Dana–Thomas House
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The Dana–Thomas House (also known as the Susan Lawrence Dana House and Dana House) is a home in
Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...
style designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Built 1902–04 for patron Susan Lawrence Dana, it is located along East Lawrence Avenue in
Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
. The home reflects the mutual affection of the patron and the architect for organic architecture, the relatively flat landscape of the U.S. state of Illinois, and the
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese aesthetic as expressed in Japanese prints.


Susan Lawrence Dana

Susan Lawrence Dana Susan Lawrence Dana (October 13, 1862 – February 20, 1946) was an American philanthropist and heiress to a substantial fortune, including silver mines in the Rocky Mountains. After her father died, Lawrence Dana took over his western mines and ...
(1862–1946) was an independent-minded woman and heiress to a substantial fortune, including silver mines in the Rocky Mountains. Widowed in 1900, Dana enjoyed complete control over her household and fortune. Eager to express her personality and become a leading philanthropic figure in Springfield, Dana decided to completely remodel her family's Italianate mansion located in the state capital's fashionable "Aristocracy Hill" neighborhood.


Dana House

Dana's search for an architect to match her aspirations ended when she was introduced in 1902 to Frank Lloyd Wright, the rising leader of the new
Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...
movement of "organic architecture" which stressed congruence between the interior of a building and its surroundings. The Dana commission to plan the remodeling of the Lawrences' Italianate mansion was the largest Wright had received. Recognizing a kindred spirit in Mrs. Dana, he expanded the boundaries of his contract to design and build what was, in effect, an entirely new house showcasing his approach to the Prairie Style aesthetic. The new home reflected the flamboyant personalities of the patron and the architect, particularly their love of Japanese prints and drawings. The structure was designed for both display and entertainment. An arched doorway admitted guests into a series of expanding spaces, transitioning from vestibule to the reception hall. The concept of "expanding space" was repeated throughout the house, with windows placed to continually draw the attention of someone within toward an awareness of the outside. Wright designed approximately 450
art glass Art glass is a subset of glass art, this latter covering the whole range of art made from glass. Art glass normally refers only to pieces made since the mid-19th century, and typically to those purely made as sculpture or decorative art, with ...
windows, skylights, door panels,
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s, and light fixtures for the house, most of which survive. Much of the art glass, and the mural by George Mann Niedecken surmounting the dining room interior, centered on a sumac motif. A substantial west wing leads visitors through an interior Torii gate into two of the largest rooms in the house. The upper-level gallery was used for musical entertaining, and the ground-level library contains special easels, part of more than 100 pieces of free-standing Wright-designed white oak furniture in the house, created for Dana to display selections from her collection of Japanese prints,. Dana lived in the home from 1904 until about 1928. Once a successful hostess and leader of Springfield's social scene, she became increasingly reclusive over time and turned her attention to spiritualism and the
occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
. Suffering from increasing financial constraints in her later years, she closed the main house around 1928 and moved to a small cottage on the grounds. As Dana struggled with age-related dementia in the 1940s, her home and its contents were sold.


Dana-Thomas House

Charles C. Thomas, a successful medical publisher, was the second owner and custodian of the home from 1944 to his death in 1969. A view of the building was featured on the title pages of some of his publications. His wife Nanette maintained in that role until her passing in 1975. The couple are credited with maintaining the house's original furnishings and design, and their estate with selling the home and its furnishings as a unit to the state of Illinois in 1981 for $1.0 million, significantly less than could have been earned had the household been broken up.


The home today

The home became a state historic site under the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA). The IHPA led a restoration effort in 1987–1990 that restored the structure and its contents to its appearance in 1910. It is believed to contain one of the most intact Frank Lloyd Wright designed interiors in the United States. Restoration plans and documents are held by the
Ryerson & Burnham Libraries The Ryerson & Burnham Libraries are the art and architecture research collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The libraries cover all periods with extensive holdings in the areas of 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century architecture and 19th-century ...
at the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
. The house was featured in
Bob Vila Robert Joseph Vila (born June 20, 1946) is an American home improvement television show host known for ''This Old House'' (1979–1989), ''Bob Vila's Home Again'' (1990–2005), and ''Bob Vila'' (2005–2007). Early life and education Vila, a C ...
's
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1996 production, ''Guide to Historic Homes of America.'' In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the Dana Thomas House was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by the American Institute of Architects Illinois component (AIA Illinois). As part of a program of budget cuts, the state of Illinois temporarily closed the Dana–Thomas House to the public from December 1, 2008, until April 23, 2009. The Dana–Thomas House again closed for 11 months in 2011 for renovations to interior and exterior finish as well as mechanical and security systems.


References

*William Allin Storrer, ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University of Chicago Press, 2006, , (S.072)


External links

* *
State of Illinois site
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* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110904064803/http://www.arcaid.co.uk/search.php?inc=quickSearch&search=10042- Photos on Arcaidbr>Illinois Great Places

Dana Thomas HouseSociety of Architectural Historians ARCHIPEDIA entry on the Susan Lawrence Dana HouseComputer animation of Dana-Thomas House by Razin Khan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dana-Thomas House Houses completed in 1904 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings National Historic Landmarks in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Illinois Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Historic American Buildings Survey in Illinois Houses in Springfield, Illinois Historic house museums in Illinois Illinois State Historic Sites Museums in Springfield, Illinois