THIS IDYLLIC SETTING WAS GROUND ZERO FOR THE CLASH OF SEVERAL WORLDS. HERE IN A MOST VISIBLY
DRAMATIC FASHION, THE POST CIVIL
WAR VICTORIAN ERA MET THE
FUTURE.
IT ALL HAPPENED OVER THE
REMODELING OF A HOME.
HELLO. I AM JIM WILHELM. THIS AREA WAS ONCE THE
WEALTHIEST SECTION OF
SPRINGFIELD AND IT WAS NICK
NICKNAMED ARISTOCRACY HILL.
IT WAS HERE THAT A LADY SEEKING
TO DEFINE HER ROLE IN UPPER
SOCIETY MADE A STARTLING VISUAL
STATEMENT.
HER NAME WAS SUSAN DANA AND SHE
WAS SOMEWHAT SHUNNED FROM HIGH
SOCIETY BECAUSE HER FAMILY'S
HEALTH CAME FROM NEW MONEY.
LATER AFTER THE DEATHS OF BOTH
HER HUSBAND AND FATHER, SHE CAME
INTO CONTROL OF THE ESTATE AND
DECIDED TO REMODEL THE FAMILY
HOME.
BUT SHE DIDN'T HIRE A PROMINENT
LOCAL ARCHITECT.
SHE HIRED A MAN FROM CHICAGO.
NOT A KNOWN NAME EITHER, BUT
RELATIVE NEWCOMER CONSIDERED BY
MANY PEOPLE IN THE FIELD TO BE
KIND OF AN ODDITY.
HIS NAME WAS FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.
AT THAT TIME, IN 1901, MR. WRIGHT WAS JUST STARTING HIS CAREER.
HE HAD DESIGNED SEVERAL HOMES,
BUT NO PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND HAD
YET TO EXPAND HIS CONCEPTS.
SUSAN DANA ESSENTIALLY HANDED
HIM A BLANK CHECK TO DO WHAT HE
PLEASED.
IMAGINE THE STREET LINED WITH
THE FINEST VICTORIAN HOMES,
HOPES OF GEOMETRIC SYMMETRY WITH
BOX LIKE ROOMS ALL BUT THEED
AGAINST ONE ANOTHER.
IN THE MIDST OF THOSE MONEYED
HOMES, HE BUILT THIS.
THIS IS A STATEMENT. FOR DANA, IT IS A REDEFINITION OF A WOMAN'S ROLE IN SOCIETY
BECAUSE SHE NOT ONLY
ENTERTAINED, BUT ALSO SUPPORTED
THE ARTS AND EDUCATION, ALONG
WITH WORKING FOR POLITICAL AND
SOCIAL CHANGE.
AND AS FOR FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT,
IT IS A REJECTION OF POPULAR
DESIGN.
INSTEAD OF THE VERTICAL, HIS BUILDINGS EMPHASIZED THE HORIZONTAL, EMULATING THE VAST
PRAIRIE, AND TO CREATE THOSE
LINES, ABOVE AND BELOW THE
OUTSIDE BRICK, HE HAD THE MORTAR
RECESSED WHICH CREATED A SHADOW
LINE.
ABOVE THE ROOF SEEMS TO BE
RAISED FROM THE BRICK WALL BY
ROWS OF RIBBON WINDOWS AND THE
DECORATIVE PLASTER FREEZE.
THE FREEZE IS DONE IN AN ART
DECO LIKE MOTIF, BUT
INTERESTINGLY, IT WAS DESIGNED
SOME 20 YEARS BEFORE THAT
MOVEMENT.
AND ALL ALONG THE EXTERIOR ARE SEVERAL BUILT-IN PLANTERS CREATING A GREEN WATERFALL OF
VINES, ALMOST AS IF THE
ORGANICNESS OF THE HOME IS
SPILLING OUT INTO THE STREETS.
ORGANIC IS A GOOD WORD SINCE
WRIGHT TOOK MANY OF HIS DESIGN
CUES FROM NATURE
ALTHOUGH FRANK LLOYD ARE WRIGHT WAS GIVEN CARTE BLANCHE, SUSAN DANA DID HAVE HER SAY.
IN FACT, SHE GOT THINGS DESIGNED
INTO THE HOUSE THAT NO OTHER
CLIENT OF WRIGHT EVER DID.
FOR EXAMPLE, WRIGHT DIDN'T CARE
FOR FRONT DOORS.
IN MOST OF HIS DESIGNS, HE WOULD
HIDE THEM BEHIND WALLS.
BUT THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT.
THIS HOUSE WAS DESIGNED TO
ENTERTAIN.
IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE THE FOCAL
POINT OF SPRINGFIELD'S SOCIETY.
AS SUCH, IT HAS PROBABLY THE MOST PROMINENT FRONT DOOR WRIGHT EVER DESIGNED.
HERE TWO HALF PILLARS SEEM TO
SUPPORT A SUNBURST PATTERN OF
BRICKS EMPHASIZING THE ARCHWAY.
BELOW THE DOOR IS TRIMMED WITH
STYLIZED ART GLASS RENDITION OF
BUTTERFLIES.
ARRIVING GUESTS WOULD EXPERIENCE
A TUNNEL LIKE EFFECT LOOKING
THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR WHICH
NICELY FRAMES THE TALL, SLENDER
STATUE BY RICHARD BOCK.
IN TURN, THE ARCH OF THE MAIN
FIREPLACE FURTHER BACK IN THE
HOUSE FRAMES THE STATUE.
INSIDE GUESTS ARE CONFRONTED WITH SEVERAL FLOOR LEVELS WHICH SEEM DISCONNECTED BECAUSE THERE
IS NO GRAND STAIRCASE.
THE STAIRS ARE ON EITHER SIDE IN
CAVE LIKE ALCOVES.
AND THE WALL TREATMENT IS VERY
DIFFERENT FROM THE TYPICAL
HEAVILY PAPERED VICTORIAN WORLD.
THE ROUGH TEXTURED PLASTER WAS FIRST PAINTED IN A LIGHT PASTEL COLOR THEN COVERED WITH A
PIGMENTED GLAZE THAT WAS WIPED
OFF BEFORE COMPLETELY DRYING.
THE RESULT IS A TWO TONED WALL
WITH VARIOUS IMPERFECTIONS AGAIN
CREATING AN ORGANIC FEELING.
SUSAN'S BEDROOM WAS OVER THERE.
FROM THERE, SHE COULD COME OUT
ON THIS WALKWAY TO GREET HER
GUESTS.
AND SINCE THE STAIRS WERE ON THE
OTHER SIDE, IT ALLOWED HER
GUESTS AS SHE STROLLED AROUND TO
ADMIRE HER EVENING GOWN.
WALLS WERE ELIMINATED TO CREATE SPACE. IN WRIGHT'S DESIGN, ROOMS FLOW
FROM ONE TO THE OTHER SEPARATED
BY ELEVATION CHANGES
THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WRIGHT'S USE OF SPACE. AS I LEAVE THE MAIN FOYER, THE
CEILING HAS DROPPED DOWN SO LOW
IT MAKES A PERSON ALMOST WANT TO
STOOP AS HE WALKS THROUGH.
THAT TIGHT AREA SUDDENLY GIVES
WAY TO THIS CAVERNOUS SPACE
WHICH IS THE DINING ROOM.
HERE THE BARREL VAULTED CEILING
SOARS 26 FEET ABOVE THE DINER'S
HEADS, PLUS THERE IS A BALCONY
WHERE MUSICIANS COULD PLAY AS
PEOPLE FILTERED IN FOR THE MEAL.
THIS WAS WRIGHT'S FIRST PROJECT
IN WHICH HE USED GREAT CEILING
HEIGHTS.
UP TO THAT TIME, HE HAD NEVER
WORKED WITH ANYTHING SO BOLD OR
WILD.
THE CEILING SEEMS TO GROW OUT
FROM BEHIND A MUR RAL WHICH
SURROUNDS THE DINING AREA.
IT WAS PAINTED BY GEORGE
NIEDECKEN WHO CREATED MURALS IN
SEVERAL OF WRIGHT'S OTHER HOMES.
THIS ONE WHICH DEPICTS PLANTS OF
THE PRAIRIE IS THE ONLY ONE OF
HIS WORKS IN A WRIGHT HOME THAT
REMAINS UNTOUCHED.
>>
THIS IS THE FIRST HOUSE IN SPRINGFIELD DESIGNED FOR ELECTRICITY.
UNLIKE OTHER HOUSES OF THE DAY
WHICH USED A CENTRAL FIXTURE TO
PROVIDE ILLUMINATION, WRIGHT
DESIGNED A LOT OF INDIRECT
LIGHTING.
PLUS THE FIXTURES THEMSELVES
BECAME A PART OF THE ART OF THE
BUILDING.
IN THIS ROOM, THERE ARE FOUR FREE HANGING CHANDELIERS WITH BUTTERFLY PATTERNS LIKE THOSE
OVER THE DOORWAY.
THESE PATTERNS ARE REFLECT ON
THE MURAL.
VISITORS SOMETIMES COMMENT ABOUT
HOW DIM THE LIGHTING IS IN THE
HOUSE, AND IT IS BY TODAY'S
STANDARDS.
BUT IN A WORLD LIT BY CANDLES
AND KEROSENE, IT WAS CONSIDERED
AND WRITTEN ABOUT AS ONE OF THE
LIGHTEST AND BRIGHTEST HOUSE INS
SPRINGFIELD.
THE DANA THOMAS HOUSE IS THE
BEST PRESERVED AND MOST COMPLETE
OF ANY OF WRIGHT'S EARLY PRAIRIE
HOMES.
MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED PIECES OF
HIS ORIGINAL WHITE OAK FURNITURE
ARE STILL IN PLACE ALONG WITH
250 ART GLASS WINDOWS, DOORS,
AND PANELS, AND 200 LIGHT
FIXTURES.
THAT'S DUE IN LARGE PART TO THE
FACT THE HOME ONLY HAS HAD THREE
OWNERS. AFTER SUSAN DANA, THE
HOME WAS PURCHASED BY THE THOMAS
PUBLISHING COMPANY FOR OFFICES,
BUT THEY ARE ALSO FANS, AND THEY
KEPT THE WORK IN INTACT.
LATER THE STATE BOUGHT THE
PROPERTY, AND IN AN EFFORT
SPEAR
LEADED BY THEN GOVERNOR JIM
THOMPSON, A MULTI MILLION
DOLLARS RESTORATION PROJECT.
DURING THAT TIME, GREAT PAINS
WERE TAKEN TO REDISCOVER
BRIGHT'S ORIGINAL COLOR SCHEMES
AND BRING HOME BACK TO WHEN SUES
A DANA FIRST WALKED.
INSIDE.
THIS HOME HAS 35 ROOMS ON THREE MAIN LEVELS, BUT IT HAS 16 VARYING LEVELS.
THE MOST DRAMATIC SPACE IS REACHED AT THE END OF A LONG CORRIDOR WITH BUILT-IN PLANTERS.
AT THE END, GUESTS TAKE A FEW
STEPS UP TO A LANDING BEING MAKE
A U-TURN AND THEN PASS THROUGH A
LOW CEILING.
THEY ENTERED THIS BRIGHT AND LARGE ENTERTAINMENT AREA CALLED THE GALLERY, AND IT HAS ONE OF
ONLY THREE BARREL VAULTED
CEILINGS THAT WRIGHT EVER
DESIGNED. TWO ARE IN THIS
BUILDING, ONE IS IN HIS OWN HOME
IN OAK PARK.
THE WALLS IN THIS ROOM ARE
RIBBON WINDOWS LETTING IN BOTH
THE OUTSIDE AND LOTS OF NATURAL
LIGHT.
AT THE FRONT END, BELOW A
MUSICIAN'S BALCONY IS THIS STAGE
AREA.
HERE SUSAN WOULD HOST LECTURES,
RECITALS, POETRY READINGS, AND
CHURCH SERVICES.
BEHIND THE FIREPLACE IS A SMALL
PREP KITCHEN WHERE THE DESERTS
AND COFFEE ARE PREPARED.
AND THESE TABLES HAVE A DUAL
PURPOSE. THEY CAN BE FOLDED UP
IN THE MIDDLE TO CREATE A
DISPLAY EASEL FOR PAINTINGS OR
PRINTS OR THEY CAN BE FOLDED UP
COMPLETELY IN ORDER TO BE MOVED.
TODAY THE BUILDING IS OPEN FOR PUBLIC GUIDED TOURS. AND FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS, THE
YARD AND GALLERY CAN BE RENTED
IN THE EVENING.
SO ONCE AGAIN THIS HOME HAS
BECOME WHAT SUSAN DANA INTENDED
IT TO BE, A PLACE TO ENTERTAIN
AND ENLIGHTEN.
THIS BUILDING WAS WRIGHT'S FIRST
OPPORTUNITY TO BRING TOGETHER
ALL OF HIS CONCEPTS AND IT
HELPED HIM SECURE OTHER
COMMISSIONS.
THE BEST DESCRIPTION WE HAVE
HEARD OF THIS BUILDING IS TO SAY
THAT LIVING HERE WOULD BE LIKE
LIVING INSIDE A WORK OF ART.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT WHEN THE
HOME IS OPEN CALL (217)782-6776
OR LOG ON TO THEIR WEB SITE AT
WWW.DANA-THOMAS.ORG.