Architecture:
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Goodrich House
Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Goodrich House in 1896, only three years after he launched his independent architectural practice. Experimenting with ideas that would influence his emerging Prairie style, Wright introduced an over-arching decorative theme. For the Goodrich House he used the diamond and the lozenge, which can be seen in the second story pilasters and the decorative window muntins.
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Widely recognized as one of the greatest architects in American history, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) designed more than 1,000 buildings, and his work and ideas continue to garner attention across the globe today. Wright designed the Goodrich House in 1896. He was only in his late twenties, and this was an early and important period in his career.
Self Portrait Photograph of Frank Lloyd Wright, ca. 1905. Collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.
During the early 1890s, the nation was in a recession, and there was plenty of competition among Chicago’s many architectural firms. Through his Oak Park neighbors, friends and fellow Unitarians, the young architect was able to secure numerous commissions in the area. These early projects gave him the opportunity to explore ideas, experiment with designs, and grow his practice. Among the early designs that helped shape what would become known as Wright’s iconic Prairie style was the Harry and Louisa Goodrich House.
View of Goodrich House, Architectural Review, June 1900.
After working under renowned Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, Wright launched his own independent practice in 1893. At that time, he and his wife Kitty had a growing family, and the young architect needed to establish himself quickly. Wright built a home for his own family in Oak Park, onto which he soon added a studio for his practice.
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Oak Park, Illinois, 1967. Philip Turner, Photographer. Historic American Building Survey.
Harry and Louisa Goodrich House, 2025. Photo by Julia Bachrach.
Frank Lloyd Wright was in his late twenties when Harry and Louisa Goodrich worked with him to design a home for them in Oak Park in 1896. The project reflects Wright’s developing ideas about silhouette, materials, and how to provide a comfortable home for a middle-class family. Wright based his design on a recent development scheme he had prepared for Charles E. Roberts, an acquaintance of both the architect and Goodrich.
Charles E. Roberts (1843-1943) was a successful inventor, mechanic, and businessman, and, like Wright, an Oak Park resident and Unitarian. Roberts was a prominent community leader who became a key mentor to the young architect. In 1896, when Wright was just starting out, Roberts commissioned him to design several projects, including remodeling and enlarging Roberts’s home at 321 N. Euclid Avenue and designing a summer house for the family. In an even more ambitious project for Roberts, Wright designed a speculative development of residences geared towards middle-class residents. These houses were proposed for a two-block area in the Ridgeland section of Oak Park, near the future site of the Goodrich House.
Charles E. Roberts in an electric car that he built for himself, ca. 1897, Oak Park River Forest Historical Society.
By the end of January, 1896, Wright had completed more than forty house plans for Roberts, with several different models proposed. Although the Roberts project never came to fruition, it is clear that Harry and Louisa Goodrich were shown the plans by either Roberts or Wright. The plans labeled number 2 , with some modifications to the roofline, would become the basis for their new house on East Avenue.
Images Left and Right- 1900 photograph of the house from Architectural Review, Same View today
The Goodrich House’s exterior features a steeply pitched roof that flares out at the base to form the deep eaves that Wright favored. Roughly square in plan, the house has porch projections at the front and the rear that repeat the flared eaves. A slatted wall conceals the front steps, providing an early example of Wright’s preferred ‘hidden’ entrance. Clapboard siding on the lower portion of the house flares out at the base to cover the raised basement, effectively merging the house silhouette with the surrounding ground. A continuous band of molding separates the first story from the second, enabling Wright to conceal the slight setback between the two.
Winslow photograph
below that is architect drawing and comparative photo
Right: Same perspective view of the Goodrich House, 2025
Left: Wright’s perspective drawing for house No. 2. January 1896. It is unclear when Wright added the hipped roof revision (shown in pencil). However, the Goodrich house retained the gable roof shown in the original drawing.
Even at this early stage in his career Wright had produced impressive homes for wealthier clients. Projects like the Winslow House (River Forest, 1893) and the Moore House (Oak Park, 1895) show his creative approach for clients with large lots and generous budgets. But the Roberts development was for a neighborhood of modest houses on standard-sized lots. Wright strove to create beautiful, high-quality residences that would both maximize privacy and promote a sense of community. To appeal to potential buyers, the proposed homes were largely traditional in appearance but with unusual details, hinting at Wright’s evolving Prairie style.
“The Work of Frank Lloyd Wright,” by Robert C. Spencer Jr., Architectural Review, June 1900, p. 63. Described as a cottage for Mr. Goodrich, the Harry and Louisa Goodrich House is shown in the upper left corner of the page.
House for Mr. C.E. Roberts, Front Elevation House No. 2. Frank Lloyd Wright. January 20, 1896. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Architect (The Museum of Modern Art, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library Columbia University, New York).
View of second-story windows, 2025. Photo by Julia Bachrach.
Most of the windows are simple: square in dimension and double hung with large, undivided panes. The second story windows are held within a smooth band of stucco. There is a large, two-story bay window in the center of the front elevation with decoratively divided windows on the second story. On the north elevation, a tall, divided window with a matching decorative motif lights the stair hall. Wright’s theme for the house—diamonds and lozenges— was expressed in these windows and on the exterior columns and pilasters.
Grappling with new ideas about how to design a comfortable middle-class suburban home, Wright created a floor plan that he used many times in the 1890s, including in his own home. At the Goodrich House, this includes a deep porch leading to a large entry hall and public spaces that flow easily from one room to the other. The spacious sitting room has a deep, three-sided bay across from a cozy fireplace inglenook. As was typical of this plan, Wright tucked the pantry and kitchen into the rear corner.
Modest residences like the Goodrich House inspired Wright to publish “A Small House with ‘Lots of Room in It’,” in the Ladies Home Journal in 1901. In this article, Wright focused on making a house “comfortable with modest outlay.” Suggesting that “average home-maker is partial to the gable roof,” he recommended a feature that can be seen his design of the Goodrich house “gently flaring eaves… slightly lifted at the peaks.”
During this period, Wright remained fascinated with the topic of designing a neighborhood of affordable homes. Roberts wanted to move forward on his speculative development, and he had Wright prepare additional plans for the project in 1903. As architectural historian Neil Levine explains in an article entitled “Wright’s Geometry of Community,” revisiting the project gave Wright the opportunity to explore new ideas about community planning. Harris explains that in his “initial project for the Roberts block” Wright laid the houses out following the “standard system of lining up individual houses along the four street fronts” while leaving an area in the center of the block for a garden.” In his 1903 drawings, often referred to as the Quadruple Block Plan, Wright grouped the houses into units of four and oriented them “as much, if not more, to each other than to the street.” Levine points out that in this arrangement “the communal space around and between them is not a leftover but a result of their geometric interaction.” Wright continued to experiment with this idea in later plans.
This close-up view shows the dramatic overhang and strong sense of horizontality articulated by the band beneath the roofline. 2025 Photo by Julia Bachrach.
Wright’s Floor Plan for House for Mr. C. E. Roberts, January, 1896. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Architect (The Museum of Modern Art, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library Columbia University, New York).
Probably remove Gilman Lane photo.
Photo of Goodrich House by Gilman Lane, ca. 1940. Oak Park Public Library.
Rendering on the cover of A Small House with “Lots of Room in It,” Ladies Home Journal, July, 1901.
Left: Wright’s Development Plan for Charles E. Roberts, Unbuilt Project Block Plan, 1903. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Architect (The Museum of Modern Art, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library Columbia University, New York).
Right: Wright’s Quadruple Block Plan for the Prairie Grid Iron, 1911. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Architect (The Museum of Modern Art, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library Columbia University, New York).
The Goodrich House is a fascinating example of the very early years of Wright’s Oak Park practice. As he had intended, the house continues to provide a comfortable home for an Oak Park family.
Although he did not build his speculative development, Charles E. Roberts played an instrumental role Wright’s career. In fact, as a member of the board of trustees for Unity Temple, Roberts helped Wright secure the commission to design a revolutionary Oak Park church in 1906. An article in the Oak Park River Forest World newspaper of 1975 explains that Roberts was pivotal in making the project happen. According to Marion Herog (the granddaughter of a church leader who had voted against the Wright design) when her grandfather became skeptical about the project, Roberts had Wright create a model and the two men “explained the building to the committee.” After this presentation, the board voted in favor of building Wright’s famous Unity Temple.
Close up view of porch column with decorative diamond element, 2025. Photo by Julia Bachrach.