Continuing with Chicago, Chrissy & I went the architecture tour on the river. I recommend it. We had an exceptionally good tour guide. He even played blues harmonica was we came in to dock.
Since I live in Washington, high-rise buildings are not something I see often. Chicago is the place to see high rise buildings and the river is the best way to do it. It is a beautiful city.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Catching up with recent activities, Chrissy and I went to Chicago to take a look at some of the architecture and specifically at the Frank Lloyd Wright house and neighborhood around Oak Park.
The neighborhood is very pleasant, but I do not think that it results exclusively or even mostly from the Frank Lloyd Wright contribution. I like many of his innovations – and many have entered American vernacular architecture, but the totality of his deigns were not always that good.
The neighborhood is part of the “garden city” movement of he late 19th and early 20th Centuries. What I like about the area is open aspect, varieties of buildings and – more than anything else – the nice big trees.
My first photos shows Wright’s house and studio, followed by one of the Wright designed houses. Next is an ordinary Victorian house, that also adds to the beauty of the neighborhood. Wright evidently hated those things. Last tow are the nice trees. First is a big elm. Next is a ginkgo ‘s Wright’s yard. The tree was there when he bought the place in 1887, so it is at least 130 years old. It is the widest ginkgo that I have ever seen, although not the tallest. As I examined the tree, I notice that the top had been cut off. It looked like damage from wind and not a aesthetic choice.