Willits House
Encyclopedia
The Ward W. Willits House is a building designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright
. Designed in 1901, the Willits house is considered the first of the great Prairie
houses. Built in the Chicago
suburb of Highland Park, Illinois
, the house presents a symmetrical facade to the street. The plan is a cruciform with four wings that extend out from a central hearth. In addition to art-glass windows and wooden screens that divide rooms, Wright also designed most of the furniture in the house.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. Designed in 1901, the Willits house is considered the first of the great Prairie
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
houses. Built in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb of Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park, Illinois
Highland Park is a suburban municipality in Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. As of 2009, the population is 33,492. Highland Park is one of several municipalities located on the North Shore of the Chicago Metropolitan Area.-Overview:Highland Park was founded...
, the house presents a symmetrical facade to the street. The plan is a cruciform with four wings that extend out from a central hearth. In addition to art-glass windows and wooden screens that divide rooms, Wright also designed most of the furniture in the house.