We will be in the Chicago area (staying in Mt Prospect) Oct 20-23. We may have some spare time to do sight seeing, and my husband is a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. The tricky thing is that we need to stay flexible on timing. Suggestions?
Will you have a rental car? If not, it will be difficult to take public transportation down to Oak Park from Mt. Prospect. You do have the options of using Uber. There are several ways to see the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Oak Park. There is a wonderful museum that you could tour - I think it was about an hour tour (I actually did it this summer with another CC’er). Very informative. But you can also do guided tours of the neighborhood where a lot of FLW houses are, as well as self-guided tours (not inside, just walking down the sidewalks). When we were there, there was street construction going on right near the museum, and the website listed parking recommendations. We did it during the week, so were pretty fortunate to find convenient parking. Depending on how much time you have, you could do the museum, then choose a guided neighborhood tour, or self-guided tour.
Good ideas from @teriwtt. Another suggestion would be Robie House in Hyde Park, Chicago.
I second touring Robie House.
There is a tour of the FLW houses in Oak Park (I think it’s the Chicago Architecture Foundation). I haven’t done it (yet), but it’s on my list. Might not work if you need to be flexible.
Thanks for the hints! We will have a rental minivan, so I’ll check into the above recommendations. Saturday is busy for us…probably Sunday too. But we will likely have extra time Thurs afternoon or Friday 10/21.
If you’re willing to go a longer distance, you could drive to Racine (approximately two-hours’ round trip) and visit the SC Johnson headquarters, Wingspread, or both.
http://www.scjohnson.com/en/company/visiting.aspx
Thanks @rosered55 - Racine looks cool. For this trip we’ll likely concentrate on the closer options, but good to know. And others reading this thread down the road will benefit with all the above nice help!
Speaking of Wisconsin, a visit to Taliesin is worth the trip.
Oak Park is much easier to get to from Mt. Prospect than Hyde Park, and the tours are IMHO more accomodating.
Taliesin is in a rural area of southwest Wisconsin. With with the leaves changing, it is great day trip but you will need reservations to tour the facility.
How far is Taliesin from Beloit? Going to be in Beloit for a wedding next weekend.
It’s approximately 90 miles one way from Beloit to Taliesin, which is close to Spring Green. Here’s a link to the site’s website: http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/visit/tours-tickets
It is close to two hours away from Beloit. If you do, go through Monroe, WI, not Madison. The backroad drive though Monroe and Barneveld is very scenic. The tours will book up early this time of year.
But then on the way to Taliesen there are the Madison FLW designed properties. https://savingplaces.org/stories/visit-these-five-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-in-madison-wisconsin#.V_qVdsmu8YA
Monroe is home to Roth Kase Cheese Factory. Their Blue Affinée blue cheese is the best I have ever tasted.
DH did some research. He said that sometimes the “reservation needed” can be done from smartphone that day (if there is still space available). If our tbd scheduling allows a tour, that will be great. If not I bet we’ll enjoy just driving/walking in Oak Park.
Thanks all! We really enjoyed our Friday tour at the FLW house/studio. We didn’t make our reservations until a few hours prior, and it worked out OK, http://cal.flwright.org/tours/homeandstudio
Great! We went on 2 FLW tours in Chicago, when we caught the bus to his original neighborhood. It was fun. Glad you were able to fit it in.
If you tour Florida Southern College, you can see 7 FLW structures in about 30 minutes (on the very very very hot tour).