The Charles E. Roberts Stable is a renovated former barn 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 ...

, United States. The building has a long history of remodeling work including an 1896 transformation by famous American 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 ...

. The stable remodel was commissioned by

Charles E. Roberts Charles E. Roberts (March 13, 1843 – March 1934) was an American engineer, inventor and an important early client and patron of Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1896, Wright remodeled Robert's house in Oak Park. Personal life Charles E Roberts was b ...

, a patron of Wright's work, the same year Wright worked on an interior remodel of Roberts' House. The building was eventually converted into a residence by Charles E. White, Jr., a Wright-associated architect, sources vary as to when this occurred but the house was moved from its original location to its present site in 1929. The home is cast in the

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

style but still displays the architectural thumbprint of Wright's later work. The building is listed as a contributing property to a federally designated U.S.

Registered Historic District A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from ce ...

History

was an engineer, inventor and important early client of Frank Lloyd Wright. Roberts was an influential member of the building committee of

Unity Temple Unity Temple is a Unitarian Universalist church in Oak Park, Illinois, and the home of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation. It was designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and built between 1905 and 1908. Unity Te ...

in Oak Park. For Roberts, Wright also developed the Quadruple Block Plan of 1900–1903. Some architectural historians have mistakenly identified Charles E. Roberts as the father of Oak Park Studio architect

Isabel Roberts Isabel Roberts (March 1871 – December 27, 1955) was a Prairie School figure, member of the architectural design team in the Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and partner with Ida Annah Ryan in the Orlando, Florida architecture firm, "R ...

.The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, by William Allin Storer, Second Edition, p. 150 As has been well documented, Isabel's father was James H. Roberts of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

. In 1896 Charles E. Roberts, an established patron of

, commissioned two jobs by the architect. One was the Charles E. Roberts House, for which Wright executed an interior

remodel Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

, and the other was the Charles E. Roberts Stable.Charles E Roberts House
" ( PDF), Oak Park Landmark Nomination Form, HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency''. Retrieved 14 June 2007. Wright redesigned the structure from an old

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Alle ...

into a

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

for Roberts' electric car.O'Gorman, Thomas J. ''Frank Lloyd Wright's Chicago'', Thunder Bay Press, San Diego: 2004, pp. 100-103, (). The building was eventually converted into a residence by architect Charles E. White, Jr., Roberts'

son-in-law Son-in-Law (22 April 1911 – 15 May 1941) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses. The National Horseracing Museum says Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this co ...

and an employee in Wright's studio in the years 1903–1905. Sources greatly vary on the date of White's conversion. The village of Oak Park's landmark nomination form for Wright's other Roberts project, the patron's home, dates White's conversion of the garage into a residence at 1929, the year when the structure was physically moved from its original location to its present location. Historian Thomas O'Gorman, while noting the 1929 move, states that the Wright-redesigned barn conversion was altered into a dwelling between 1903 and 1904. O'Gorman connects White's remodel to the thorough overhaul the building experienced under Wright's creative control.

Architecture

The house elicits in its viewer a distinct "English feel." Indeed, through its many remodelings the building is cast in the

style of architecture. The structure displays a steeply pitched, side

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 ...

d roof, rounded bay and

half-timbering Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

, all common elements of the Tudor Revival style. Other 1890s Wright-designed buildings also displayed a connection to traditional domestic architecture styles. The house has a vertical upsweep which projects a sense of shelter and safety associated with the broad, overhanging

eave The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

s found in Wright's roof designs. White carried Wright's design a step further in his remodel, but Wright's architectural aplomb is still evident in the structure. The home expresses a familial coziness, common to Wright's later early modern Prairie homes. The entire idea of

barn conversion The conversion of barns involves the conversion of old farming barns to structures of commercial or residential use. Responsible residential conversion According to the United States National Park Service, a medium-sized barn with sufficient extan ...

was an architectural advance in the late 19th century. Wright's work on the stable introduced angularity and converted it from a barn to a building which conveyed a meld of country charm and modernity. O'Gorman compares the home to those designed by architect Edwin Lutyens. The prominent roof features second-story dormers, and its massive scale is balanced by Wright's placement of towering chimneys at either end of the house. The home's front facade is obscured by bushes, trees and landscaping during the warmer months, and the home is best viewed in autumn or winter.Charles E. Roberts Stable 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 14 June 2007.

Significance

The Charles E. Roberts Stable is one of several examples of Wright's work on pre-existing structures found in the village of Oak Park. Other examples include the Peter A. Beachy House and the Hills-DeCaro House, as well as the Roberts House; each of those buildings were pre-existing homes.Hills-DeCaro House
" ( PDF), Oak Park Landmark Nomination Form, HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency''. Retrieved 14 June 2007. The building once sat at the rear of the Charles E. Roberts House, a locally designated Oak Park Landmark, today it stands next door to that structure. The stable 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 ...

.Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District
" Property Information Report, HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency''. Retrieved 14 June 2007. The historic district 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 ...

on December 4, 1973.

References

*McAlester, Virginia & Lee. ''Field Guide to American Houses''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984, pp. 355–71, (). * Storrer, William Allin. ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.041).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts Stable Frank Lloyd Wright buildings Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School of Architecture Historic District Historic district contributing properties in Illinois Relocated buildings and structures in Illinois Stables in the United States Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Cook County, Illinois Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Cook County, Illinois Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois

History

Architecture

Significance

See also

References

Notes