Frank Lloyd Wright · 1910 · Chicago
The Prairie School's clearest sentence
Completed in 1910 for Frederick C. Robie, this house on Chicago's South Side is the definitive statement of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School — the first truly American architecture, drawn from the flat horizon of the Midwest rather than imported from Europe. Wright pushed everything horizontal: long bands of art-glass windows, dramatically cantilevered rooflines that float without visible support, and Roman brick laid to stress the horizontal joint.
Inside, he dissolved the Victorian box — rooms flow around a central hearth, with furniture, glass and light fixtures designed as one continuous work. Twice threatened with demolition and twice saved, it is now a National Historic Landmark and widely regarded as one of the most important buildings in American history.