Charnley House
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The James Charnley House (later known as the Charnley–Persky House) is a
learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...
headquarters and
historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...
at 1365 North Astor Street, along the Gold Coast, in the Near North Side of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, United States. Designed by
Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...
of
Adler & Sullivan Adler & Sullivan was an architectural firm founded by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Among its projects was the multi-purpose Auditorium Building in Chicago and the Wainwright Building skyscraper in St Louis. In 1883 Louis Sullivan ...
and his apprentice
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
for the lumber magnate James Charnley, it was completed in 1892. The house is one of Sullivan's few residential works and one of the only buildings where both Sullivan and Wright were significantly involved in the design. It is owned by the
Society of Architectural Historians The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. Based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, the Society's 3,500 members inc ...
(SAH), which operates the Charnley–Persky House Museum and uses the building as a headquarters. The Charnley–Persky House is designated as a
Chicago landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...
and a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
. Charnley bought the site in 1890 and hired Sullivan, a family friend, to design the house. Construction began in July 1891, and the Charnley family moved into the house in May 1892, living there for ten years. Several families bought it in succession during the 20th century, and the house was expanded in the mid-1920s. It remained a residence until 1986 when the architects
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by enginee ...
(SOM) restored the house's original appearance and converted it into the headquarters of the SOM Foundation. The philanthropist Seymour Persky purchased the house in 1995 and donated it to the SAH, which renamed it Charnley–Persky House in his honor. The Charnley–Persky House has three stories and a basement with a facade of
Roman brick Roman brick is a type of brick used in ancient Roman architecture and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered, or a modern adaptation inspired by the ancient prototypes. Both types are characteristically longer and flatter than standard ...
and stone. The facade on Astor Street is divided vertically into three parts: a main entrance with a balcony
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
in the center, and brick
pavilions In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
on either side. The third level is separated from the lower levels by a limestone
course Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...
. The interior of the house has decorative woodwork throughout, with built-in
bookcases A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and bookstor ...
and
fireplaces A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...
. On the first story are a living room and a dining room, which flank a three-story stair hall at the center. The second and third stories contain
bedrooms A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterized by its usage for sleeping. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds, a clothes closet, and bedside table and d ...
, and there were originally servants' quarters on the third story as well. In addition, the basement includes utilitarian spaces like a butler's
pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, (sometimes) dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymol ...
, storage space, and a
laundry room A laundry room or utility room is a room (architecture), room where clothes are washed, and sometimes also drying room, dried. In a modern home, laundry rooms are often equipped with an automatic washing machine and clothes dryer, and often a l ...
.


Site

The Charnley House is located along the Gold Coast, a subsection of the Near North Side neighborhood of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, United States. The building carries the street address 1365 North Astor Street (originally 99 Astor Street), at the southeast corner with Schiller Street. The site measures long on Astor Street to the west and long on Schiller Street to the north. Because Astor Street runs at an angle to Chicago's street grid, the site is parallelogram in shape. The house itself measures about across. There is a courtyard to the south, measuring across, and a driveway to the east of both the house and the courtyard, measuring . The
Palmer Mansion The Palmer Mansion was a large private home constructed 1882–1885 at 1350 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois. Once the largest private residence in the city, it was located in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side neighborhood, ...
once existed on the same city block to the east. The building stands on
reclaimed land Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamatio ...
one block from the western shore of
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
and two blocks south of
Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...
. The area north of Oak Street, including the Charnley site, was sandy marshland through the 1870s. The businessman
Potter Palmer Potter Palmer (May 20, 1826 – May 4, 1902) was an American businessman who was responsible for much of the development of State Street (Chicago), State Street in Chicago. Born in Albany County, New York,Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeast Illinois, Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and e ...
starting in the late 1870s, with plans to redevelop the land as an upscale residential district. Palmer received permission to reclaim land from Lake Michigan in 1882. Some of the reclaimed land became Palmer Court, a site bounded by Astor Street to the west, Schiller Street to the north, and Banks Street to the south. Palmer sold off the western section of Palmer Court to property owners, including James Charnley, a businessman from a wealthy Philadelphia family.


History

The house is named for James Charnley, who moved to Chicago in 1866 and cofounded the lumber firm Bradner, Charnley & Co. with two family members. Charnley moved to a new residence approximately every other year. He married Helen Douglas, the daughter of
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...
president John Douglas, in 1871 or 1872. Over the following decade, Charnley founded several more firms. The family hired the firm of
Burnham and Root Burnham and Root was one of Chicago's most famous architectural companies of the nineteenth century. It was established by Daniel Hudson Burnham and John Wellborn Root. During their eighteen years of partnership, Burnham and Root designed and ...
in 1882 to design a house on
Lake Shore Drive Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive; also known as DuSable Lake Shore Drive, the Outer Drive, the Drive, LSD or DLSD) is a semi-limited access Limited-access highway, expressway that runs alongside the sh ...
. That house, with wide porches facing Lake Michigan, was poorly suited to Chicago's cold winters and ultimately was razed in 1913. James, Helen, and their son Douglas had moved several times by the 1890s.


Charnley ownership


Development

In July 1890, the Charnley family bought a site at the southeast corner of Astor and Schiller streets for $27,500 (). The site originally measured across. Unlike many of their neighbors, who built detached houses in the middle of their properties, the Charnleys wanted to sell off their land to encourage higher-density development. Shortly after acquiring the land, the family sold part of the site to the Otis family. The Otis tract, measuring wide, was immediately east of where the Charnleys' house was to be built. The Charnleys subsequently sold the easternmost of their land, east of the Otis tract, to two other families, earning $27,450 () from these sales. Having sold off 80% of their land, the Charnley family retained only the corner plot, which represented a net expenditure of $50 (). The Charnleys hired
Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...
—a family friend who, along with
Dankmar Adler Dankmar Adler (July 3, 1844 – April 16, 1900) was a German-born American architect and civil engineer. He is best known for his fifteen-year partnership with Louis Sullivan, during which they designed influential skyscrapers that boldly addr ...
, was a partner in the architectural firm of
Adler & Sullivan Adler & Sullivan was an architectural firm founded by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Among its projects was the multi-purpose Auditorium Building in Chicago and the Wainwright Building skyscraper in St Louis. In 1883 Louis Sullivan ...
—to design their Astor Street house. Sullivan had previously designed adjacent vacation homes for the Charnleys and
himself A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its Antecedent (grammar), antecedent) within the same sentence. In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and ref ...
in
Ocean Springs, Mississippi Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately east of Biloxi, Mississippi, Biloxi and west of Gautier, Mississippi, Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula metropolitan area. The population was 18,429 at th ...
. At the time of the Charnley House's construction, the block had a malt house, some apartment buildings, and some one- or two-family houses. Sullivan was busy designing the
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
on Chicago's South Side at the time, so he delegated much of the design work to
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
, a draftsman at Adler & Sullivan. Wright, who later attributed the design entirely to himself, wrote that he had sketched out the plans at
his house ''His House'' is a 2020 horror thriller film written and directed by Remi Weekes, from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables. It stars Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu and Matt Smith. The film tells the story of a refugee couple from South Sudan, ...
in
Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...
. Adler & Sullivan had prepared plans for a
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
residence at Astor and Schiller streets by June 1891; the cost was estimated at $25,000 (). Work began that July, and the facade was finished by November. The Charnleys also received the Otis family's permission in November 1891 to construct a
party wall A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall, shared wall, also known as common wall or as a demising wall) is a wall shared by two adjoining properties. Typically, the builder lays the wall along a property line dividing two terraced h ...
between their respective properties.


Usage and sale

The house was completed in May 1892, and the Charnley family lived there for about a decade. The family employed two full-time maids (who had their own bedrooms) and periodically hired other servants as well. From the outset, the house was equipped with utilities such as electricity, which meant the Charnleys did not need a large staff, as was the case with older mansions. Though the Charnley family was prominent enough to be listed in Chicago's ''Blue Book of Selected Names'', they kept a low profile. The family seldom entertained more than a few visitors, and few diary entries, letters, or photographs, or original decorations from the house's early years are known to exist. Due to the limited space available, James and Helen Charnley may have shared one of the second-floor bedrooms, while Helen's brother John used the other second-floor bedroom. Douglas and one of his friends probably shared the third-floor bedroom. Douglas Charnley moved back into the house after graduating from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1896, and Charnley's nephew James Charnley Jr. is also recorded as having lived there. The
1900 United States census The 1900 United States census, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census. It w ...
cites James, Helen, and Douglas Charnley and John Douglas as living there, along with lumber dealer and two female servants from Sweden. After being diagnosed with a kidney disease, James sold off his companies, retired, and moved to
Camden, South Carolina Camden is the largest city in and the county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,764 in the 2020 census, and the 2022 population estimate is 8,213. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolita ...
, with Helen in 1902. Douglas Charnley also left the house around that time, moving to various countries. After moving out, the Charnley family continued to own the building for a decade, renting it to various people, including other members of Chicago's elite. The businessman Joseph Winterbotham and his wife are recorded as having moved into the house by September 1901, living there for two years. The next residents, Ogden Trevor McClurg and his wife, moved into the house in August 1903 and also lived there for two years. Redmond D. Stephens and his wife leased the house in November 1905 after the McClurgs moved out. Stephens bought the house outright in 1911 for $24,000 (), and the Stephens family continued to live there until 1918. By then, the house carried the address 1365 Astor Street.


Later residential use


Waller ownership

The Charnley House was purchased in August 1918 by real estate investor James Breckinridge Waller Jr., whose family would own it for half a century. James Waller Jr. already owned the land to the east, which had previously been part of the Charnley family's holdings. Waller Jr. may have purchased the house with the intention of eventually redeveloping the site, though a contemporary ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' article did not report on the existence of any such plans. Waller Jr. died at the house in August 1920, and he bequeathed the Astor Street house and the adjacent vacant land to his son James B. Waller III. The younger Waller bought a site to the east in 1925 or 1926, adjoining the Binderton Apartments, for $35,000 (). Waller III likely considered redeveloping the Binderton Apartments and the Charnley House, but these plans were canceled after the Wall Street crash of 1929. James Waller III built a southern annex to the house in 1926; the annex's facade was designed in a similar style to the original house. The southern extension included a kitchen on the first floor, three additional bedrooms on the top two floors, and porches on the first and second floors. In addition, the third-story servant rooms and the bathrooms were modified, part of the adjacent vacant lot was converted into a courtyard, and a door was added to the eastern wall. The fireplaces were boarded up during World War II to conserve energy. James III lived in the house until his death in 1949. His widow Nettie Waller retained the residence, putting her efforts into preserving the property at a time when many of Chicago's homes were being redeveloped. Nettie told the ''Chicago Tribune'' in 1966 that the surrounding area was "the best neighborhood in the city" and that she did not know where she would relocate if she were to sell the house. By then, the house had garnered large amounts of attention from visitors, including architects and students, and Nettie no longer was surprised when people tried to enter.


Smith and Wohlfeil ownership

Nettie sold the house in 1969. The Charnley House's subsequent owner—Hawley L. Smith Jr., who also owned four nearby residences on Schiller Street—spent $50,000 renovating the building and renting it to tenants. By the 1970s, the house's owner planned to construct condominiums east of the house. The Charnley House would have been subdivided, becoming an entryway for the condominium building. This prompted the architect John Vinci to begin looking for someone to buy the house from the developers. The house hosted an interior-design exhibit during 1975. Though the house had been placed for sale by the late 1970s, few people expressed interest in acquiring it. Lowell Wohlfeil eventually bought the house in 1979 and moved in with the architect Larry Duvall. Wohlfeil hired Vincy to design several alterations to the house. After the house was renovated, Wohlfeil wanted to sell it for $1.2 million. Potential buyers balked at the house's high price and by the fact that Wohlfeil required the buyer to preserve the building. Furthermore, many people expressed interest in buying the house only because they wanted to take part in a viewing and see the interior. After failing to attract many bidders, Wohlfeil had lowered his price to $895,000 by 1983. The house remained unsold for three more years because Wohlfeil was unsatisfied with the bids he received.


Institutional use


SOM and Persky ownership

In April 1986, the architectural firm
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by engineer ...
(SOM) offered to buy the house. SOM finalized its purchase that year, converting the house into a headquarters for the SOM Foundation. The SOM Foundation's director
Léon Krier Léon Krier CVO (born 7 April 1946) is a Luxembourgish architect, architectural theorist, and urban planner, a prominent critic of modernist architecture and advocate of New Classical architecture and New Urbanism. Krier combines an interna ...
planned to use the Charnley House as a research studio. Although the house's original
architectural drawing An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building (or building project) that falls within the definition of architecture. Architectural drawings are used by architects and others for a number of purposes: to deve ...
s had been lost, SOM attempted to restore the house to its original appearance, and John A. Eifler of SOM was commissioned to conduct the restoration. (S.009) This work included demolishing the southern annex, refinishing the wooden trim, replacing mechanical systems, and removing peeling plaster. In addition, SOM replaced the roof and hired a German artisan to repair the foyer mosaic. The firm spent about $1.7 million on the renovation, which was finished by 1988 or 1989. Afterward, visitors could also make appointments to access the house during weekdays. For its renovation of the Charnley House, SOM received a citation of merit from the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
' (AIA) Chicago chapter in 1990. The SOM Foundation vacated the Charnley House in 1993, relocating to Michigan Avenue; the foundation said it was losing $100,000 annually just by occupying the house. The foundation announced in 1994 that it wished to sell the house for $2 million. The director of the
Chicago Athenaeum The Chicago Athenaeum is a private museum of architecture and design, based in Galena, Illinois. The museum focuses on the art of design in all areas of the discipline: architecture, industrial and product design, graphics, landscape architecture ...
museum organized a committee to advocate for the house's preservation. The developer Seymour Persky leased the house in September 1994, acquiring the option to buy it outright. Persky said at the time that he had become enamored with the house because it was similar to the
Auditorium Building The Auditorium Building is a structure at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1889, it is o ...
, which Adler & Sullivan and Wright had designed in the
Chicago Loop The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...
. Persky originally considered renovating the home into a gallery and adding a curator's apartment.


Society of Architectural Historians ownership

In December 1994, Persky offered the house to the
Society of Architectural Historians The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. Based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, the Society's 3,500 members inc ...
(SAH), which at the time was based in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Persky offered to give the SAH money to buy the house if the society agreed to move to Chicago; he said this arrangement would be simpler than donating the house to the society. The SAH's members accepted Persky's gift in January 1995, and Persky gave the SAH $1.65 million to buy the property. The SAH moved into the house that October, renaming the building the Charnley–Persky House to honor his donation. After acquiring the house, the SAH began raising money to create an endowment fund for the building. Initially, the SAH did not plan to open the Charnley House to the public as a museum. By the time the SAH moved into the building, it had decided to host tours to raise money; these tours began in April 1996. In addition to moving its headquarters there, the SAH operated the Charnley–Persky House Museum in the house. By the early 2000s, tours of the house's exterior were hosted on Saturdays nine months a year, and the SAH's seven staff members used the Charnley–Persky House's rooms as offices. The SAH received money to waterproof the basement during that decade. When workers were digging trenches for the waterproofing project, they discovered artifacts such as ink bottles, china, and teapots, most of which dated from the 1890s. Subsequently,
Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducatio ...
conducted archeological excavations at the site in the 2010s. The Charnley–Persky House's basement was severely damaged during a flood in August 2014, which occurred after a water pipe under a neighboring street burst during a storm. Within three months of the flood, the SAH had raised $36,000 for a restoration, including a $10,000
matching funds Matching funds are funds that are set to be paid in proportion to funds available from other sources. Matching fund payments usually arise in situations of charity or public good. The terms cost sharing, in-kind, and matching can be used inter ...
grant from the Weese family and $5,000 each from the Alphawood Foundation and Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. The SAH announced in May 2015 that repairs to the house had been completed. In 2016, the SAH hired Harboe Architects to devise a
conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...
plan for the house, coinciding with the 125th anniversary of the building's completion. The SAH hosted an architectural-awards gala that year to raise money for the house. Since 2018, the Charnley–Persky House has been part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail, a collection of 13 buildings designed by Wright in Illinois.


Architecture

The Charnley–Persky House was designed by
Adler & Sullivan Adler & Sullivan was an architectural firm founded by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Among its projects was the multi-purpose Auditorium Building in Chicago and the Wainwright Building skyscraper in St Louis. In 1883 Louis Sullivan ...
, with
Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...
as the architect in charge.
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
, then a draftsman at the firm, also worked on the building's design; it was one of several buildings that he helped design under Sullivan. Although the house was extensively detailed in architectural publications, the original materials and design details themselves are poorly documented. This is complicated by the fact that Adler & Sullivan's original records no longer exist, having been destroyed by fire. The Charnley–Persky House is one of a small number of residences that Sullivan designed, as the firm typically did not design residences. It is also the only residential design to which Sullivan and Wright both contributed significantly, and it may be the only surviving design that both men substantially worked on. Wright is cited as having described the building as the United States' "first modern house", though the author Rebecca Graff says that this quote originated in a ''Prairie School Review'' editorial. Sources disagree on the extent of Sullivan's and Wright's involvement. ''The New York Times'' cites Wright as the primary architect, and the historian Arlene Sanderson writes that Wright was probably responsible for the drawings while Sullivan reviewed them. The journalist
Brendan Gill Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...
stated in 1987 that the facade's materials, the use of paired windows, and the second-story
loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
were all influenced by Sullivan, who had borrowed these features from other architects. The art historian Paul Sprague attributes the Astor Street facade's design and symmetry to Sullivan, while he cites Wright as having designed the entrance and interior. Gill wrote that "almost every authority gives the house to Wright" even though Sullivan was more involved with the design, while a ''New York Times'' reporter wrote that the facade evoked the "decisive collaboration of Frank Lloyd Wright". The design also includes elements of Wright's later
Prairie style Prairie School is a late 19th and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped i ...
, such as a brick-and-limestone facade, a horizontal
massing Massing is the architecture, architectural term for general Shape and form (visual arts), shape, form and size of a structure. Characteristics Massing is three-dimensional, a matter of form, not just an outline from a single perspective, a s ...
, rectangular forms, and an overhanging roof. Wright claimed full credit for the design later on in his career, particularly after Sullivan died.


Facade

The Charnley–Persky House is three stories high, with a raised
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
basement topped by
Roman brick Roman brick is a type of brick used in ancient Roman architecture and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered, or a modern adaptation inspired by the ancient prototypes. Both types are characteristically longer and flatter than standard ...
. Like many contemporary buildings, the Charnley's facade is divided horizontally into three sections: a base, midsection, and capital. The brick was originally tinted yellow or light orange, was darkened during the 1980s renovation. Limestone
courses Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...
run horizontally above the second and third stories. Ventilation grilles are embedded into the facade at the third story, which is much shorter than the first and second stories. A copper
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
runs above the third story. Above it is the copper roof, with four low chimneys, which appears nearly flat due to its very shallow pitch. The chimneys are clustered around the house's southern and northern ends. In contrast to contemporary Chicago residences, where the decorations were spread across the facade, the ornamentation on the Charnley–Persky House is limited to the second-floor balcony on Astor Street and on the cornice above the third story, The windows lack frames and are decorated with
fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly u ...
, similar to the windows in Sullivan's other buildings. Wright wrote that the Charnley House's design was the first in which he "sensed the decorative value of the plain surface—that is to say—of the flat plane as such."


Astor Street elevation

The primary
elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of the Charnley–Persky House's facade is to the west, along Astor Street, and is divided into three vertical
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
of unequal width. The basement and the center bay's first floor are both clad in limestone, creating an enframement around the first-story entrance. The first through third stories of the outer bays, and the third story of the center bay, are clad with brick. The basement has four pairs of square windows, each with iron grilles. At the middle of the center bay, a limestone stoop with three steps ascends to an oak door with a metal grille. There are
casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a c ...
s on either side of the door, which have amber art glass panes bearing circular motifs. On the second story, a wooden loggia (also described as a balcony) protrudes over the main entrance, sheltering it. There is a
balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...
and either Doric or
Tuscan-style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ital ...
columns, which support a
frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
and a copper
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
. The loggia decorations are characteristic of Sullivan's work, including bead, oval, and foliate motifs on the balustrade and frieze. The first- and second-story windows in the outer bays have plain rectangular windows topped by brick
lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...
s. On the third story, all three bays have two square casement windows each.


Other elevations

The northern elevation on Schiller Street is clad with gray limestone and yellow brick in a similar manner to the eastern elevation. The limestone basement has four square windows with grilles, while the first and second floors each have a large casement window at the middle of the facade. The third story of the northern elevation has small limestone windows. The eastern elevation has a plain brick facade with a single window on the southern portion of the second story. Though the eastern elevation was intended as a
party wall A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall, shared wall, also known as common wall or as a demising wall) is a wall shared by two adjoining properties. Typically, the builder lays the wall along a property line dividing two terraced h ...
, no other structure was ever built adjacent to the house's eastern elevation; a courtyard separates the house from the nearest building to the east. The southern elevation is divided into a protruding center bay with casement windows, in addition to recessed outer bays. Within the southern elevation's outer bays, the first and second stories have
double-hung A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History T ...
windows, while the third story has casement windows.


Interior

The interior has of space across three stories and a basement. At its greatest extent in the 1940s, the house had eleven rooms, although it was reduced to eight rooms following the 1980s renovation. The rooms are arranged around a stair hall, which occupies the center third of the house. The stair hall is abnormally large compared with contemporary American townhouses, which usually had compact stair halls to maximize usable space. The stair hall extends through the third story, acting as an
atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...
, which is flanked by rooms on either side. A reporter for the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' suggested that the stair hall might have been an example of Wright "beginning to break up 'the box'". There is a second stairway in the rear, which was used by servants. On the first floor are the Charnley–Persky House's family rooms and several rooms for servants. There are only two family rooms (the living room–library and dining room), much fewer than in other mansions of the time. The first story is arranged in a
tripartite Tripartite means composed of or split into three parts, or refers to three parties. Specifically, it may also refer to any of the following: * 3 (number) * Tripartite alignment, in linguistics * Tripartite motto, or hendiatris, a figure of speech ...
plan, with the living room–library and dining room on opposite ends of the stair hall. The upper stories are devoted to
bedrooms A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterized by its usage for sleeping. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds, a clothes closet, and bedside table and d ...
and servants' quarters. There are three main bedrooms, each with their own fireplaces, bathrooms, and closets. The main rooms are generally decorated with oak woodwork, while pine is used for ancillary spaces like closets. When the building was completed, it had modern utilities like electricity and a central heating system, though the Charnleys also equipped the principal rooms with
fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...
s. Lowell Wohlfeil, a former owner of the house, described the interior as "thin and small", in contrast to the wide appearance of the exterior. Although Sullivan's biographer David van Zanten described the interiors as comprising "a single, grand
enfilade Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
", the architectural historian Robert Twombly disputes van Zanten's conclusion that the rooms were intentionally laid out in that manner.


First story

Just inside the Charnley–Persky House's front door is a foyer with oak panels and a green, white, and brown tiled floor. Five steps ascend to a door leading to the stair hall; these stairs were placed indoors due to the limited space available. The stair hall itself measures east–west and north–south. A fireplace is located on the eastern wall of the stair hall, opposite the foyer's door. The fireplace
hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...
is surrounded by multicolored ovals, while the rest of the hall has beige plaster walls. Archways lead north and south to adjacent rooms, and arched alcoves with seats flank the door to the west and the fireplace to the east. The archways in the hall contrast with the rectangular windows on the house's facade. The stair is concealed behind a wall and is accessed by an archway on one side of the fireplace. North of the stair hall is the living room–library, which combined the functions of a typical mansion's library, sitting room, and parlor. The room measures across and has bookcases on all four walls. The living room's north and east walls have built-in bookcases; the south wall's bookcase abuts an archway from the stair hall; and the east wall's bookcases flank a fireplace with a
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
surround. The cornices at the top of each wall are made of
quarter-sawn Quarter sawing or quartersawing is a woodworking process that produces quarter-sawn or quarter-cut boards in the rip cutting of logs into lumber. The resulting lumber can also be called ''radially-sawn'' or simply ''quartered''. There is wides ...
oak. South of the stair hall is the dining room, measuring across, with a dark mahogany
wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity t ...
. On the dining room's southern wall is an outwardly-angled bay, as well as a fireplace with a marble surround and a mosaic-tile hearth. The tops of the walls have mahogany cornices, similar to those in the living room–library. There is a sink, dumbwaiter, and cupboards in the butler's
pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, (sometimes) dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymol ...
just east of the dining room. The dumbwaiter descends to a similar pantry in the basement.


Other stories

The second story has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and closets; the loggia to the west is accessed from both the stair hall and the southern bedroom. A grille of vertical wooden rods separates the stairs from the rest of the stair hall. At the middle of the hall is a light well with a carved balustrade. An art-glass double door on the stair hall's western wall, flanked by
inglenook An inglenook or chimney corner is a recess that adjoins a fireplace. The word comes from "ingle", an old Scots word for a domestic fire (derived from the Gaelic ''aingeal''), and "nook". The inglenook originated as a partially enclosed hear ...
s, leads to the outdoor loggia along Astor Street. The second-floor stair hall also has one frosted-glass window at either end and two rectangular indentations on its eastern wall. The bedrooms to the north and south have oak trim, various windows, closets with
built-in furniture A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...
, and fireplaces. The southern bedroom, measuring , was used as the master bedroom; its fireplace mantel is made of
birdseye maple Bird's eye is a type of figure that occurs within several kinds of wood, most notably hard maple. It has a distinctive pattern that resembles tiny, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain. It is somewhat reminiscent of a burl, but i ...
and yellow tiles. The master suite's bathroom has the only east-facing window in the entire house. The northern bedroom, measuring , has a walnut fireplace mantel with mauve tiles, and it formerly also had a bathroom. Both bedrooms' western walls have grilles facing the balconies. The third story was built with another bedroom, a linen closet, and two maids' bedrooms. The stair hall has an oak balustrade at the third story. Similarly to the second floor, the stair hall has one frosted-glass window at either end and two rectangular indentations on its eastern wall. A
skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...
illuminates the third story. The linen closet is just west of the stair hall, with built-in drawers flanking a pair of windows. To the north of the third-floor stair hall is a bedroom with four windows and an adjoining storage room (originally a bathroom). The northern third-story bedroom has a fireplace with an oak-and-terracotta tile hearth. To the south of the stair hall were originally two servants' bedrooms, which were later merged. The servants' bedrooms, unusually large for their time, shared a bathroom. The southern third-story room also has a storage room (originally a bathroom), which connects with the service stair. The basement is accessed by the service staircase and includes utilitarian spaces like a butler's pantry, storage space, and a
laundry room A laundry room or utility room is a room (architecture), room where clothes are washed, and sometimes also drying room, dried. In a modern home, laundry rooms are often equipped with an automatic washing machine and clothes dryer, and often a l ...
. The eastern portion of the basement includes a kitchen with a sink, a stove hood, and a dumbwaiter from the first-floor butler's pantry. The service kitchen has a window and a door leading outside to a courtyard. The southwestern corner of the basement has a bathroom, which was originally used to store food. There is also a
wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...
under the entrance stoop, as well as a coal-delivery and storage vault immediately north of this. The basement also has a square storage room at its northern end, which originally functioned as a laundry room. In addition, the basement has radiators on the ceiling (which could heat the rooms above), and it originally had a wooden floor, which was replaced with concrete in the 1980s.


Impact


Reception and media

When the Charnley House was finished, it appeared in architectural publications such as ''Inland Architect'', ''Northwestern Architect'', ''
The American Architect ''The American Architect'' was a weekly periodical on architecture published between 1876 and 1938. Originally titled ''The American Architect and Building News'', in 1909 the magazine changed its name to ''The American Architect''. In 1921, it ...
'', and ''
Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. Its editor in chief is Josephine Minutillo. ''The Record'', as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important ...
''. The house's design was extensively covered in architectural publications starting in the 1930s, After 1970, many architectural publications did not pay much attention to the design. An article from the ''
Springfield Daily Republican ''The Republican'' is a newspaper based in Springfield, Massachusetts, covering news in the Greater Springfield area, as well as national news and pieces from Boston, Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester and northern Connecticut. It is owned b ...
'' called it "a little masterpiece" from Wright's time as an apprentice with Adler & Sullivan, while the ''Chicago Tribune'' wrote in 1954 that the house could be considered as either an early example of Wright's style or a more well-developed work by Sullivan. The ''Tribune'' further wrote in 1972 that architectural experts considered the house "one of the earliest examples of Wright's genius". The historian Robert McCarter said in 1996 that the house was "one of the greatest works of architecture of its period", ranking it above similar works by firms like
McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...
. Brendan Gill characterized the interior layout as having a "rigid matter-of-factness", broken up only by the central stair hall. Elizabeth Collins Cromley wrote in 2004 that, despite the house's corner location, it "seems withdrawn, its personality reserved for interior expression alone". The same year, an article in ''The New York Times'' characterized the exterior as having "made no concessions to its fussier Victorian neighbors" and that the interior design "signals a love of abstract forms for their own sake". The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
described the house as a "pivotal work of modern architecture", and the ''Chicago Tribune'' similarly wrote in 2015 that the building was an important modern-style design that blended elements of Wright's simplistic design and Sullivan's decorations. A reporter for the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' suggested that the stair hall might have been an example of Wright "beginning to break up 'the box'". Dominican University in
River Forest, Illinois River Forest is a suburban village adjacent to Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 11,717. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University (Ill ...
, contains a sculptured wall with a depiction of the Charnley–Persky House. The house and 28 other buildings in Chicago were documented in 1965 as part of the
Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
. The building was the subject of the 2004 book ''The Charnley House'', and the 2010s archeological studies at the house are described in Rebecca Graff's 2020 book ''Disposing of Modernity''. In addition, pictures of the house were displayed in the visitor center at
Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to ...
, Wright's home and studio in Wisconsin, during 2012.


Landmark designations

Chicago's Commission on Architectural Landmarks designated the Charnley House as one of the city's first landmarks in 1958; this designation had no legal force. The
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
' Chicago chapter gave the building's owners a plaque in 1960, recognizing the building as a landmark. In 1972, the Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks held hearings on the possibility of designating the building as an official
Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...
. The house was designated a landmark on August 20, 1972, despite its owner's opposition. The Charnley–Persky House is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
(NRHP), having been designated in 1970. It was re-added to the NRHP as a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1998. The house is also part of the
Astor Street District The Astor Street District is a historic district in , Illinois. Constructed over a period of more than 100 years, the buildings along Astor Street reflect the fashionable styles favored by their original high-society residents. The numerous 19t ...
, a Chicago Landmark district, and the Gold Coast Historic District, an NRHP district.


See also

*
List of Frank Lloyd Wright works Frank Lloyd Wright designed 1,141 houses, commercial buildings and other works throughout his lifetime, including 532 that were eventually built. , there were 409 extant structures designed by Wright. Over one-third of the extant structures are on ...
*
List of Chicago Landmarks Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Illinois This list of National Historic Landmarks in Illinois, has 89 entries including Eads Bridge, which spans into Missouri and which the National Park Service credits to Missouri's National Historic Landmark list. Also added are two sites that were ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Central Chicago Currently there are 124 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Central Chicago, out of more than 350 listings in the City of Chicago. Central Chicago includes 3 of the 77 well-defined community areas of Chicago: the his ...


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * *


External links

* * High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images o
James Charnley House , Art Atlas
{{Authority control 1890s architecture in the United States 1892 establishments in Illinois Chicago Landmarks Frank Lloyd Wright buildings Historic house museums in Illinois Houses completed in 1892 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Louis Sullivan buildings Museums in Chicago National Historic Landmarks in Chicago