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WRIGHTPLUS 2 024 Wright

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

right Plus retur ns to Oak Park Saturday.

The housewalk opens eight Oak Park private homes, as well as Wright’s Home and Studio, to a sold-out crowd.

Celebrating its 50th year in the community, Wright Plus is a long-time draw for inter national visitors, as well as local architecture buffs.

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOY D WRIGHT TRUST

William G. Fricke House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1901)

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Proceeds of the walk support the restoration, preservation and education programs of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Walk co-chairs Joan Pantsios and Debbie Crouch said that over 1,000 visitors are expected to take part in the walk.

This year’s walk includes three Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes

The William G. Fricke home was commissioned in 1901. The stucco house showcases Wright’s Prairie Style with its horizontal banding and overhanging roof eaves. The house was designed during Wright’s short partnership with architect Webster Tomlinson. William Fricke was a partner in a school supply firm.

Wright’s Harry S. Adams House, designed in 1913, is Wright’s last Oak Park design. The brick Prairie Style

home features a low-hipped roof and a broad, central chimney. It is the only Wright design in Oak Park to include a carport.

The Emma and Peter A. Beachy House, was a renovation of a Gothic cottage in 1906. Wright’s remodeling saved little more than the original home’s foundation. The house features gabled roofs and red brick on the first story, with stucco on the second.

Emma and Peter A. Beachy House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1906)

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOY D WRIGHT TRUST

Foyer, Emma and Peter A. Beachy House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1906)

Three E.E. Roberts homes are on the walk this year

The Simpson Dunlop House and Joseph K. Dunlop were designed in 1896 and 1897 for brothers who were the grandsons of Oak Park founder Joseph Kettlestrings.

Both homes have been featured on Wright Plus previously, but the Simpson Dunlop house has not been featured since 1985.

“They homes were built one year apar t. It will be really interesting to compare the two the day of the walk,” Pantsios said.

The E.W. Pratt House, designed in 1909 by Roberts is on Wright Plus for the first time. Crouch says the house was moved from its original location on Oak Park Avenue.

“It’s pretty impressive they would move a whole house, but the idea then was that you didn’t spend a lot of money building a new house when you could just move one.”

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The Ashley C. Smith House was designed in 1908. The stucco home boasts stunning, original leaded glass windows. Visitors to the house will see radiator cove by the homeowner. Rumor has it that the Smith House is haunted, so visitors can as well.

The Cl House is also new to Wright Plus. Designed in 1922 Dunning, the Tudor home is one of two Dunning designs in Oak Pa search about Dunning with architect he died. Both group of arts supporters known as the Clif f tified Frank livan’s death.

See WRIGHT PLUS on pa ge 26

Gagliardo Group, which includes 4 generations of realtors, has over 20 licensed realtors, who are highly recognized and respected in the Oak Park, River Forest and greater Chicagoland area. They are among the most knowledgeable real estate agents in the field with personal roots in the communities they serve, giving them an “at-home”

Gagliardo Group, which includes 4 generations of realtors, has over 20 licensed realtors, who are highly recognized and respected in the Oak Park, River Forest and greater Chicagoland area. They are among the most knowledgeable real estate agents in the field with personal roots in the communities they serve, giving them an “at-home” advantage.

Gagliardo Group, which includes 4 generations of realtors, has over 20 licensed realtors, who are highly recognized and respected in the Oak Park, River Forest and greater Chicagoland area. They are among the most knowledgeable real estate agents in the field with personal roots in the communities they serve, giving them an “at-home” advantage. We are

We are now part of an innovative real estate company,

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOY D WRIGHT TRUST

Simpson Dunlop House (E.E. Roberts, 1896)

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Volunteers of utmost importance

Pantsios and Crouch said that Wright Plus would not be possible without the help of almost 350 volunteers.

“What really sets this walk apar t is how well-trained the volunteers are and the research they do. I don’t know of any other walk with this level of research into the history of the homes and owners and the architecture,” Pantsios said.

Some volunteers are locals who regularly give time to the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, and others come in from around the country just to take part in Wright Plus. This year, one of the volunteers at the Beachy House will be a for mer resident of the home.

This year’s volunteers will be wearing shirts emblazoned with the number 50 for the 50th anniversary of the walk. In addition to the Trust-provided training, volunteers also get to take part in Preview Night, in which they get to tour the homes on the walk the night before with a guest. After the walk has ended on Saturday, the volunteers are treated to an after-party with food, drink and raffles.

“We understand it’s a lot of work They’re making a big sacrifice for us that weekend. We want our volunteers to have a wonderful time. The way they come together is pretty remarkable,” Crouch said.

Plan ahead

Wright Plus 2024 is sold out, but this year’s co-chairs said it’s a good time to pencil in the dates for Wright Plus 2025. Wright Plus is typically held the third weekend in May.

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOY D WRIGHT TRUST

Clyde E. and Elizabeth Shorey House (Max Dunning, 1922)

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOY D WRIGHT TRUST

Ashley C. Smith House (Tallmadge and Watson, 1908)

Homeowners honor history in rehabs featured on Wright Plus

By LACEY SIKORA Contributing Reporter

Wright Plus Co-Chairs Joan Pantsios and Debbie Crouch said that participants in this year’s Wright Plus will get a chance to see how the homes have been remodeled over the years.

“People are doing very sympathetic work. The homeowners are really taking care of the houses,” Pantsios said.

At the Harry S. Adams house, she said visitors should be on the lookout for a large urn when they go up the stairs. The urn was falling apar t when the owners purchased the home, and they were going to have a new one made. After a conversation with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, she said they were able to restore the original ur n rather than replace it.

At the E. W. Pratt House, homeowners used the original art glass windows to inspire the

design of a new front door, and at the Ashley C. Smith House, the fence in the front of the home replicates the design of the original leaded glass windows.

Pantsios pointed out that the Beachy House recently underwent a roof restoration project and that the owners found a box of original roof tiles and were pleased to discover just how much their restoration resembled the original roof.

Crouch said that while all the homeowners

are wonderful stewards of their homes, it’s important to note the homes are not museums and are used for day-to-day living. Some of the fun of the housewalk is seeing how homeowners have made historic homes livable for more moder n times.

She pointed out that the two adjacent Dunlop Houses have more modern kitchens that are charming. One of them also

Harr y S. Adams House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1913)

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOY D WRIGHT TRUST

E.W. Pratt House (E.E. Roberts, 1909)

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ts a pool in the backyard.

“The kitchens and the bathrooms are the first things to ,” Pantsios said. “In the days these houses were you had a cook, who was probably the only one using the kitchen. Nowadays, people live in their kitchens.”

According to Pantsios, a lot of recent homeowners have expanded the footprint of the kitchen by incorporating for maids. Many homeowners have also added family rooms to their houses.

berts’ E. W. Pratt House, there was originally a maid to use. In 2009, later owners reto remodel the first floor and created a one of the bedrooms on the second floor in the space where the rear staircase once stood.

Crouch said that most homes on Wright Plus will permit visitors to tour two floors, but some homes will have three for touring. Commonly, the third-floor once used as ballrooms but have since been conyday uses.

“You can still see that they used to be ballrooms. People used to entertain big groups in the past,” she said. “It’s really charming and wonderful to imagine.”

JAMES CAULFIELD/FRANK LLOY D WRIGHT TRUST

Joseph K. Dunlop