Gale, Mrs. Thomas H., House - Oak Park, IL
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Hikenutty
N 41° 53.512 W 087° 47.931
16T E 433729 N 4638078
This home was commissioned by the the wife of Thomas Gale after his death. It is the 2nd home Wright designed for the family.
Waymark Code: WM1VNT
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 07/14/2007
Published By:Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
Views: 24

The following text is from chicagoarchitecture.info:
On a private drive in a private community it only makes sense to use one of Frank Lloyd Wright's more private designs. Wright had a thing for horizontal walls. Sometimes they are used to evoke feelings. Sometimes to accent. Or, as in this case, they are used to obscure.

The lower floor features a long low wall keeping prying eyes out of the family's main living space. A parallel wall is used as a balcony railing on the second floor, further obscuring views and giving the occupants privacy where it is most needed. This is particularly important because the openness of the window wall continues through to the other side of the home. But like many aspects of a Wright design, there are dual uses. The long walls continue in the rear of the building where they frame a series of terraces and balconies to view the backyard. Similarly, the roof is only slightly pitched so that the eye remains firmly on the main mass of the building, rather than travel upward to some fancy gable. On a lot with lots of tall trees as vertical elements, the house becomes an intersection for visual lines, and a base from which the trees can sprout, rather than joining them in the canopy.

The home can be found at 6 Elizabeth Court in Oak Park. It is a private residence so please respect the owner's privacy and take any photos from the street.

Street address:
6 Elizabeth Court
Oak Park, IL USA
60302


County / Borough / Parish: Cook

Year listed: 1970

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering

Periods of significance: 1900-1924

Historic function: Domestic

Current function: Domestic

Privately owned?: yes

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Season start / Season finish: Not listed

Hours of operation: Not listed

Secondary Website 1: Not listed

Secondary Website 2: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
HaricotVert_52 visited Gale, Mrs. Thomas H., House - Oak Park, IL 05/18/2010 HaricotVert_52 visited it
adgorn visited Gale, Mrs. Thomas H., House - Oak Park, IL 10/11/2009 adgorn visited it
Hikenutty visited Gale, Mrs. Thomas H., House - Oak Park, IL 07/14/2007 Hikenutty visited it

View all visits/logs