The F. F. Tomek House, also known as The Ship House or as the Ferdinand Frederick and Emily Tomek House, is a historic house in

Riverside, Illinois Riverside is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. A significant portion of the village is in the Riverside Landscape Architecture District, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. The population of the village was ...

. It is prominent example of Prairie School design 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 ...

. Designed in 1904 and construction finished in 1906, the Tomek House is a well-preserved example of the style. In addition to being a good example of the Prairie style, the Tomek house documents the development of the style, which reached its clearest expression in Wright's

Robie House The Frederick C. Robie House is a U.S. National Historic Landmark now on the campus of the University of Chicago in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1909 and 1910, the building was designed as a sing ...

in 1908. It is included in the Riverside Historic District and was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1999. and

History

The Tomek house was constructed for Ferdinand Frederick Tomek from 1905 to 1906. Tomek worked in a factory that produced picture frames and wooden moldings. The Tomeks resided in the house until 1924. The house is considered an important artifact of the development of

's Prairie School of design.

Barry Byrne Francis Barry Byrne (December 19, 1883 – December 18, 1967) was a member of the group of architects known as the Prairie School. After the demise of the Prairie School, about 1914 to 1916, Byrne continued as a successful architect by dev ...

was the assistant architect for the house. The Tomek house served as a model for the

, Wright's famed 1910 design. Like most of his projects, Wright designed the furniture for the Tomek house. In 1973, the Illinois Historic Structures Survey identified it as a significant site. The house has been extensively restored. The

Illinois Department of Conservation The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

approved a grant for this purpose to the Moran family in 1979. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency approved the changes and issued a Certificate of Rehabilitation. In 1993, the

Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is an organization devoted to the historic preservation of buildings and their furnishings and decoration designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as to the study of Wright's career. The organization has gr ...

was offered an

easement An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...

to help protect the residence. On January 20, 1999, the house was named a

by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

, owing to its role as a site of national-level significance.

References

* Storrer, William Allin. ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.128)

External links

Down to Earth: An Insider's View of Frank Lloyd Wright's Tomek House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomek House Historic district contributing properties in Illinois Frank Lloyd Wright buildings Houses completed in 1906 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Cook County, Illinois National Historic Landmarks in Illinois Riverside, Illinois 1906 establishments in Illinois

History

See also

References

External links