A Frank Lloyd Wright Building in Chicago Where You Might Lay Your Head

Written By on April 12, 2013

Emil Bach House

Few people will ever have the chance to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright home. But thanks to a Chicago billionaire, a lot more people will get the chance to at least sleep in one.

The Emil Bach House (7415 North Sheridan Road) in Rogers Park is undergoing an extensive restoration. When it’s done it will be used for private events, and also welcome overnight guests.

The house is being renovated by Tawani Enterprises. Its C.E.O. is J.N. Pritzker, who bought the house in 2009 for a reported $1.7 million. Harboe Architects designed the renovation which is expected to be completed in July of this year. According to the restoration blog:

Originally, the house had a clear view of Lake Michigan from the open sun deck on the east facade. Although this view no longer exists due to later development in the Rogers Park neighborhood, the sun deck, which was enclosed in the 60′s, will be restored. Also scheduled for restoration, is the entirety of the exterior stucco, the 1st floor three season porch, the masonry and the wood trellises and trim. The art glass windows, which were also removed years ago, will be replicated and reinstalled. One of the original casement windows, with it geometric art glass design is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Bach house was commissioned by brick tycoon Emil Bach in 1915. It is considered an excellent example of late Prairie School architecture, and one of the finest surviving Wright houses in the nation.

Because of its location and zoning, preservationists have long worried about this house’s future. The renovation happening now pretty much insures that it won’t be turned into a condo block any time soon.

You can watch the progress of this historic renovation on the building’s official blog: Emil Bach House

Editor

Author: Editor

Editor founded the Chicago Architecture Blog in 2003, after a long career in journalism. He can be reached at chicagoarchitectureinfo@gmail.com.

Share This Post On

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Human Verification: In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.