11 Jan 2023 photographic survey of frank lloyd wright’s roloson row houses (1894)

Date: 1894
Address: 3213 – 3219 Calumet Ave., Chicago, Illinois
City: Chicago, IL
Accessibility: private
Category: Residential
Restoration Status: interior gutted by fire in 1981

Robert Roloson commissioned Wright to remodel a group of four preexisting row houses in 1894. Concerned with ventilation, Wright devised a plan that incorporated a succession of courts and wells in order to allow light and air into the buildings’ interior rooms. A series of four high-pitched gables dominates the front facade of the row houses. Wright proposed eliminating these design elements, but the client rejected the idea. Their strict geometry is echoed in the rigid sequence of Sullivanesque spandrels and thickly mullioned windows below. The interiors of the houses, which were gutted after a fire and general deterioration in 1981, also featured Sullivanesque ornament, as did the bulbous balustrades that once encircled the terraces at the front of the houses. Similar balustrades remain intact at Wright’s Nathan G. Moore residence in Oak Park.

courtesy of eric j. nordstrom photography and the bldg. 51 archive. all rights reserved. 2023.

further reading:

exterior images of frank lloyd wright’s roloson houses (1894) taken between 1960-1979. photographed by richard nickel, grant mason, and tim barton.

the frank lloyd wright-designed buff-colored sullivanesque terra cotta baluster was salvaged from the robert roloson row houses (1894) when the front terraces where dismantled/demolished in the early 1970’s.

most of the surviving balusters exhibit some degree of damage, espeically around the necks and bases. a single centrally located iron rod was used to reinforce them. the balusters were executed by the northwestern terra cotta company.