Paying homage to the hometown boy who made good, Cannon, a journalist, editor and publicist and tour leader of the Frank Lloyd Write Preservation Trust, presents, in chronological order, 27 Wright homes built in Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois. The last chapter surveys eight lost, altered and possibly Wright structures. The text includes over
Frank Lloyd Wright designed his first house in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. After that 1889 Queen Anne/Shingle-style home, Wright's architectural vision departed from traditional house plans to his now-famous Prairie-style examples. The final house he designed for Oak Park, the Adams House of 1913, was one of his last Prairie houses, as he continued to explore new approaches to architecture. "Hometown Architect" presents twenty-seven Wright homes - and Unity Temple, one of his most innovative designs - in chronological order, documenting one of the most interesting periods of the architect's consistently interesting career. The last chapter surveys eight "lost, altered, and possibly Wright" homes. Photographs of the buildings' exteriors and interiors are accompanied by descriptive captions, while text introducing each chapter details the story behind the commission. A map on the endpapers shows all the sites' locations. Today, Oak Park and River Forest (a neighbouring Chicago suburb) are a Mecca for Wright scholars and enthusiasts. "Hometown Architect" is a thorough chronicle of the architect's Prairie-style philosophy.
Even if you have never had the good fortune to see these houses at first hand, this book's textual and photographic tours will make you feel as though you have done so-to your inevitable delight.