Robie House, Chicago, IL - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Prairie Style” is characterized by long horizontal lines, low-pitched roofs, long rows of windows, natural looking exterior materials such as brick and wood, central chimneys and open interior spaces. All of these can be found in Robie House, located at 5757 S. Woodlawn Ave on the south side of Chicago near the campus of the University of Chicago. Local Chicago public television station, WTTG lists Robie House at number 4 on its list of 10 buildings that changed America.

Frederick C. Robie and his wife, Lora commissioned Wright to design their new home on a lot they had purchased near the University of Chicago where Lora had recently graduated. Robie was working for his father’s manufacturing concern at that time and was “heir apparent” to his father’s business. The House cost $58,500 at that time (about $1.4 million in today’s dollars). Construction was completed by the spring of 1910 and the Robies moved in in May.

After completing the design, Wright did not stick around to supervise construction. Instead, in 1909, he closed his Oak Park studio and moved to Europe to pursue publishing a portfolio of his work and to expand his audience. (The fact that he was embroiled in an affair with a client’s wife may also have contributed to his abrupt departure.) The Robies didn’t stay for long either. Frederick also became enmeshed in some “extra-curricular” activities causing Lora to leave with the children and never return. His father’s death and business debt drove Robie to sell the house after living there for only 14 months.

The house changed hands a couple of times before being bought by the Chicago Theological Seminary who wanted it more for the property than the building. They used it as a dormitory and dining hall – hardly a purpose envisioned by Wright. When plans to demolish the building surfaced, an outcry arose from various sources to preserve the structure including Frank Lloyd Wright himself, who was about 90 years old at the time. Eventually, the building was purchased and donated to the University of Chicago in 1963, the same year the building was declared a National Historic Landmark. In it, the University housed the Adlai E Stevenson Institute of International Affairs and the Alumni Association’s headquarters (again, hardly its intended purpose).

By 1997, the University of Chicago had moved out and turned the building over to the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust who have been restoring the house to its 1910 appearance. These folks also conduct excellent tours of the house and if you take the tour you’ll find out that Frank Lloyd Wright not only designed the building but also the furniture, rugs, light fixtures, pretty much everything. Moreover, he would get upset if the owners disagreed with any of his choices. Frank Lloyd Wright may have been an avant garde architect but he definitely predated the “customer is always right” era.

The stamp was part of the “Celebrate the Century” series and specifically showed items of significance from the years 1901 – 1910.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 3-Feb-1998 Denomination: 32 cents Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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