Chicago’s Gilded Age saw some of the country’s most opulent houses, but one in particular went
on to inspire some of the greatest architects of the 20th century. Hi everyone, Ken here,
welcome to "ThisHouse" Today we are exploring the Glessner House in Chicago, Illinois.
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In 1843, John Glessner was born to a middle class family, growing up at his
family’s house known as Elmwood Place in Zanesville, Ohio. When his father, Jacob,
was elected to the Ohio State Legislature, John took over the family business,
managing the Zanesville City Times making a decent living. But in 1863,
John took a job in Springfield, Ohio working as an accountant. He was great at his job,
so at the age of only 23 years old he was named a junior partner at Warder, Mitchell and Company,
which manufactured farm machinery. He rented a room in the Macbeth Family’s house,
where their daughter, Frances caught his eye. But she wasn’t just beautiful, she was smart.
She had grown up being educated and in turn had become a teacher. She even organized a series of
lectures for women to hear directly from authors and scholars about their latest works. By 1870,
John had been named vice-president of the company. Now with a good income, he decided to propose to
the lady who had caught his eye. She said yes. John and Frances left Ohio for Chicago to start
their new lives together where he took over the company’s head sales office. They settled down
in a rented house and had a couple children, but as John made more and more money, they purchased
larger homes, growing their family. By 1879, John’s company had been reorganized to include
his name as Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner. In 1902, it merged with four other companies to
form International Harvester, becoming one of the largest companies in the U.S. at the time.
Now, after years of climbing the corporate ladder
to become one of the nation’s leading industrialists, John and his wife were
ready to secure their names in Chicago’s Gilded Age by building their dream home.
They purchased a lot at the affluent intersection Prairie Avenue and 18th
street for 50,500 dollars, or the modern day equivalent of just over 1.4 million
dollars. Now they needed to find an architect to design their dream home.
But they didn’t want a house of the times, they wanted something more modern,
but stately all the same- nothing like what was being built in New York City at the time. Thanks
to the meticulous detailing of Frances’ journal, we can be given an inside look
into the process of designing their dream home. They met with cutting edge Architect, Henry Hobson
Richardson who had pioneered the Richardsonian Romanesque to be a distinctly American style. In
a time when many American architects received criticism from abroad, Richardson was being
celebrated by critics internationally for bringing architectural integrity to the
states by blending traditional and turn of the century modern elements in his work which would
go on to directly inspire later architects in the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan.
The Glessners hosted Richardson for dinner where he complimented the meal before beginning
to sketch the house he imagined for them. By the following month, he had a full set
of plans to present to them, Frances writing, “Mr. R’s plans are certainly very beautiful.”
Later that summer, Mrs. Richardson invited the Glessner’s out to their house in Brookline,
Massachusetts, for a luncheon where they met with Henry in his office to further discuss materials
and the finer details that would be planned for the home. Henry took them on a tour of several
of the buildings he had designed, including what was called his “wood-carving place.”
That fall, the plans were finalized and sent for review, the Glessner’s loved the house,
but were not sold on the proposed façade. After a few changes,
the house was ready to be built the following spring, but unfortunately,
Henry Richardson passed away in April of 1886 from Bright’s Disease. Nevertheless,
the plans he had prepared to be his masterpiece were followed through.
Coming in at 17,411 square feet, the Richardsonian Romanesque mansion cost a
grand total of 108,712 dollars, or the modern day equivalent of over 3.4 million dollars.
The foundation was crafted out of Joliet limestone and shielded by a thin layer of
slate to prevent moisture from being absorbed. The upper levels were crafted from Braggville granite,
the rusticated stone appearing in various sizes to decorate the archways and break up the façade. Of
the architectural elements, ornate capitals were carved for the various columns as well
as screens carved from granite. Mixed into the façade, fantastical details could be found such
as a pair of Ouroboros symbolizing the cycle of life. Because 18th street on the north was busy
and dusty, very few windows were given to that side of the house, Richardson chose instead to
create a central courtyard for the house to wrap around in a C shape where the windows faced south,
allowing light to pour into the house without noise pollution from the busy street. At the
very top of the house, copper gutters lined the clay tile roof, joined at the gables’
peaks by clay camel-back ridge rolls, allowing the clay roof tiles to come together neatly.
The interior of the home was planned to be cozy, with distinctive zones
for private and public spaces throughout as we can see in the first floor’s plan
where openings asymmetrically connect rooms to the sides of the fireplaces,
allowing you only to see a glimpse of the next room teasing you.
Arriving in the entrance hall, you pass through an entry vestibule,
going up stairs until a rounded wall redirects you towards the public spaces.
the space can only be described as Frank Lloyd Wright would later say,
“Breaking the box” as 5 distinct levels of the home could be seen from bottom of the
stairs. The walls were finished out in quarter sawn red oak paneling and complimented by a
fireplace composed of African Rose Marble set in a hearth crafted from Bois d’Orient Marble.
Near the front entrance, sits the school room. Both of their children, George and Fanny,
were educated here. When George was only 5 years old, he came down with Hay Fever
which affected his development. Doctors advised that he be kept away from school,
so he was. But his parents loved him nonetheless, installing a telegraph in the
school room which was routed to his friends’ houses. A fire alarm received signals from
the fire department. George loved watching the firefighters work, so anytime an alarm came in,
he would telegraph his friends and run out of the house to chase the firetrucks.
To one side of the stairs is the library. With half height bookcases encircling the room,
containing over 4,300 books which were not for show,
but rather for reading. the walls were painted to have a green glazed effect and Overhead,
faux boxed beams appeared natural, but contained hidden iron supports. In the center of the room,
is what is called a partners desk. Both John and Frances shared the same desk, something that was
incredibly rare for the time, but symbolized the equality of husband and wife in the home.
To the other side of the stairs, going further into the house,
is the Parlor. It boasted custom made furniture inspired by the arts and crafts movement as
well as a Steinway Piano. Decoration included draperies by William Morris and hand-painted
burlap wallcovering. This room was modestly sized to give the family the cozy feeling
they wanted in their home measuring only 18 feet by about 21 feet with 10 foot ceilings.
Through huge pocket doors, continuing further into the house, you would arrive
in the largest room of the house, the dining room. The table sat 18 people,
but twice the Glessners hosted the Chicago Symphony for dinner,
with more than 100 people seated throughout the first floor. Using their utensils, pots and pans,
they broke out into an impromptu performance which delighted the Glessners to no end.
Of course, parties of this size required a live in staff of 8 people with a lot of
space being devoted to their living quarters and work rooms such as
the kitchen with an encaustic tile floor and white glazed brick walls.
The Glessners’ shared the same bedroom on the first floor which included dressing rooms and
a bathroom. The bedroom was positioned here to offer clear views of Lake Michigan while
allowing the morning sun to spill across the William Morris Wallpaper. Continuing the Arts
and Crafts Theme, on the wall opposite the bed sat an oversized hearth, the fireplace
decorated with tiles designed by renowned Arts and Crafts designer William De Morgan.
To explore the rest of the house, we will head upstairs to the upper
hall where we can begin peaking in doors to see the other bedrooms.
First we will see the bedroom of their only daughter Frances Glessner Lee,
who is widely considered the mother of Forensic Science. She built miniatures as
a hobby and developed miniature crime scenes which she called “The Nutshell Studies of
Unexplained Deaths” to help police train for crime scene investigations. She became the
first woman in the United States to be appointed a State Police Captain.
Next we’ll see George’s Bedroom. While living here he developed a passion for photography,
and took many of the pictures we have seen in this video. He went on to live
a fairly normal life, graduating from Harvard and getting married.
Each of the guestrooms featured large fireplaces with elegant furniture,
ensuring that guests were kept comfortable while staying with the Glessners.
Even though H.H. Richardson had already passed, his work went on to inspire
some of the greatest architects of the 20th century. About the Glessner House,
Architect Mies van der Rohe said, it is a “wonderful architectural document.”
Architect Philip Johnson told the Chicago Daily
News that the “Glessner House is the most important house in the country to me.”
The importance of Richardson’s contribution to Chicago’s architectural heritage did not go
unnoticed. In 1924, the Chicago Chapter American Institute of Architects, known as the AIA,
discussed acquiring the Glessner House to use as their club building. The Glessners
loved the idea of the AIA utilizing their home for future architects to enjoy and learn from,
so they decided that upon their deaths the house would be donated to the AIA.
After 61 years of marriage, Frances passed away in 1932 with John following her to the grave in 1936.
The house passed to the AIA, as was intended,
however, circumstances had changed. The great depression had wiped out the funding needed
for the AIA to maintain and update the house for their cause, so after much deliberation,
the organization made the difficult decision to return the property to the Glessners’ heirs.
Keeping in line with their parents wishes for the house to serve as an education resource,
they deeded it to the Armour Institute to be used for vocational testing. However,
they sold the house to the Lithographic Technical Foundation which ended up relocating
to Pittsburgh. When they did, they placed the house up for sale in 1965. During this time,
many of Chicago’s gilded aged mansion were being torn down to clear the way for factories in what
was now an undesirable neighborhood. A group of prominent architects, including Philip Johnson,
began sounding the alarm bells. The house was too important in modern architectural history to
be bulldozed and forgotten. In 1966, the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation was created with
the sole purpose of purchasing the Glessner House to preserve for future generations. After raising
35,000 dollars, the amount of the asking price, the newly formed organization was able to purchase
the house. Over the years, the organization reorganized and it now operates independently as
Glessner House. During this time, and after this time, heroic efforts were made in the undertaking
of restoration work to return the house to its former glory. Glessner decedents donated
original furniture and decorative arts to be used in the house and specialists reproduced everything
from William Morris Wallpaper to gilding on the ceilings. Today, it appears as a timecapsule of
life in Chicago’s Gilded Age offering a variety of tours year round, including their Christmas
Candlelight Tours offered over 2 weekends, December 10th through the 11th, and December
17th through the 18th. During this tour, the house is decorated for Christmas with period appropriate
decor decking the halls while live music is played on the Steinway Piano. If you are fortunate enough
to be in the area during this time, it is a beautiful event that you simply must attend.
You can find more information about the tour on their website which is on screen right now. I will
also post it in the video description and down below in the comments section as a pinned comment.
To close this video, I will read you an excerpt from Thamas C Hubka’s “H.H.
Richardson’s Glessner House: A garden in the Machine ” “Richardson’s architectural
expression is quintessentially American because he accepted the coexistence of
oppositional forces and ideas characteristic of late nineteenth-century America . . . The
Glessner House, a severe stone fortress sheltering a delicate domestic garden,
was shocking at first, but it just might be as American as apple pie and a remarkably
perceptive summary of domestic life in the late nineteenth century: a garden in the machine.”
Thank you all for watching, I really hope that you enjoyed this video. Did you have a favorite
room? Let me know down below in the comments section. And while you’re there, make sure
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