Charles E. Roberts - Main House (1896)
321 North Euclid Avenue


View looking west from Euclid Avenue
This Queen Anne house was originally designed and built for Charles Roberts, president of the Chicago Screw Company, by the noted architectural firm of Burnham & Root. Roberts was a remarkable man, who in the 1890's became the patron of Frank Lloyd Wright, nurturing and supporting the young Wright in whom he sensed true artistic genius.

Northwest view from Euclid Avenue
The exterior of this house belies the riches that lie within. In 1896 Wright remodeled the interiors of this house for his patron. The result was one of the most exquisite ensembles of decorative woodwork to survive from the earliest years of Wright's architectural practice.
At the rear of the lot on which this house sits was a dwelling built or remodeled by Wright about 1896 as the Roberts Stable. This structure was moved in 1929 to its present location beside the main house by Robert's son-in-law, the noted architect Charles E. White Jr., who remodeled it into a residence.

The above commentary was excerpted from Guide to Frank Lloyd Wright & Prarire School Architecture in Oak Park by Paul E. Sprague (published 1986). The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust Book Catalog offers a selection of guidebooks which can be ordered online.


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