Editing Unity Temple (section)

=== Design ===
==== Original plans ====
The trustees mandated that the new house of worship include a [[sanctuary]] for worship, a meeting room for secular events, and a classroom for the Sunday school.<ref name="Siry p. 74" /><ref name="Siry pp. 81–83">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|pages=81, 83 }}</ref> Furthermore, as Lake Street was a major street, Wright had to design a monumental building that would also fit the church's budget.<ref name="Oak Leaves 1957c" /> Many of the original drawings have been lost or destroyed,<ref name="McCarter2 p. 10" /> but Wright extensively documented his thought process in his autobiography.<ref name="McCarter2 p. 10" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hansen |first=Harry |date=April 6, 1932 |title=The First Reader |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-virginian-pilot-the-first-readerhar/164619262/ |access-date=February 3, 2025 |work=The Virginian-Pilot |pages=6 }}</ref> Wright wrote that Johonnot had wanted a "Mission"-style building,<ref>{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=|page=40}}; {{harvnb|Wright|2005|ps=.|page=153 }}</ref> and he avoided traditional [[church architecture]], instead proposing to the planning committee a "temple to man ... in which to study man himself for his God's sake".<ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=|page=74}}; {{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=|page=40}}; {{harvnb|Wright|2005|ps=.|pages=153–154 }}</ref><ref name="Sawyers y222">{{cite web |last=Sawyers |first=June |date=August 16, 1991 |title=The Wright Oak Park Legacy |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/08/16/the-wright-oak-park-legacy/ |access-date=January 31, 2025 |website=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 }}</ref> In the early plans, the temple's northern wall was aligned with the house to the east (which was set back {{Convert|40|ft}} from Lake Street), and the north–south axis was aligned with the house to the south.<ref name="Siry pp. 81–83" /> Wright created physical drawings only after extensively refining the plans mentally.<ref>{{harvnb|Wright|2005|ps=.|page=158 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=83 }}</ref> He also produced a plaster model of the temple, which he presented to the planning committee.<ref name="McCarter2 p. 10" /><ref>{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|pages=41–43 }}</ref>

The entrance to the main sanctuary, known as the auditorium, was intentionally positioned away from the streetcar lines on Lake Street.<ref name="Siry pp. 81–83" /><ref name="Wright pp. 154–155" /><ref name="Oak Leaves 1957b">{{cite web |date=November 21, 1957 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright in Surprise Visit to Village |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011955-12311959&e=universalist%20church&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19571121_english_6&df=1&dt=10 |access-date=February 3, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=6 |via=River Forest Public Library }}</ref> Wright did not want to put the meeting room and Sunday school in the auditorium, as he felt that it would "spoil the simplicity of the room".<ref name="Wright pp. 154–155" /><ref name="Sokol p. 59">{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=59 }}</ref> Accordingly, these rooms were instead placed in a separate church house called Unity House,<ref name="Siry pp. 81–83" /><ref name="Wright pp. 154–155">{{harvnb|Wright|2005|ps=.|pages=154–155 }}</ref><ref name="Sokol p. 59" /> which was linked to the auditorium by a central entrance hall.<ref name="Siry pp. 81–83" /><ref>{{harvnb|National Park Service|1970|ps=.|page=4 }}</ref> Having decided upon the site layout, Wright next designed the cube-shaped auditorium.<ref name="Siry pp. 96–97">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|pages=96–97 }}</ref> Some preliminary drawings for the auditorium still exist. These include Scheme A, which called for 388 seats facing a pulpit on the south wall, and the rejected Scheme B, which called for 478 seats facing the north wall.<ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|pages=101–103 }}</ref>

==== Design changes ====
[[File:Unity Temple - Oak Park IL 16 (3224994948).jpg|thumb|The auditorium's skylights]]

In December 1905, the planning committee received Wright's plans and recommended that the board of trustees approve them.<ref name="Siry p. 74" /><ref name="Sokol p. 39" /> The same month, Gale gave the congregation a {{Convert|20|ft|4=-wide|adj=mid}} strip of land on Kenilworth Avenue.<ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=80 }}</ref> By the beginning of 1906, the site of the original building had been sold for $6,500.<ref name="Sokol p. 45" />{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1905|index=US-GDP|value=6500|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} The congregation decided to proceed with construction, even though it had received only one bid for the general contract, which exceeded the church's budget by $8–10 thousand.<ref name="Sokol p. 45">{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=45 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=127 }}</ref>{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1905|index=US-GDP|value=8|r=0|fmt=c}}–{{inflation|start_year=1905|index=US-GDP|value=10|r=0|fmt=c}} thousand in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} Thomas Skillin, who led the board of trustees, reported that the temple was to cost $40,000 but that there was only $31,000 available.<ref name="Sokol p. 47">{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=47 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|pages=127–128 }}</ref>{{Efn-ur|The cost was equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1905|index=US-GDP|value=40000|r=-3|fmt=c}}, while the money on hand was equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1905|index=US-GDP|value=31000|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} The trustees considered modifying the plans, splitting work into two phases, or borrowing money.<ref name="Sokol p. 47" /> Wright offered to reduce the cost to $35,000{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1905|index=US-GDP|value=35000|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} by revising the plans and deferring installation of the furnishings.<ref name="Siry p. 128">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=128 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=51 }}</ref>

Skillin objected that the auditorium was too small and dark.<ref name="Cypret 1975b">{{Cite news |last=Cypret |first=Randy |date=July 24, 1975 |title=Unity designed to solve problems |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-journal-unity-designed-to-solve-pro/164860702/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |work=News Journal |pages=33 }}</ref><ref name="Siry p. 128; Sokol p. 52" /> At its meeting on January 18, 1906, the board asked Skillin and Johonnot to discuss possible modifications with Wright.<ref name="Siry p. 128; Sokol p. 52">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=|page=128}}; {{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=52 }}</ref> Subsequently, Wright revised the auditorium's design,<ref name="Siry pp. 129—130; Sokol pp. 52–54">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=|pages=129–130}}; {{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|pages=52–54 }}</ref> and he invited 75 members of the congregation to see the drawings and models for Unity Temple at his studio.<ref name="Siry p. 128" /><ref name="Oak Leaves 19910807">{{cite web |last=Guarino |first=Jean |date=August 7, 1991 |title=Wright community never materialized |url=https://riverforest.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?i=f&d=01011991-12311992&e=unity%20temple&m=between&ord=e1&fn=forest_leaves_usa_illinois_oak_park_19910807_english_81&df=11&dt=20 |access-date=February 7, 2025 |work=Oak Leaves |page=81 }}</ref> The board approved Wright's revisions on February 7,<ref name="McCarter2 p. 10" /><ref name="Siry pp. 129—130; Sokol pp. 52–54" /> on the condition that no more than $36,200 be spent.<ref name="Siry pp. 129—130; Sokol pp. 52–54" />{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1905|index=US-GDP|value=36200|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} Details of the design were reported in the local media on February 24,<ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=|page=130}}; {{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=55 }}</ref> and a brochure describing the final plan was published on March 4.<ref>{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=56 }}</ref> Wright's assistant [[Charles E. White Jr.]] said the planning process had been marked by "endless fighting".<ref name="Siry p. 130">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=130 }}</ref><ref name="Schrenk p. 151">{{harvnb|Schrenk|2021|ps=.|page=151 }}</ref> Wright continued refining the design details even after the final plans were accepted and (in some cases) partially completed.<ref name="Siry p. 137">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=137 }}</ref> Despite initial objections to Wright's design, Oak Park residents eventually came to like it.<ref name="Oak Leaves 19910807" />