Over the years, a number of houses by iconic American architect, interior designer and author Frank Lloyd Wright have been made available for public viewing through tours and rentals. The newest one on the list is the Emil Bach House in Chicago, which has been restored to its original splendor for its international debut last month. Below is the full list.
Emil Bach House—Chicago
Price: $750 per night before June 1; $1495 per night after June 1. Two-night minimum stay Thursday through Saturday.
Bedrooms: One king, one queen and one day-bed trundle.
Bathrooms: Two
Square Feet: Under 2,000
Amenities: Key access to your room and house, flat screen cable TV & Wi-Fi access, desk chair and lamp, laundry facilities, plush bed linens and cotton bathrobes, and ice bucket and glasses.
Built in 1915, the Emil Bach House sits on a small city lot along a busy urban setting and consists of a short series of cubic, geometric, slab-roofed homes. The house recently underwent a two-year restoration and is now fully restored with its original elements. The property is located at 7415 North Sheridan Road in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.
Guided tours of Bach House will be offered on Wednesdays, May 7 through September 24. Tickets are $12 general public, $10 students/seniors/military, and free for members of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Tickets and information are available at www.flwright.org and 312.994.4000.
Elam House—Austin, MN
Price: $275 per night Friday through Sunday; $250 per night Monday through Thursday
Bedrooms: One queen
Bathrooms: One full
Square Feet: 820 rental space
Amenities: The rental space includes a living room, which has a private entrance, dining area and satellite TV, and a kitchen that is fully stocked with a microwave, toaster, dishwasher, refrigerator, coffee maker, pots, pans, china and flatware. A futon is available for a third guest. Free Wi-Fi access is available.
At 3,500 square feet, this Elam House is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s largest Usonian homes. Towering limestone piers, white cypress, floor to ceiling fireplaces, and over 100 windows are just a few of the features that make up the house. While the home consists of five bedrooms and six baths, only 820 square feet is available for rental. However, tours of the entire house are available to overnight guests during their stay.
Seth Peterson Cottage—Lake Delton, WI
Price: $300 per night
Bedrooms: One
Bathrooms: One
Square Feet: 800
Amenities: Full kitchen, living room and dining area. Includes a canoe, paddles and life preservers. A fold-out bed is available for additional two people.
The Seth Peterson Cottage was one of the first Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes available for public overnight rental. Nestled in the woods of Wisconsin’s Mirror Lake State Park, the cottage embodies Wright’s principles of being open to nature. The open floor plan centers around a massive stone fireplace with expansive views of the surrounding forest and lake.
Louis Penfield House—Willoughby, Ohio
Price: $300 per night, Friday through Saturday; $275 per night; Monday through Thursday. Two-night minimum stay.
Bedrooms: Three
Bathrooms: One and a half
Square Feet: 1,800
Amenities: It is fully equipped with all linens, towels, cookware, dinnerware, small and large appliances.
The Louis Penfield House was built to accommodate the client’s 6-foot-8-inch frame, making this house notably long and thin in comparison to an average home. The house has a "floating staircase" supported by ceiling beams, a bottleneck entryway, and several walls made almost entirely of windows, one of which gives a panoramic view of the outside.
Duncan House—Acme, Pennsylvania
Price: $399 per night, Friday through Sunday; $299 per night, Monday through Thursday.
Bedrooms: Three, one king and two single beds
Bathrooms: Two
Square Feet: 2,200
Amenities: Due to the historical and architectural nature of the home, the fireplace and stovetop are not for use. However, a microwave, toaster oven and coffee pot are provided.
Originally built in Lisle, Illinois, the Duncan House was dismantled in 2004 and reconstructed in Acme, Pennsylvania, at the Polymath Park Resort, which includes two homes by Wright’s apprentice, Peter Berndtson. The Duncan House features characteristic Wright designs, especially in the lower level known as the Boulder Room, which has a stone fireplace, Cherokee red concrete flooring, a patio and a wall of windows providing scenic views.
Bernard Schwartz House—Two Rivers, WI
Price: $350 per night, Sunday through Thursday; $425 per night, Friday and Saturday. Two-night minimum stay.
Bedrooms: Four
Bathrooms: Two and a half
Square Feet: 3,000
Amenities: Bed and bath linens, a full line of kitchen cookware, miscellaneous cooking oils and seasonings, coffee, tea, sugar, flour, cooking and baking utensils, laundry soap, dishwasher soap etc., wireless internet, yard games and a private dock.
Also known as Still Bend, this house is considered to be Wright’s LIFE magazine “dream house.” In 1938 LIFE magazine commissioned eight distinguished architects to design a "dream house" for four typical American families with incomes ranging from $2,000 to $10,000 a year. Wright’s design became reality when Bernard Schwartz commissioned Wright to build the home for Schwartz’s family in Wisconsin.
The Haynes House—Fort Wayne, Indiana
Price: $328 per night. Two-night minimum stay.
Bedrooms: Two, one queen and two XL beds
Bathrooms: Two
Square Feet: 1,400
Amenities: Coffee, tea, sugar and coffee creamer are provided. The house is equipped with cooking utensils, dishes and small and large appliances should guests wish to cook.
The Haynes House is situated on a 1.2-acre plot that faces South West towards small woods in Fort Wayne. Dominating the plan is the great room with floor-to-ceiling French doors admitting shafts of natural light from the sun. Featuring red tidewater cypress board and batten paneling, a cantilevered fireplace and overhead lighting integrated into the ceiling.
The Palmer House—Ann Arbor, MI
Price: $350 per night, two-night minimum stay
Bedrooms: Three
Bathrooms: Two
Square Feet: 2,000
Amenities: In addition to the main house, there is a tea house located on the 2 acres of woodland surrounding the home. The tea house includes a working fireplace, a small kitchen and a bathroom with a shower-over-the toilet. Complementary tea and coffee, high thread count sheets, feather and non-feather pillows and organic shampoo and conditioner are provided.
The Palmer House is a multilevel brick and cypress Wright house, the plan and design of which is based on the equilateral triangle. Sheltered by a long broad hipped roof with deep overhangs, the cantilever extends over the terrace creating the most dramatic feature of the house. The open interior is fitted with Wright-designed furniture and built-in cabinetry.
The Gordon House—Silverton, OR
Price: $200 to $800 for meetings; $400 to $800 for dinner receptions; $1,000 to $1,500 for weddings and social events
Square Feet: 2,100
Amenities: All fees shown above include use of the Gordon House’s tables and chairs where applicable. Gordon House staff does the set-up, takedown and cleaning before and after the event.
The Gordon House is the only building in Oregon designed by Wright. After moving the house from Wilsonville to Silverton in 2001, the interior wood paneling, built-in furniture, doors, cabinets and shelves were reinstalled to maintain Wright’s original design. The house is only available for meeting, dinner and social event rentals.
Written by Haley Williams