Whether you’re an architecture enthusiast or looking for a culturally rich break, this journey through Wright’s legacy provides a unique perspective on American design …
For those with a passion for design, few names resonate quite like Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the US’s greatest architects. Wright redefined modern living through his philosophy of organic architecture, designing buildings that exist in harmony with their surroundings. Illinois is home to the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail – easily accessible via the direct flights from Dublin to Chicago. Visitors and fans can explore the roots of his career and experience his work up close.
The trail invites visitors to explore twelve architect-designed sites at their own pace, which are open for public tours and including two UNESCO World Heritage properties: Unity Temple and the Frederick C. Robie House.
This self-guided architectural adventure includes several landmark Chicago buildings. As a young draftsman, Frank Lloyd Wright helped design the Charnley-Perskey House, now regarded as a pivotal early modern work and later transformed the interiors of The Rookery into one of his most dramatic designs. Located in Hyde Park on the University of Chicago campus, the Frederick C. Robie House is a UNESCO-listed architectural landmark and widely considered the finest example of Prairie School architecture, with guided tours available via the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.
Located just outside of Chicago, Oak Park is home to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, where Wright lived and worked for two decades. This site offers an introduction to his ideas and early designs. A short from here, architecture lovers can explore the Unity Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Wright’s most celebrated works, renowned for its innovative use of reinforced concrete and light-filled interiors.
The B. Harley Bradley House is beside the Kankakee River where visitors can also take a half-hour boat trip past neighbouring homes along the water, one of them also designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Located in Springfield, the Dana Thomas House features a vast 35room layout and an unparalleled collection of Frank Lloyd Wright designed interiors. In Dwight, the First National Bank of Dwight, which is now over 110 years old and remains a functioning bank, making it the sole Wright designed bank still in active use today.
Designed in 1950, Muirhead Farmhouse in Hampshire is the only farmhouse designed and built by Wright. In Rockford, the Laurent House was created as a pioneering, single storey home designed for wheelchair access, combining an open plan design and locally sourced materials.
In Belvidere, the Pettit Memorial Chapel stands as Wright’s only cemetery, noted for its simple, modern design, while the Colonel George Fabyan Villa in Geneva, remodelled by Wright in 1907, now operates as a museum.
Where To Stay
1. The Blackstone Hotel blends Beaux-Arts elegance with contemporary comfort, located near Chicago’s Grant Park.
2. The Robey, housed in a striking Art Deco tower, is a boutique hotel with panoramic city views and access to some of Chicago’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. Link to piece on Chicago
3. Pendry Chicago, set within the historic 1929 Art Deco Carbide & Carbon Building, this design-forward hotel offers a stylish base in downtown Chicago within easy reach of Oak Park and Frank Lloyd Wright sites.
