robie house free tour

The Home and Studio will be closed Tuesday, November 12. All Home and Studio tours will be closed during this time.

Virtual Tours and Online Resources for Adults

Enjoy a virtual tour of the iconic Frederick C. Robie House, the consummate expression of Wright’s Prairie style.

Learn about the Prairie Style and the Midwestern architects who contributed to its development.

Explore the expansive living space at the heart of the Robie House on this Virtual Tour.

Take a Virtual Tour of Wright's Oak Park Studio, the birthplace of American architecture.

Take a Virtual Tour of the Children’s Playroom at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio in Oak Park. Trust curator David Bagnall discusses the design and history of this remarkable space.

Explore Wright’s long-lost Larkin Administration Building in Frank Lloyd Wright: The Lost Works . This ongoing series of immersive digital animations explores Wright’s most important demolished and unrealized buildings.

Watch and Learn. Kevin Nute, Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture, University of Hawaii examines Wright's interest in traditional Japanese pictorial art in the context of his philosophy of 'organic' architecture.

In 1905 Frank Lloyd Wright traveled to Japan, documenting his experiences in a series of personal photographs. 1905: Japan Through the Lens of Frank Lloyd Wright is an online exhibition of Wright’s 1905 photographs of Japan from the archives of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. More >

Take a deep dive into the history and design of the Robie House with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Vision: The Frederick C. Robie House Conservation Management Plan . This publication presents a defining vision for the preservation of Wright’s iconic Prairie house for generations to come. More >

Robie House

Designed as two large rectangles that seem to slide past one another, the long, horizontal residence that Wright created for 28-year-old Frederick Robie, boldly established a new form of domestic design: the Prairie style.

Frederick C. Robie, his wife Lora

5757 S. Woodlawn Ave.

National Register of Historic Places. National Historic Landmark. Open to the public with tours available.

cal.flwright.org

As the first uniquely American architectural style, it responded to the expansive American plains by emphasizing the horizontal over the vertical. A dramatic twenty-foot cantilevered roof shades ribbons of art-glass windows below creates privacy and seamlessly connects the interior and exterior. Inside, the typical warren of rooms is discarded for a light-filled open plan, centered around a main hearth. Wright responded not only to the openness of the American landscape, but also to the more informal quality of the modern American lifestyle. The Robie House’s influence on American architecture was immediate and undeniable.

The meticulously coordinated design of the Robie House has made it the “measuring stick” against which all other Prairie School buildings are compared. In contrast to the home’s architectural staying power, Robie’s tenure in his home was short-lived. As a result of financial problems incurred by both the death of his father and the deterioration of his marriage, Robie was forced to sell the house after merely fourteen months. Robie’s financial troubles may explain why the plan to furnish the entire house with Wright-designed furniture was never completed. Threatened to be demolished in 1957, Wright returned to champion the Robie House as a “cornerstone in American Architecture.” The Robie House was preserved and continues to prove Wright’s keen regarding the direction of residential architecture in the U.S.

Similar Projects Prairie Residential

Allen House

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See more of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work

The Whirling Arrow

News and updates from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

A composite image showing four different architectural drawings and blueprints of varying styles and complexity.

Frank Lloyd Wright + Arizona

Frank Lloyd Wright’s connection to Arizona, the location of his personal winter home Taliesin West, runs deep, with his architectural influence seen all over the Valley. Here, PhD student David R. Richardson gives a brief overview of several of Wright’s most notable projects in the Grand Canyon state.

IN TW STUDIO, BRUCE/LING/FLLW. photographer in background. 1954

June 9, 2024 International Archives Day

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Collection includes fine and decorative art, the personal belongings of the Wright’s, the creative output of the Fellowship, archival material, the William Wesley Peters Library, and the historic buildings at Taliesin and Taliesin West. Highlighted below are items currently on view, stored in the vaults, in the Archives, and from the WWP Library.

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Robie House

Brick and Wood Design

Robie House’s horizontal lines, low-pitched roof, and incorporation of natural materials mimic the midwestern landscape.

Photo by Tom Rossiter

Art Glass Windows

Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his use of leaded art glass windows, which blended the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces.

Photo by Andrew Bruah

Prairie Style Dining Room

Wright incorporated long bands of windows in the home’s design to maximize light filtration.

National Landmark

Robie House is recognized as an icon of American architecture.

Completed: 1910 Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright Address: 5757 S. Woodlawn Ave. Google Map

Frank Lloyd Wright’s world-famous Robie House, designed for businessman Frederick C. Robie between 1908 and 1910, has been a National Historic Landmark since 1963. The structure is often cited as the best example of the Prairie style.

Prairie Style The inspiration for Wright’s celebrated Prairie style was the American Midwest, and in particular, its flat, expansive plains. Prairie style homes distinguish themselves through their strong exterior horizontal lines, low-pitched roofs, long bands of windows, and natural materials. In particular, the structures incorporate brick and wood into their design. One of the most well-known features of these homes is their use of art glass windows, which blend interior and exterior spaces through their soft filtration of light.

Tours Visitors can experience the Prairie style firsthand through a variety of tours available from 9:00 am to 4:00 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Robie House is open for tours during most holidays, with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year's Day.