Prairie Style

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Prairie Style (1900-1920)

"Democracy needed something basically better than the box." -- Frank Lloyd Wright

Around the 1900’s a group of Chicago architects developed a distinct mid-western residential style known as the Prairie Style. They rejected the currently popular revivals of historic styles, to create buildings that harmonized with the Midwestern prairie.

Many architects consider examples of Prairie Style to be the first truly modern architectural design. The most acknowledged architect of this style was Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). Wright believed, “that a design drew its beauty from within -- from its own structure -- rather than from applied decoration.” Wright created the idea of "organic architecture." The main principle of this belief is that the building should develop out of its natural surroundings.

Many Identifying features of a Prairie Style:

• Low, horizontal silhouette
• Wide overhanging eaves extending from the main house that emphasize horizontal lines
• Broad, low-pitched roof
• Huge square porch supports
• Walls of light-colored brick or stucco and wood
• Rows of small casement windows; stained-glass accents in floral or geometric designs
• All walls at right angles (no curves)
• Large, plain rectangular chimney

The Prairie house was free-flowing, thought to be very practical. They all had built-in furniture, and fixtures, which were treated with as much importance as the architectural elements. The Prairie Style house had a strong horizontal appearance, which was emphasized by porches, walls, and terraces extruding from the main structure. Windows were arranged in horizontal ribbons and often featured stained glass in floral or geometric patterns.

Historical interest in the Prairie Style has come and gone. About the time of World War I, interest in technology was on the rise and the machine age caused Prairie Style Housing to be ...