The Nathan G Moore House - a photo on Flickriver

            333 N Forest Ave, Oak Park.  The Nathan G Moore House also known as the Moore-Dugal Residence is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was built one block south of Wright's home and studio. It was originally completed in 1895 in the Tudor Revival style at the request of client Nathan Moore. Wright obliged his client's wishes, but long after disliked the house for its adherence to historical styles.

A 1922 fire gave Wright the opportunity to redesign the house. The structure was completely rebuilt above the first floor in a manner in keeping with Wright's other works of the late 1910s and early 1920s. While the new design stayed evocative of Tudor architecture, the house was heavily ornamented by details of Sullivanesque, Mayan, and other exotic origins. Wright’s second scheme remains largely intact today and the house continues to be a private residence despite a brief period as a tour home.

Frank Lloyd Wright accounted in his autobiography that Moore had been approached by many architects, including Norman S Patton, before Wright himself was asked to design the project in 1894. Mr and Mrs Moore reportedly travelled to Wright’s newly-opened downtown Chicago studio in the Schindler Building to request his services rather than simply calling at the emerging architect’s house across the street.

Moore had apparently not come to Wright in admiration of his design style. According to Wright, he proclaimed that “I don’t want you to give us anything like the house you did for Winslow” referring to the recently completed Wright designed Winslow House in River Forest, IL. “I don’t want to go down backstreets to my morning train to avoid being laughed at.” Moore then proceeded to show Wright pictures of English half-timber buildings as inspiration for the proposed dwelling. Wright was apprehensive to design a house in a historical style, but he accepted the commission because of his financial obligations to his family.

The three storey structure was built tight against the northern lot line which allowed for maximum yard space to the south. Walls on the main floor were faced in golden-tan Roman brick while the upper floors were finished in typical, dark-stained half timbering over light stucco. A steep, gabled roof and two slender, tall, brick chimneys topped off the composition. The main house was symmetrically proportioned with few exceptions – including the chimneys and window openings flanking the Superior Street entrance. A garage connected the residence to a garden house at the north-western corner of the property. Wright also designed a matching stable building across an alley to the south-west. The interior was panelled in dark wood yet was amply lit by bands of diamond-patterned, leaded casement windows which opened the rooms up to the south garden. Inside also featured eight fireplaces, each with unique custom surrounds. Nathan and Anna Moore “were delighted with the house.” Unfortunately the same cannot have been said for Wright. He came to regard the design with embarrassment and admitted that his “heart wasn’t it.”

In the early morning of 23 December 1922, an electrical fire destroyed the third floor and caused significant damage to the lower floors. At the time, Wright was engaged in the construction of several projects in California, but he accepted Moore’s request to design the reconstruction and appointed Charles E White, Jr. as local coordinator. Within a year the house was again ready to be occupied.

While Wright took this opportunity to completely redesign the house, he retained the essence of the Tudor style. The foundations as well as most of the first floor walls and south porch were retained. A slate roof and masonry chimneys were rebuilt in almost identical form to the originals, but Wright chose to leave out the second floor walls. The new roof sat directly on the first floor, thus making the entire structure significantly shorter. The pitched roof of the previous porch was traded for a second floor terrace with two open lightwells to the porch below.

This second house was more imbued with integral ornament than the first. A simple, first floor bay window in the east elevation was exchanged for one with a Gothic motif. Each side featured paired lancet windows and a facing of intricately adorned terracotta. While half-timbering was limited to the peaks of three gables, the remaining surfaces were replaced by banding of terracotta and heavily carved, geometrically patterned wood. In these details, Wright not only drew inspiration from English Tudor, but also from Mayan architecture and the elaborate, organic style of Louis Sullivan. The result showed similarities to other Wright designs of the period. The stables and garden house, which both survived the fire and retained original detailing, serve as a comparison between the styles of the earlier and later designs. - From Wikipedia

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in December 1973.

Taken in: United States / Illinois / Oak Park / Edmund F Burton Row Houses (show map)

Taken on: June 7, 2004

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Sets appears in: • Architecture - North America • Chicago IL., 2004

Groups appears in: • Chicago... • Architecture more » • Buildings/Architecture • Historical places • Travel Photography • Favorites: 10 • National Register of Historic Places • Views: 10,000 • Architecture Directory « less

Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 500, f/3.5, 1/320 sec, 10.8mm, ISO 50 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 500
Lens:	7.4-22.2 mm
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length:	10.8mm
ISO:	50
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.3 (Macintosh)
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