William G. Fricke House Oak Park, Illinois

The Fricke House was beautiful.  It was originally designed and built in 1901 and some of the original house remains intact.  It is a stucco building with wood trim and lots of plate windows.  The design is primarily vertical…  much more so than any of the prairie designs.

 

The garden walk and gazebo were torn down and half of the original double lot was sold off at some point, but the home has maintained much of its original look.  This was built early in Wright’s career when he was still building homes that were very vertical.

 

Though there are strong horizontal lines in the home, the home is 3 stories tall and the vertical orientation of the house cannot be denied.  A garage was designed by Wright in 1907 for the second owner and it fits with the look of the house.  This home had the longest lines for the tour and we obviously were hustled through pretty quickly.  I would love to see the interior of the house in more depth.

Side facing the street:  May, 2003

Facing the street: May 2003

A pavilion was built at the time of construction.  It was later demolished and the land was sold so that a neighbor could build a home.  It is unfortunate that they did so.  The home is now really cramped on that side.

You hardly notice the top floor from here: May, 2003

About the author

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Brad Smith

Brad Smith is an experienced interior designer and the founder of OmniHomeIdeas.com. With a Master's degree in Interior Design from Pratt Institute and a passion for creating safe and healthy living spaces, Brad shares his expert insights and innovative design ideas with our readers. His work is driven by the belief that home is where every story begins.

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