Frank Lloyd Wright / The Francis W. Little House

Frank Lloyd Wright, also, The Francis W. Little House. . Frank Lloyd Wright At the turn of the century, many American architects, strongly influenced by the Beaux Arts style – a combination of European Revival architectural patterns dominating the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 – simply imitated earlier European work. Those copying Victorian styles, for instance, took pride in developing less expensive ways to repeat old designs rather than in developing new ideas., With the works of Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), often called the father of the modern skyscraper, architecture finally became more than a blending of decorative and structural materials. It evolved instead, through Sullivan's idea that form follows function, into a social pattern. To Sullivan, good architecture had come to reflect "the reality of man as free spirit, as creator, as container of illimitable powers for the joy and the peace of mankind.", Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959) broke with Louis Sullivan, whom he often called "der Meister," in 1893. Nevertheless, he was largely responsible for the wide acceptance of Sullivan's concept of architecture as a social influence., Through his establishment of what he called Usonian architecture – designs through which attention is focused on people rather than on buildings – Wright was able to help shift the attention of architects from the repetition of earlier patterns to a direct concentration on the changing needs of society., The Francis W. Little House In March of 1903, as Victorian mansions continued to rise along the west bluff, Francis W. Little, an attorney and utility executive, broke ground on this site for a new Prairie style house designed for him by Frank Lloyd Wright. Much of Wright's later reputation would be based on the Prairie houses; this was one of his first., The main entrance is at ground level; inside steps lead to an entry hall. Interior spaces are open, separated only by corners and low wood beams to suggest traffic patterns. Stained glass panels provide indirect light in the living room. The dining room is lighted from the center of its vaulted ceiling the same way. While many of the original furnishings designed by Wright for this house are now in private collections or museums (including The Metropolitan Museum,) some of the original furniture remains., When compared to other works of the period, the Little house, whose earth tone colors, natural materials, and horizontal emphasis blend with the land, represents a clean break with the past. It reflects not evolution but an entirely new idea., Although Francis Little lived here less than a year, his house remains an outstanding example of an architectural beginning. The wide acceptance of the concept today - the modern ranch house is a direct descendant of Wright's Prairie houses - suggests that his ideas have not merely survived. They have prevailed.