Issue 471 July 2nd 2025

The Headlines

'The Bear' Spotlights Frank Lloyd Wright's Home And Studio In Oak Park

The Bear is famous for spotlighting beloved Chicago landmarks, and the new fourth season is no different. In episode five, protagonist Carmy drives to the western suburb of Oak Park, Illinois to visit the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio. Carmy wanders through the connected buildings, admiring such details as the octagonal, double-height drafting room; the barrel-vaulted second floor playroom; patterned windows and skylights of Wright’s own design; and some signature high-backed chairs in the dining room. Interspersed throughout the shots are blueprints, historic photos of the home, and a photo of the Wright family there, which a docent shows to Carmy. (The home and studio are open for tours.) Unsurprisingly, the chef Carmy lingers in the kitchen at an antique stove.

Wright designed and built the initial house when he was in his early twenties, working under architect Louis Sullivan in Chicago, borrowing money from Sullivan to buy the land. He expanded upon it over the 20 years he lived there with his first wife, Catherine “Kitty” Tobin, and their six children. He bought the site in 1889, added rooms such as the playroom in 1895, and built the attached studio in 1898. He left Tobin for another woman in 1909, but Tobin remained living in the studio until 1918. After a period of varied ownership, it was bought and restored by what is now the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, which continues to operate it today.

While Wright lived in the Oak Park home, he designed numerous houses throughout Chicago and Oak Park, including two that are featured in The Bear. After visiting Wright’s home, Carmy walks down the block and looks at the 1902 Arthur and Grace Heurtley House, an exemplar of Wright’s horizontally oriented Prairie Style. Carmy also pauses across the street at the unusual Nathan G. Moore House, which adopts a half-timbered Tudor style but gained idiosyncratic features such as Mayan- and Gothic-inspired motifs after a fire in 1922. Carmy’s Oak Park tour concludes as he smiles outside the Moore House.

Explore 10 homes And Gardens In Detroit’s Palmer Woods Neighborhood Next Month

The 2025 Palmer Woods Home and Garden tour is set to happen in July, giving visitors the opportunity to walk through historic Detroit, Michigan homes and gardens. The tour will feature 10 homes and gardens in Detroit’s Palmer Woods neighborhood, including full home tours, garden-only experiences and a combination of both.

Highlights of the 2025 tour are a restored 1925 Tudor Revival house, the gardens and indoor solarium of a 1921 Dutch Colonial, and the gardens of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Turkel House.

The tours will take place from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, and are hosted by the Palmer Woods Association and will benefit community initiatives and neighborhood beautification, according to a release. A portion of the funds will also be donated to local charities and foundations.

There will also be a special garden party hosted from 6 to 9 p.m. that day with food, beverages and a silent auction that will feature unique items and experiences. The garden party is only open to “Tour + Garden Party” ticket holders.

Tour tickets are $44.52 per person. Tours will start at 10 a.m. and run every half hour, with the last tour beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for the tour and the garden party are $108.55.

Organizers advise guests that it will take about two hours to see all 10 locations.

Get Up Close to Frank Lloyd Wright's Unrealized Buildings with David Romero's Digital Models

Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most influential architects in history, is known for his distinctive approach to space, light, materials, and form. He pioneered the Prairie style—America’s first unique architectural movement—drawing from the vast landscapes of the Midwest. This evolved into his Usonian philosophy, emphasizing harmony with nature, functional design, and use of local materials. His famed work, Fallingwater, blends Prairie and Usonian ideals, while other projects drew inspiration from Mayan and geometric “textile block” motifs.

Wright’s legacy spans over 1,100 designs, from homes to institutions like the Guggenheim Museum and SC Johnson’s headquarters, with 532 realized. One of his most ambitious unbuilt ideas was The Illinois, a proposed mile-high skyscraper that he claimed was feasible even in the 1950s.

Spanish architect and 3D designer David Romero has been deeply inspired by Wright’s blend of intellect and emotional resonance in architecture. Through his project Hooked on the Past, Romero creates digital renderings of Wright’s unrealized concepts using AutoCAD, 3ds Max, V-Ray, and Photoshop. These visualizations aim to bring Wright’s visionary yet unbuilt works to life.

Romero collaborates with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, contributing to their quarterly magazine and exploring different themes each year—most recently, temples. His website, hookedonthepast.com, features ongoing updates and new visualizations.

Sarasota Must Save The Van Wezel Hall

In his guest opinion piece for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Tony Souza, member of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation in Sarasota, Florida, advocates for preserving and repurposing the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall rather than demolishing it. He describes the Van Wezel as a culturally and architecturally significant landmark, designed by Taliesin Associated Architects under William Wesley Peters and inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. Souza urges the city to place the building on the National Register of Historic Places, a move that would not only honor its legacy but also make the project eligible for a 20% rehabilitation tax incentive.

Rather than see the Van Wezel as outdated or in competition with the new Sarasota Performing Arts Center, Souza envisions a partnership between the two venues, creating a cohesive arts campus similar to New York’s Lincoln Center. He proposes transforming the interior of the Van Wezel into a modern, intimate, and flexible space for smaller performances and community events, complementing the larger new venue. Despite its proximity to the water—just 15 feet from the shoreline—he sees the building’s location not as a liability but as an opportunity for innovative, resilient design incorporating ecological and flood-resistant strategies.

Souza emphasizes that preserving the Van Wezel is not a nostalgic gesture but a visionary act that bridges Sarasota’s cultural heritage with its future growth. He argues that cities worldwide are achieving resilience and beauty by working with their natural landscapes, and Sarasota should do the same. Calling this a once-in-a-generation opportunity, he urges city leaders and the community to act boldly by saving and reinvigorating the Van Wezel as a symbol of Sarasota’s unique identity and commitment to both legacy and innovation.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Homes In The San Francisco Bay Area Are Still Small Masterpieces

Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural legacy in the San Francisco Bay Area is perhaps best known for the Marin County Civic Center, a grand and visionary structure that stands as the largest realized project from his career. However, his more personal and often overlooked legacy lies in the modest homes he designed for ordinary people—Usonian houses that reflect his dream of a uniquely American architectural identity, distinct from European influence. Designed to be affordable, accessible, and deeply connected to nature, these homes featured innovations such as radiant-heated concrete floors, large glass windows, flat roofs (notoriously leaky), and minimal use of space for garages, favoring human-centered design over automobile accommodation.

Wright, who accepted commissions from young professionals with surprising frequency, brought his dramatic flair—and firm opinions—along with his iconic designs. His Usonian homes in the region include the hexagonal Hanna House at Stanford, the Bazett House in Hillsborough, and the Berger House in San Anselmo, each displaying his creative experimentation with space, light, and natural materials. These homes were often complex and required significant investment, both financial and emotional, from their owners. The Berger House, for instance, was constructed by its owner over 20 years, and even included a small Wright-designed doghouse that was never used by the intended canine occupant.

Despite his brilliance, Wright was known for his domineering personality and resistance to compromise. This led to clashes with clients—such as the Buehlers of Orinda—over practical matters like budgets and kitchen size. Yet, even those who initially found him difficult often ended up revering him, calling him a genius and cherishing the unique spaces he created for them. His legacy in the Bay Area is one of bold experimentation, democratic ideals, and deeply personal visions of how Americans might live—not just in grand public buildings, but in the intimacy of their homes.

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