Hiram Baldwin House, Prairie School residence in Kenilworth, Illinois, US.
The Hiram Baldwin House is a single-family residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright featuring strong horizontal lines, a stucco exterior with wood detailing, and low-pitched roofs with extended eaves. The structure sits on Essex Road and demonstrates how the building forms a unified composition with its surrounding grounds.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed this house in 1905 during a pivotal period when the Prairie School movement was reshaping American residential architecture. The work reflects how architects of this era sought to create homes that responded to the flat landscapes and natural environment of the Midwest.
The residence showcases how Prairie School design principles shaped domestic living through open spatial flow and integration with nature. The layout demonstrates early 20th-century thinking about how American homes could connect interior spaces with the surrounding landscape.
Visitors should know the house is privately owned and can only be viewed from the street to appreciate the exterior architecture and its relationship to the surrounding grounds. The Kenilworth location makes it convenient to explore other Prairie School residences in the area on the same visit.
The grounds feature wooden screens that divide the garden into distinct courtyards, blending Japanese design elements into the Prairie School aesthetic. This combination reveals Wright's engagement with Eastern traditions and how he wove them into his American architectural language.
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