Mary W. Adams House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Mary W. Adams House
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 Location in Illinois
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| Location | Highland Park, Illinois |
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| Built | 1905 |
| Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Architectural style | Prairie School |
| NRHP reference No. | 82002552 |
| Added to NRHP | September 29, 1982 |
The Mary W. Adams House is a special home built in 1905 in Highland Park, Illinois. It was designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This house is a great example of the Prairie School style, which Wright helped create.
The house has two stories, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Its outside walls are light-colored stucco with wooden trim. This trim makes the house look wider and closer to the ground, which is a key part of the Prairie School design.
This historic house is very important. The National Park Service added it to the National Register of Historic Places on September 29, 1982. This means it's a nationally recognized historic site. In 2011, the Highland Park Historic Preservation Commission also made it a local landmark. The people who own the house now even won an award in 2012 for restoring it beautifully.
Contents
Building a Dream Home
In 1905, a woman named Mary W. Adams wanted a new house. She was a teacher and was 73 years old, making her Frank Lloyd Wright's oldest client. Mrs. Adams chose Wright because she wanted a modern and new design for her home. Wright was 38 years old at the time and known for his fresh ideas.
Designing the House
Wright first drew plans that included large porches on the ends of the house. However, Mrs. Adams thought this design would be too expensive. So, Wright made a second plan. This new plan removed the south porch and made the dining room feel more open. This is the design that was built.
The house has some interesting features. For example, it has diagonal corner supports called 'buttresses'. These are not actually holding up the house. Instead, they are there to make the roof look even bigger and more dramatic. The outside of the house is made of stucco with cypress wood trim. Inside, the wood is southern yellow pine, and the floors are made of white oak. The original fireplace, made of tan brick, has also been fixed up. Wright even designed a small storage building for the house, which has also been restored.
Life in the Adams House
The house was built with rooms for a maid and a servant. It even had a special call system. This system allowed Mrs. Adams to ask for help from anywhere in the house, even from the porch! The house is on a corner lot, not far from Lake Michigan. It looks a bit like another famous design by Wright called "A Fireproof House for $5000".
Mary W. Adams lived in her new home for only three years. She passed away and is buried with her husband in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Saving a Historic Home
In the 2000s, the future of the Mary W. Adams House was uncertain. It needed a lot of repair work. But in December 2010, new owners bought the house. They spent 18 months carefully restoring it. They even used Frank Lloyd Wright's original plans to make sure everything was just right.
See also
In Spanish: Casa Mary W. Adams para niños
