Wright In Wisconsin - Wright And Like Tours

Tour private homes and building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and "like" architects. Guides will be present at each site to present information about the buildings, See site details below.

Delavan Lake Sites:
Penwern / Fred B. Jones House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1901) Penwern's design echoes a number of influences and nuances of Wright's work, harking back to Wright's interpretations of Japanese architecture and bringing into play the vocabulary he was developing for the Prairie School. The upward rake of the gable ends of the roof of the house resemble the upturned eaves of the Japanese pavilion at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, long acknowledged as seminal in Wright's development as a designer. Semi-circular porches virtually surround the house, which has five bedrooms and three fireplaces. The use of boulders for the masonry elements relates to Wright's Chauncey Williams House in Forest Park. Construction drawings for several of the estate buildings bear the date October 1900, meaning that actual construction began in 1901.


Penwern / Fred B. Jones Boathouse (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1901) The foundation of the original two-story Wright boathouse was used to construct an exact replica of the original design that was destroyed by fire.

	(c)Brian A. Spencer / Architect 2005
Penwern / Fred B. Jones Gatehouse and Stables (Frank Lloyd Wright 1901-03) As the name implies, the gatehouse stands adjacent to South Shore Drive and presents a dramatic profile to the passing public with a strong roofline at the first story, stone walls, iron gate, and a water tower and greenhouse. Unlike the other three buildings at Penwern (house, boathouse, stables), it has a horizontal roofline without the upturns at the gable ends. Wright used fieldstone for the lower walls to a larger extent than on the main house, doubtless to define a solid barrier between the estate and the road. Wright designed two schemes for the stables. The one that Jones did not have constructed used a pair of arched entry doors in the court area, with the doors covered by a gabled roof perpendicular to the main roof. The extant building, probably constructed about 1903, relates more closely to the house than the rejected design. The stable clearly resembles Wright's Prairie School work more than the dwelling, since by 1903 Wright had moved more firmly in that direction.

Charles Ross Cottage (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1902) Historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock described this house as the finest of the "forest" variations of the Prairie School houses. The changes to it have transformed it from a woodland lakeshore cottage into a larger, more finished vacation home as opposed to a cottage, just as the woodland character of Delavan Lake has given way in the last century to a more elegant, suburbanized appearance. A substantial summer home with four bedrooms and two fireplaces, the Ross Cottage floor plan is identical to a cottage designed for the Little family of Wayzata, Minnesota. The house has a cruciform plan with board-and-batten exterior and broad, overhanging eaves.
George Spencer House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1902) *Exterior Only* This charming home features many traits of Prairie School homes: generous overhanging eaves, hipped roof, and geometric massing. The exterior of the home is board-and-batten. The dramatic prow shaped porch creates a perfect place to enjoy the lake views.
Wallis Gatehouse (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1897) *Exterior Only* The Wallis Gatehouse, originally thought to be a 1901 remodeling of a much earlier house, now appears likely to have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1897, since newspapers of the proper dates have been found in its stud walls. The gatehouse was built on an eight-acre site that Henry Wallis, a Chicago and Oak Park developer, selected for himself from a larger tract (or tracts) that he acquired along the south shore of Delavan Lake. The steeply pitched roofline and half-timber gable ends are reminiscent of two Oak Park houses by Wright

Allyn Mansion (E. Townsend Mix, 1885) This Queen Anne-Eastlake style mansion, currently a bed and breakfast, has been meticulously restored to its original condition after years of neglect. Its restoration brought the Allyn Mansion the Grand Prize from the National Trust in its Great American Home Awards in 1992.
Lake Geneva Sites:
Lake Geneva Public Library (James Dresser, 1954) One of the city's most recognizable buildings, the prairie style building overlooks the lake from its downtown location in Library Park. The unique building has become a key stop for not only library patrons, but architectural enthusiasts as well. Constructed of Roman brick and red oak with immense glass areas, the building combines beauty and utility, making it both practical and a show piece which blends into its park setting.
Arrowhead (Ken Dahlin, 2007) This home, in the final stages of construction, was inspired by Wright's Hanna house in Palo Alto, California. The design takes advantage of lake views with large expanses of glass that are complemented by the warmth of interior brick walls and generous living spaces. The use of natural materials in contemporary applications, along with the unique hexagonal plan, creates spaces that have a sense of discovery, mystery and ambience about them.
Yerkes Observatory (Henry Ives Cobb, 1897) This magnificent building, completed in 1897, is located above Lake Geneva in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. It is known for its contributions in astrophysics, education, and engineering. Owned and operated by the University of Chicago, the exterior of the Romanesque style building has elaborate terra cotta designs that match the brown Roman brick.
Horticultural Hall (Spencer and Powers, 1912) This fine Arts & Crafts structure was built by several owners of the large estates on Lake Geneva so that the results of their gardener's labors, as well as farmers in the region, could receive a wide audience and recognition of their accomplishments. Horticultural Hall received special recognition when the United States Department of the Interior placed it on the National Register of Historic Places.

Happy Birthday Frank Lloyd Wright!

Friday, June 8th, 2007, 7:00-9:00pm