The Ward W. Willits House is a historic house at 1445 Sheridan Road in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed in 1901 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Willits house is considered one of the first of the great Prairie School houses. The building presents a symmetrical facade to the street and has a cruciform plan, with four wings extending out from a central fireplace. In addition to stained-glass windows and wooden screens that divide rooms, Wright also designed the furniture for the house.

Background

The Willits House is one of Wright's first true Prairie-style houses; as such, it is the culmination of the period of experimentation that Wright engaged in the previous few years. This house was designed for Ward Winfield Willits in 1901, who was then vice-president of Adams and Westlake Company, a brass foundry of which he was later made president. Orlando Giannini, who was employed by Willits at the time, may have been responsible for the creation of this house as he introduced Wright to Willits. Wright was known for bridging the gap between architecture and nature, which makes this house fascinating because it is a full expression of Wright's interest in reconnecting with nature and Wright's equal interest in Japanese architecture and the Secession art movement that was simultaneously occurring.

Design

The construction of the Willits House marked the full development of Wright's wood frame and stucco system of construction. Although the Willits House has two stories, it is a more complex shape, consisting of a rectangular central space with a rectangular wing projecting from each side of that space. This is a standard design feature for most prairie-style houses, in addition to low roofs, elements that run parallel to the ground and extend out beyond the frame of the house. Wright used a cruciform plan with the interior space flowing around a central chimney core and extending outward onto covered verandas and open terraces.

Post-1954

The house was purchased in 1983 and the new owner began renovations. The new owner and his wife mainly completed the work, focusing on returning the building its original 1909 setting, and made sure to maintain Wright's unique features throughout the house. The restoration was acknowledged by many to be Museum quality, and received a Driehaus award. The house still sits on the same site in Highland Park, Illinois and is a common attraction for those who want to view a piece of architectural history. The Frank Lloyd Wright "Tour of the North Shore" currently explores the northern suburbs of Chicago along Lake Michigan to see one dozen Frank Lloyd Wright houses, including the Ward Willits House.

See also

  • List of Frank Lloyd Wright works
  • Ward Hinckley House, a Maine house (not designed by Wright) based on this one
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Lake County, Illinois

References

  • (S.054)
  • Willits House on waymarking.com