Glessner, John J., House - Chicago, IL - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

More from their website: "A radical departure from traditional Victorian architecture, the structure served as an inspiration to architects such as Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe, and the young Frank Lloyd Wright and helped redefine domestic architecture.

The Glessner family lived in this house for fifty years, through the heyday and decline of the Prairie Avenue neighborhood. John Glessner cherished the home as a symbol of happy family life, and the interiors of Glessner House demonstrate the nearly perfect collaboration between the architect and his clients. Designed during the so-called Gilded Age, when America’s newly rich industrialists were living in modern-day castles, Glessner House represents architect Henry Hobson Richardson’s response to the Glessners’ desire for a simple, comfortable home that retained the “cozy” feeling of their previous home on West Washington Street.

The house’s fortified appearance is boosted by a foundation constructed of Illinois dolomite, with walls of Braggville pink granite. These walls are only eight to ten inches thick, concealing a structural wall of common brick.

Although the house contains over 17,000 square feet, domestic scale is preserved throughout. There are no vast empty spaces. And although many of the rooms are symmetrically planned, often with a centrally-placed fireplace flanked by doors or openings on one wall, the rooms are connected to each other asymmetrically, establishing a nice balance between formal and informal. In addition, more than half of the space was used for service.

In 1960, the Glessner House was named an honorary Chicago landmark. In 1970, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and renamed a Chicago landmark. In 1972, the Prairie Avenue Historic District, which includes the Glessner House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1976, the Glessner House was named a National Historic Landmark."

The home is located in the Prairie Avenue Historic District. Glessner House Museum offers guided tours of Glessner House (1886), a National Historic Landmark. Tours are led by trained docents and last approximately 75 minutes.

We were fortunate to be able to visit during the annual Open House Chicago in October, 2014.

Street address: 1800 S. Prairie Ave. Chicago, IL USA County / Borough / Parish: Cook Year listed: 1970 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1875-1899 Historic function: Domestic Current function: Recreation And Culture / Museum Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed

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