Oscar B. Balch House (1911)

Oscar B. Balch House (1911)
611 North Kenilworth

View from Kenilworth Avenue Wright's house for interior decorator Oscar Balch was one of his first commissions after returning from Europe in summer of 1911. In its stark geometry of form, and in the horizontal linearity of its flat roofs, the house appears to continue the ideas began in his house of 1909 for Mrs. Thomas Gale.

Southwest view from Kenilworth Avenue In this house, Wright resurrected his earlier three part arrangement for the living spaces. The resulting spacial organization, with music room, living room opening onto a terrace, and dining room arranged across the front of the house from left to right, led Wright to design an equally formal and even somewhat mechanical street elevation.

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.

View from Kenilworth Avenue	Wright's house for interior decorator Oscar Balch was one of his first commissions after returning from Europe in summer of 1911. In its stark geometry of form, and in the horizontal linearity of its flat roofs, the house appears to continue the ideas began in his house of 1909 for Mrs. Thomas Gale.
Southwest view from Kenilworth Avenue	In this house, Wright resurrected his earlier three part arrangement for the living spaces. The resulting spacial organization, with music room, living room opening onto a terrace, and dining room arranged across the front of the house from left to right, led Wright to design an equally formal and even somewhat mechanical street elevation.