Editing Unity Temple (section)

=== Reception ===
[[File:Lloyd Wright Unity Temple sanctuary 1.jpg|thumb|View of the auditorium from the balcony]]

Upon the temple's completion, images of the auditorium were published in ''Inland Architect and News Record'' magazine.<ref name="Siry pp. 192–193" /> Local newspaper ''[[Pioneer Press#Pioneer Press community newspapers|Oak Leaves]]'' called it "the most radical departure in traditional church architecture ever attempted",<ref name="Siry p. 130" /> and the same newspaper said the "severe simplicity of the exterior of the building [...] gives one little hint of the beauty of the interior".<ref name="Sokol p. 100" /> A writer for the ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' said Unity Temple's modern design represented "the present, the twentieth century, the modern spirit, thought, faith, the modern freedom, the modern ideal".<ref>{{cite news |last=Krecker |first=Ada May |date=May 16, 1909 |title=A Church of Which Oak Park Is Proud |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=H4 |id={{ProQuest|173528161}} }}</ref> ''[[Architectural Record]]'' praised the acoustics as "not sonorous and [...] only slightly reverberant".<ref name="Oak Leaves 1976a">{{cite web |last=Niedert |first=Kathy |date=January 28, 1976 |title='Music's sound is perfect here' |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011975-12311976&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19760128_english_47&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=47 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> Conversely, [[Winthrop Kendall]] regarded the building as unattractive, "without a vine or a tree to relieve its massive monotony",<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 29, 1909 |title=Defends the Architecture of Churches in Oak Park |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-defends-the-architecture/164303510/ |access-date=January 30, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=6 }}</ref> and disappointed congregants likened the temple to a [[Mesoamerican ballgame|Mayan handball]] court.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Walter |date=November 10, 1998 |title=Television Review; A Visionary's Dreams, Disguised as Buildings, Altered the Landscape |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/10/movies/television-review-visionary-s-dreams-disguised-buildings-altered-landscape.html |access-date=February 7, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref>

In 1928, a writer for ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' described Unity Temple as one of a few buildings that expressed Wright's "idea of the thing—made to sing to heaven",<ref>{{Cite news |last=Scarborough |first=Katherine |date=October 18, 1929 |title=America Sing Its Own 'Frozen Music': Less Than Two Centuries Required for Its Use in Architecture |work=The Baltimore Sun |page=1 |issn=1930-8965 |id={{ProQuest|543542652}} }}</ref> while the ''[[Wausau Daily Herald]]'' said the design "gave rise to the cubical monolith".<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 3, 1928 |title=Wright's Love Affairs Would Fill Big Book |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-wrights-love-affair/164618689/ |access-date=February 3, 2025 |work=Wausau Daily Herald |pages=8 }}</ref> A writer for the ''[[Manchester Guardian]]'', in 1939, described Unity Temple as one of Wright's "pedigree buildings".<ref name="The Manchester Guardian 1939" /> A ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' article in 1961 said Unity Temple still "looks quite fresh and contemporary today",<ref name="McCue 1961" /> and ''[[The Buffalo News]]'' likened the building to a "visiting spaceship" in 1981,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bull |first=John V. R. |date=April 5, 1981 |title=Wright's Legacy Is at Home in Oak Park, Illinois |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-wrights-legacy-is-at-h/164866714/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=The Buffalo News |pages=70 }}</ref> and architectural historian [[Vincent Scully]] called it "small, yet large" and one of the nation's most beautiful buildings.<ref name="nyt-1984-09-02" /> After the auditorium's interior restoration was completed in the 1980s, a ''[[Boston Globe]]'' editor said the auditorium was "almost as shocking as the restoration of the [[Sistine Chapel]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Robert |date=May 5, 1987 |title=Crumbling National Treasures It's Time to Restore Frank Lloyd Wright's Houses |page=67 |id={{ProQuest|294429166}} }}</ref> The architectural critic [[Paul Goldberger]] perceived Unity Temple as representing "a kind of symbolic gathering and communal presence, monumental dignity in a public place",<ref>{{cite web |date=November 12, 2018 |title=Unity Temple |url=https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/frank-lloyd-wright/unity |access-date=February 8, 2025 |publisher=PBS }}</ref> calling it one of "the greatest religious structures" of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=December 26, 1982 |title=Housing for the Spirit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/26/books/housing-for-the-spirit.html |access-date=February 8, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref>

A writer for ''[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]'' in 1996 contrasted Unity Temple's "blocky" massing with the low-roofed design of [[Robie House]] on Chicago's [[South Side, Chicago|South Side]].<ref name="Biemiller 1996" /> David M. Sokol, in his 2008 book ''The Noble Room'', wrote that the temple's "majesty and importance" was partially derived from the fact that it was not arranged as typical church buildings had been.<ref name="Sokol p. 83" /> A writer for ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote that the building may have been one of Wright's favorite designs because it was "imposing yet elegant".<ref name="Jeffrey b0492" /> After the temple's renovation was finished in 2017, a ''[[Curbed]]'' writer said the building's imposing concrete facade "belies what's inside",<ref name="Koziarz j035" /> while a ''Chicago Tribune'' writer called the auditorium "magnificent sanctuary noted for its high skylights of amber-tinted leaded glass".<ref name="Dechter 2017" /> [[Blair Kamin]] wrote for ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' in 2025 that the temple's exterior was "monolithic, not monotonous" because of its use of textured concrete and geometric motifs, while "the sanctuary is as serene as architecture gets".<ref name="Kamin 2025" />

Unity Temple has also received architectural accolades. In 1959, the [[American Institute of Architects]] (AIA) deemed Unity Temple as one of 17 buildings designed by Wright that merited the highest levels of architectural preservation.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 22, 2017 |title=Seventeen Buildings Honored by the American Institute of Architects |url=http://www.wrightontheweb.net/his-works/17-buildings/ |publisher=Wright on the Web }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Board of Directors, American Institute of Architecture |title=Seventeen Buildings Worthy of Preservation |url=http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/AIA%20scans/T-Z/17%20FLW%20buildings.pdf |access-date=November 2, 2012 |publisher=American Institute of Architects }}</ref> A 1991 poll in ''[[Architectural Record]]'' magazine ranked Unity Temple as one of the 10 most significant buildings in the United States from the previous century.<ref name="Johnson o698" /> The temple's 2017 restoration received several awards, including the [[American Institute of Architects]]' Crombie Taylor Award,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=October 26, 2018 |title=Restored Unity Temple, Loop CTA station highlight winners of architecture awards |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2018/10/26/restored-unity-temple-loop-cta-station-highlight-winners-of-architecture-awards/ |access-date=October 28, 2018 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |language=en-US }}</ref> the [[World Monuments Fund]]'s Modernism Prize,<ref>{{cite web |last=Testado |first=Justine |date=November 7, 2018 |title=Preservation of Karl Marx School wins 2018 WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize, special mention awarded to restored Unity Temple by Frank Lloyd Wright |url=https://bustler.net/news/6939/preservation-of-karl-marx-school-wins-2018-wmf-knoll-modernism-prize-special-mention-awarded-to-restored-unity-temple-by-frank-lloyd-wright |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=Bustler |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=McGrath |first=Katherine |date=November 7, 2018 |title=World Monuments Fund Announces the Winner of the 2018 WMF Knoll Modernism Prize |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/world-monuments-fund-announces-winner-2018-wmfknoll-modernism-prize |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=Architectural Digest }}</ref> the Urban Land Institute's Vision Award,<ref>{{cite web |title=ULI Chicago names nine winners at 2019 Vision Awards – REJournals |url=https://rejournals.com/uli-chicago-names-nine-winners-at-2019-vision-awards/ |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=REJournals – Commercial real estate news }}</ref> and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation's Preservation Award.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sheridan |first=Stacey |date=October 14, 2019 |title=Unity Temple snags Driehaus Award |url=https://www.oakpark.com/2019/10/14/unity-temple-snags-driehaus-award/ |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=Wednesday Journal |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Schaenzer |first=Amie |date=October 11, 2019 |title=Oak Park Unity Temple Wins National Preservation Award |url=https://patch.com/illinois/oakpark/oak-park-unity-temple-wins-national-preservation-award |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=Oak Park-River Forest, IL Patch }}</ref>