The Peter A. Beachy House is a home in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

suburb of

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...

that was entirely remodeled by architect

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

in 1906. The house that stands today is almost entirely different from the site's original home, a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

cottage. The home is listed as a contributing property to the

Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

, which was listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

History

The original home, a Gothic cottage, was almost entirely replaced when banker Peter A. Beachy commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to "remodel" the home. The house is set at right angles to the street to utilize part of the cottage's original foundation and take full advantage of a southern exposure. Wright built this house after returning from a trip to Japan, and the exterior has several Japan-inspired elements.Peter A. Beachy House
" ''Oak Park Tourist'', excerpted from: Sprague, Paul E. ''Guide to Frank Lloyd Wright & Prarire School Architecture in Oak Park'' Oak Park Bicentennial Commission of the American Revolution ndOak Park Landmarks Commission, Village of Oak Park: 1986, (). Retrieved 31 May 2007.

Architecture

Though the Beachy House incorporates an earlier structure, the original building is obliterated on the interior. The only points that the original house, known as the Fargo House, still exist are found in the basement of the Beachy House. The house has seven

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s and sits on the largest residential lot in Oak Park. Much of the furniture in the house was also Wright designed but the windows contained only wooden

muntin A muntin (US), muntin bar, glazing bar (UK), or sash bar is a strip of wood or metal separating and holding panes of glass in a window. Muntins can be found in doors, windows, and furniture, typically in Western styles of architecture. Muntins ...

s, no leaded or

colored glass Glass coloring and color marking may be obtained in several ways. # by the addition of ''coloring ions'',Bernard H. W. S. De Jong, Ruud G. C. Beerkens, Peter A. van Nijnatten: "Glass", in: "Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry"; Wiley-VC ...

. However, Wright designed leaded-glass light fixtures which are used throughout the house.Heinz, Thomas A. The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright, Chartwell Books, Inc., Edison, New Jersey: 2006, pp. 117-118, ().

Significance

The Peter A. Beachy House is an example of Wright's prairie design work. It is listed as a contributing property to the

.Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District
" Property Information Report, HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency''. Retrieved 3 June 2007. The historic district joined the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Peter A. Beachy House is one of three homes in Oak Park that Wright was commissioned to "remodel." The other two are the 1906 Hills-DeCaro House, which was under renovation when the Hills House was built, and the William H. Copeland House, also on Forest Avenue.Hills-DeCaro House
" ( PDF), Oak Park Landmark Nomination Form, HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency''. Retrieved 3 June 2007.

Notes

References

* Storrer, William Allin. ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.117) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beachy House, Peter A. Frank Lloyd Wright buildings Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School of Architecture Historic District Houses completed in 1906 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Cook County, Illinois Houses in Cook County, Illinois Historic district contributing properties in Illinois 1906 establishments in Illinois