The E-Z Polish Factory (built 1905) is the only factory building designed by
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 ...
and is located in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, United States at 3005 West Carroll Avenue. The E-Z Polish Company made polish for shoes and stoves. The building now serves as practice space for local bands and artists.
The factory was at one point forgotten as a Wright design. In 1939, architectural historian
Grant Carpenter Manson was writing his Harvard doctoral dissertation and followed a clue that the factory was located somewhere along the Galena division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. Manson rode back and forth on the line until he located the factory.
The structure was an exercise in concrete construction technique. It is one of the least decorative designs of Wright's career.
Wright's original design for the factory included an elaborate scheme for an open court between side wings at the rear. The plans for the court were found at
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
but were never executed.
The company was owned by William E. Martin of
Oak Park and
Darwin D. Martin of
Buffalo, New York. Wright also designed the
William E. Martin House in 1902.
See also
*
List of Frank Lloyd Wright works
Frank Lloyd Wright designed over 425 houses, commercial buildings and other works.
"The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of a selection of eight buildings across the United States designe ...
References
* Storrer, William Allin. ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University Of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.114)
External links
A site about E-Z Polish Factory
{{Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright buildings
Buildings and structures in Chicago
Industrial buildings completed in 1905
Industrial buildings and structures in Illinois
1905 establishments in Illinois