.W. Adams House, 1905, Highland Park, Illinois
  83. Charles A. Brown House, 1905, Evanston, Illinois
  84. E.A. Cummings Real Estate Office, 1905, River Forest, Illinois
  85. E-Z Polish Factory for D.D. Martin and W.E. Martin, 1905, Chicago, Illinois
  86. W.A. Glasner House, 1905, Glencoe, Illinois
  87. Thomas P. Hardy House, 1905, Racine, Wisconsin
  88. Arthur P. Johnson House, 1905, Lake Delavan, Delavan, Wisconsin
  89. Lawrence Memorial Library, 1905, Springfield, Illinois
  90. Darwin D. Martin Gardener’s Cottage, 1905 (revised 1908), Buffalo, New York
  91. The Rookery Building, Alterations, 1905, Chicago, Illinois
  92. Col. Frank L. Smith Bank Building, 1905, Dwight, Illinois
  93. Harvey P. and Eliza Sutton House, Scheme 3, 1905, McCook, Nebraska
  94. Unity Temple, 1905-08, Oak Park, Illinois
  95. Emma and Peter A. Beachy House, 1906, Oak Park, Illinois
  96. K.C. DeRhodes House, 1906, South Bend, Indiana
  97. Mrs. A.W. Gridley House, 1906, Batavia, Illinois
  98. Mrs. P.D. Hoyt House, 1906, Geneva, Illinois
  99. George Madison and Alice Millard House, 1906, Highland Park, Illinois
  100. Frederick Nichols House, 1906, Flossmoor, Illinois
  101. Emma Glasner Pettit Memorial Chapel, 1906, Belvidere, Illinois
  102. River Forest Tennis Club, 1906, River Forest, Illinois
  103. Orpha and Burton J. Wescott House, 1906, Springfield, Ohio
  104. George Blossom Garage, 1907, Chicago, Illinois
  105. Avery and Queene Ferry Coonley House, Stable, and Gardener’s Cottage, 1907, Riverside, Illinois
  106. Col. George Fabyan and Nelle Fabyan House, Remodel, 1907, Geneva, Illinois
  107. Fox River Country Club, Additions, 1907, Geneva, Illinois
  108. Stephen M.B. Hunt House, 1907, La Grange, Illinois
  109. Larkin Company Exposition Pavilion, Jamestown Tercentenary Exposition, 1907, Norfolk, Virginia
  110. Emma Martin Garage, 1907, Oak Park, Illinois
  111. Pebbles and Balch, Storefront Remodel, 1907, Oak Park, Illinois
  112. Jane and Andrew W. Porter House, 1907, “Tanyderi”, Hillside, Wisconsin
  113. Edward E. Boynton House, 1908, Rochester, New York
  114. E.D. Brigham Stable, 1908, Glencoe, Illinois
  115. Browne’s Bookstore, 1908, Chicago, Illinois
  116. Walter V. Davidson House, 1908, Buffalo, New York
  117. R.W. Evans House, 1908, Chicago, Illinois
  118. E.A. Gilmore House, 1908, Madison, Wisconsin
  119. Lena Kent and Samuel Horner House, 1908, Chicago, Illinois
  120. Meyer S. May House, 1908, Grand Rapids, Michigan
  121. Isabel Roberts House, 1908/1955, River Forest, Illinois
  122. George C. and Eleanor Stockman House, 1908, Mason City, Iowa
  123. Frank J. Baker House, 1909, Wilmette, Illinois
  124. Hiram Baldwin House, Scheme 2, 1909, Kenilworth, Illinois
  125. Como Orchards Summer Colony, 1909, University Heights, Darby, Montana
  126. The Bitter Root Inn, 1909, Stevensville, Montana
  127. City National Bank and Hotel, 1909, Mason City, Iowa
  128. Cora G. Robert D. Clarke Alterations to Stable, 1909, Peoria, Illinois
  129. Dr. William H. and Frances Copeland House and Garage Alterations, Scheme 2, 1908-09, Oak Park, Illinois
  130. Laura Robeson Gale Three Rental Cottages, 1909, Whitehall, Michigan
  131. Laura Robeson Gale House, 1909, Oak Park, Illinois
  132. James Kibben Ingalls House, 1909, River Forest, Illinois
  133. Edward P. and Florence Bernice Irving House, 1909, Decatur, Illinois
  134. Ingwald Moe House, 1909, Gary, Indiana
  135. Frederick C. Robie House, 1908-10, Chicago, Illinois
  136. Oscar M. Steffens House, 1909, Chicago, Illinois
  137. Emily and George C. Stewart Summer Cottage, 1909, Montecito, California
  138. Peter C. Stohr Arcade Building, 1909, Chicago, Illinois
  139. Edward C. Waller Bathing Pavilion, 1909, Charlevoix, Michigan
  140. Reverend Jessie R. Ziegler House, 1910, Frankfort, Kentucky
  141. Herbert and Blanche Angster House, 1911, Lake Bluff, Illinois

    Between September 1909 and October 1910, Wright spent a year in Europe working on the publication his Wasmuth Portfolio, a substantial monograph of his buildings and projects, the majority of which had been designed in his Oak Park Studio. Upon his return he immediately began plans for a new home and studio, Taliesin, which he would build in Spring Green, Wisconsin.
  142. Oscar B. Balch House, 1911, Oak Park, Illinois
  143. Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railway Station, 1911, Glencoe, Illinois
  144. Avery and Queene Ferry Coonley Stable, Rebuilding, 1911, Riverside, Illinois
  145. Lake Geneva Hotel, 1911, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
  146. Park Shelter, 1911, Banff, Alberta, Canada
  147. Frank Lloyd Wright House, Studio, and Farm, “Taliesin”, 1911, Spring Green, Wisconsin

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