Editing Robie House

{{Short description|House in Chicago, Illinois}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Robie House
| image = Frederick C. Robie House.JPG
| caption =
| location = 5757 South Woodlawn Avenue, [[Chicago]], Illinois, United States
| locmapin = Chicago#Illinois#USA
| coordinates = {{coord|41|47|23.4|N|87|35|45.3|W|display=inline,title}}
| area = {{convert|0.3|acre}}
| built = 1909
| architect = {{bulleted list
|[[Frank Lloyd Wright]] (main architect)
|[[Hermann von Holst]] (associated architect)
|[[Marion Mahony]] (associated architect)
|[[George Mann Niedecken]] (interior designer)
}}
| architecture = [[Prairie style]]
| governing_body = [[University of Chicago|The University of Chicago]]
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_partof = [[The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright]]
| designation1_date = [[List of World Heritage Sites by year of inscription#2019 (43rd session)|2019]] (43rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])
| designation1_criteria = {{UNESCO WHS type|(ii)}}(ii)
| designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1496 1496-002]
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in North America|North America]]
| designation2 = NRHP
| designation2_date = October 15, 1966<ref name="nris" />
| designation2_number = [https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/66000316 66000316]<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
| designation3 = NHL
| designation3_date = November 27, 1963<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=206&ResourceType=Building|title=Frederick C. Robie House|access-date=June 11, 2008|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=206&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=July 31, 2012}}</ref>
| designation4 = NRHP-CP
| designation4_date = February 14, 1979<ref name="NRHPI-79000824" />
| designation5 = Chicago
| designation5_date = September 15, 1971<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/zlup/Historic_Preservation/Publications/Chicago_Landmark_Name_List_Apr2016.pdf|title=Chicago Landmarks – Robie House|year=2016|access-date=August 26, 2016|archive-date=April 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418112807/http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/zlup/Historic_Preservation/Publications/Chicago_Landmark_Name_List_Apr2016.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| designation4_partof = [[Hyde Park–Kenwood Historic District]]
| alt = Facade of the Robie House as seen from the southwest
}}

The '''Robie House''' (also the '''Frederick C. Robie House''') is a [[historic house museum]] on the campus of the [[University of Chicago]] in the [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] neighborhood of [[Chicago]], Illinois, United States. Designed by the architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] in the [[Prairie School|Prairie style]], it was completed in 1910 for manufacturing executive Frederick Carlton Robie and his family. [[George Mann Niedecken]] oversaw the interior design, while associate architects [[Hermann V. von Holst|Hermann von Holst]] and [[Marion Lucy Mahony Griffin|Marion Mahony]] also assisted with the design. Robie House is described as one of Wright's best Prairie style buildings<ref name="Ure-Smith j173" /> and was one of the last structures he designed at [[Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio|his studio]] in [[Oak Park, Illinois]].

The house is a three-story, four-bedroom residence with an attached three-car garage. The house's open floor plan consists of two large, offset rectangles or "vessels". The facade and perimeter walls are made largely of Roman brick, with concrete trim, cut-stone decorations, and [[art glass]] windows. The [[massing]] includes several terraces, which are placed on different levels, in addition to roofs that are [[cantilever]]ed outward. The house spans around {{Convert|9065|ft2}}, split between communal spaces in the southern vessel and service rooms in the northern vessel. The first floor has a billiard room, playroom, and several utility rooms. The living room, dining room, kitchen, guest bedroom, and servants' quarters are on the second story, while three additional bedrooms occupy the third floor.

Fred Robie purchased the land in May 1908, and construction began the next year. The Robie, Taylor, and Wilber families lived there in succession until 1926, when the nearby [[Chicago Theological Seminary]] bought it. The seminary used the house as a dormitory, meeting space, and classrooms, and it attempted to demolish the house and redevelop the property in both 1941 and 1957. Following an outcry over the second demolition attempt, the developer [[William Zeckendorf]] acquired the house in 1958. He donated it in early 1963 to the [[University of Chicago]], which renovated the house. The Adlai E. Stevenson Institute of International Affairs, and later the university's alumni association, subsequently occupied the Robie House. The [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] leased the building in 1997, jointly operating it as a museum with the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. The mechanical systems and exterior was renovated in the early 2000s, followed by parts of the interior in the late 2000s and the 2010s.

The Robie House was highly influential, having helped popularize design details such as [[picture window]]s, protruding roofs, and attached garages in residential architecture. The house has received extensive architectural commentary over the years, and it has been the subject of many media works, including books and museum exhibits. The Robie House is designated as a [[List of Chicago Landmarks|Chicago Landmark]] and a [[National Historic Landmark]], and it forms part of [[The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright]], a designated [[World Heritage Site]].

== Site ==
The Robie House is located at 5757 South Woodlawn Avenue,<ref name="Sanderson n786">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GqOmcvq0MAsC&pg=PA41 |title=A Guide to Frank Lloyd Wright Public Places: Wright Sites |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-56898-275-5 |editor-last=Sanderson |editor-first=Arlene |pages=41–42 |access-date=January 20, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Davis p. 209">{{harvnb|Davis|2013|ps=.|page=209}}</ref> on the northeast corner of Woodlawn Avenue and 58th Street in the [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] neighborhood of [[Chicago]] in [[Illinois]], United States.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 6">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=6}}</ref> The lot measures {{Convert|60|ft}} wide and {{Convert|180|ft||}} long, the larger dimension extending west–east parallel to 58th Street.<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003">{{Cite news |last=Donovan Daily Herald |first=Deborah |date=February 7, 2003 |title=Renovation for Robie Restoration continues on Wright's prairie- style masterpiece |page=1 |id={{Pq|312702899}}}}</ref><ref name="Lucas p. 9">{{harvnb|Lucas|2006|ps=.|page=9}}</ref><ref name="Clark d847">{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Brian E. |date=July 12, 2019 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Robie House in Chicago's Hyde Park is now a UNESCO treasure |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/travel/wisconsin/weekend-getaway/2019/07/12/frank-lloyd-wright-robie-house-chicago-hyde-park-unesco-treasure/1684832001/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}}</ref>{{Efn|{{harvnb|ps=|National Park Service|1966|page=2}}, gives different dimensions of {{convert|60|by|200|ft}}.}} The house itself measures {{Convert|60|by|154+3/4|ft}} across.<ref name="NPS p. 2">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1966|ps=.|page=2}}</ref> Due to an existing covenant on the site, the Robie House and the neighboring residences are set back {{Convert|35|ft}} from Woodlawn Avenue.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 17" /><ref name="McCarter p. 93">{{harvnb|McCarter|1997|ps=.|page=93}}</ref>

At the time of the Robie House's construction, the block immediately to the south was vacant, and the nearest building to the south was {{Convert|1400|ft}} away, across the [[Midway Plaisance]] park. Due to the flat topography of Chicago's [[South Side, Chicago|South Side]], the site was also not particularly prominent.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=15}}</ref> The houses to the north, along Woodlawn Avenue, were set back from the street and were {{Convert|2|ft}} above the sidewalk.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 17">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=17}}</ref> These houses were largely made of brick.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=13}}</ref> Although the Robie House's architect, [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], characterized the house as a "city dwelling", it was more akin to a suburban house in a [[streetcar suburb]] full of single-family homes.<ref name="Levine p. 53">{{harvnb|Levine|1997|ps=.|page=53}}</ref> To the west are the [[Rockefeller Chapel]] and the [[Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Zoning Website |url=https://gisapps.chicago.gov/mapchicago/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |website=City of Chicago}}</ref> To the south is the [[University of Chicago Booth School of Business]] building designed by [[Rafael Viñoly]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=February 22, 2000 |title=U. Of C. Looks Outside Again for Architect |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=2C.3  |id={{ProQuest|419011952}}}}</ref>

== History ==
The house was commissioned for Frederick Carlton Robie (1879–1962), a manufacturing executive who, in the 1900s, worked at his father's Excelsior Supply Company.<ref>{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=5}}</ref><ref name="Hoffmann p. 5">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=5}}</ref> Robie married Lora Hieronymus in 1902, and they moved to [[Hyde Park, Chicago]], in 1904, relocating again within the same neighborhood in 1907.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 5" /> Concurrently, Robie wanted a residence that would incorporate the latest architectural innovations, rather than the old-fashioned details of conventional buildings.<ref name="Gill p. 193">{{harvnb|Gill|1987|ps=.|page=193}}</ref><ref name="AR p. 126" /> He had sketched tentative plans for a house of his own, showing them to several builders, who told him, "You want one of those damn Wright houses."<ref name="McCarter p. 93" /><ref name="Connors p. 7" /><ref name="AR p. 127">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1958|ps=.|page=127}}</ref> At the end of 1906, Robie and Wright discussed the house for the first time.<ref name="Connors p. 7">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=7}}</ref><ref name="AR p. 127" />

=== Development ===

==== Site acquisition and design ====
Robie decided to build his house at 5757 South Woodlawn Avenue, at the corner with 58th Street. This site was close to Lora's [[alma mater]], the [[University of Chicago]], where she was still socially active.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 6" /><ref name="Lucas p. 9" /> In April 1908, he agreed to obtain the site from the mining-machinery executive Herbert E. Goodman, on the condition that the site be used exclusively for residential purposes.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 6" /> Robie bought the site on May 19.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 6" /><ref name="Smith p. 6">{{harvnb|ps=.|Smith|2008|page=6}}</ref>{{efn|name=cost|In 1958, Robie claimed to have bought the land for $14,000 ({{inflation|start_year=1908|index=US-GDP|value=14000|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Hoffmann p. 14" /><ref name="AR p. 206" /><ref name="Connors p. 39" /> However, other sources give a figure of $13,500 ({{inflation|start_year=1908|index=US-GDP|value=13500|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Hoffmann p. 6" /><ref name="Smith p. 6" />}} As a condition of his purchase, he was required to spend at least $20,000 on a house there.{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1911|index=US-GDP|value=20000|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="AR p. 127" />

Robie hired Wright to design the house, saying that "he was in my world" when it came to the design.<ref name="McCarter p. 93" /> Robie recalled in 1958 that he had wanted a house illuminated by natural light, with uninterrupted living space, simple fixtures, and minimal [[bric-à-brac]].<ref name="Connors p. 8; Hoffmann p. 8" /><ref name="AR p. 126">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1958|ps=.|page=126}}</ref> He also wanted several bedrooms, a nursery, and an enclosed yard for his children, and he wanted to be able to see outward without having passersby look in.<ref name="Connors p. 8; Hoffmann p. 8">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=|page=8}}; {{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=8}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1958|ps=.|pages=126–127}}</ref><ref name="Lucas p. 8">{{harvnb|Lucas|2006|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> Robie eschewed older architectural styles such as the [[Cape Cod style]], and he also did not want a monumental building or dark closets.<ref name="AR p. 126" /> In addition, he wanted a fireproof house, particularly one made of steel and concrete.<ref name="Lucas p. 8" /> The historian [[Joseph Connors]] wrote that Robie's recollections may have been tainted because he had lived in the house and read Wright's autobiography,<ref>{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=9}}</ref> while the historian Donald Hoffmann wrote that Robie came to adopt many aspects of Wright's design philosophy as his own.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=9}}</ref> According to Hoffmann, the house was to be "radical and masculine", as Wright had designed the structure mainly around Robie's needs, not those of his wife.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=12–13}}</ref> Robie's original budget had been $60,000,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 34" /><ref name="AR p. 210">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1958|ps=.|page=210}}</ref>{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1911|index=US-GDP|value=60000|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} up to ten times the cost of a typical house at the time.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 14">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=14}}</ref><ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" />

Wright designed the Robie House in [[Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio|his studio]] in [[Oak Park, Illinois]];<ref>{{cite news |last=Daniels |first=Mary |date=February 7, 1982 |title=Resurrection of a Frank Lloyd Wright legacy is the work of a team of Oak Park detectives.: Renovation Frank Lloyd Wright's legacy will rise again |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=S_A1  |id={{ProQuest|172590369}}}}</ref> he was preoccupied with several other projects, so the design of Robie's residence was not a particularly urgent matter.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 19">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=19}}</ref> Wright first devised the plans for the Robie House mentally; unlike his contemporaries, Wright would focus on the building's symmetry and proportions rather than on its exact dimensions. One night, he sat down with a blank sheet of paper and sketched three diagrams for the house.<ref>{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|pages=40–41}}</ref> Wright paid so much attention to the house's architectural details, he drew up blueprints just for the carpets.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baer |first=Susan |date=January 24, 1978 |title=Tempo |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-temposusan-baer/163771988/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=2.1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-tempo/163772023/ 2.2]}}</ref> The original plans for the house may have been discarded or destroyed, but blueprints and renderings of the house remain extant.<ref>{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=46}}</ref> Robie signed the [[working drawings]] for his house in late March 1909,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 21">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=21}}</ref><ref name="Smith p. 6" /> and construction began soon after.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 27" /><ref name="Smith p. 6" />

==== Construction ====
H. B. Barnard Co. of Chicago was hired as the contractor.<ref name="AR p. 127" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 27">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=27}}</ref> Robie recalled that the house did not need to use [[deep foundation]]s and that the structural core—the chimney—was built rapidly.<ref name="AR p. 127" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 28" /> According to Robie, H. B. Barnard personally inspected the house's brickwork every time laborers laid two or three [[Course (architecture)|courses]] of bricks.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 28">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=28}}</ref><ref name="AR p. 206">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1958|ps=.|page=206}}</ref> Robie's son Frederick Jr. recalled playing with piles of sand (a material used in the [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] on the facade) and walking on the catwalks that contractors had set up.<ref name="AR p. 210" /> During construction, some of the brickwork had to be disassembled after stonemasons accidentally built five brick [[Pier (architecture)|piers]], rather than two piers and three bollards, underneath the house's southern balcony.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 29">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=29}}</ref>

Interior work continued through late 1909,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 31">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=31}}</ref> and Wright left for Europe around that time.<ref name="Hoffmann 1984" /><ref name="Connors pp. 59–60">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|pages=59–60}}</ref><ref name="Smith p. 7" /> He hired the interior designer [[George Mann Niedecken]] to furnish the Robie House.<ref name="Hoffmann 1984">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=32–33}}</ref><ref name="Rodkin o039">{{cite web |last=Rodkin |first=Dennis |date=June 29, 2023 |title=What's That Building? Chicago Icons: Robie House |url=https://www.wbez.org/reset-with-sasha-ann-simons/2023/06/29/robie-house-chicago-history |access-date=January 24, 2025 |publisher=WBEZ}}</ref>{{Efn|For an in-depth description of the working relationship between Wright and Niedecken in connection with the Robie House, see {{cite book | last=Robertson | first=Cheryl | last2=Wright | first2=Frank Lloyd | last3=Niedecken | first3=George M. | author4=Milwaukee Art Museum | title=Frank Lloyd Wright and George Mann Niedecken : Prairie School collaborators | publisher=Milwaukee Art Museum ; Museum of Our National Heritage | publication-place=Milwaukee, Lexington, Mass. | year=1999 | isbn=978-1-889541-01-3 | oclc=41038278}}}} Niedecken oversaw the interior decoration and the color scheme.<ref name="Smith p. 7" /> Also involved in the project were the architect [[Hermann V. von Holst]], as well as one of Wright's draftswomen, [[Marion Mahony Griffin]].<ref name="Rodkin o039" /> By early 1910, the house was nearly complete.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 27" /> The furniture arrived in February, followed by curtains in March and carpets in April.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 34" />

=== Use as residence ===
The house was used as a residence for less than 20 years. During this time, it was used by three families: the Robies, Taylors, and Wilbers.<ref name="PSR p. 10">{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|page=10}}</ref><ref name="Sullivan 1984">{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Barbara |date=November 4, 1984 |title=Wright's Robie House: 75 years, and still shining |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wrights-robie-house-75/163777766/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=308}}</ref> The Robie family—Frederick, Lora, and their two children, Frederick Jr. and Lorraine—moved into the home in May 1910, although interior decorations were not completed for several more months.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 34">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=34}}</ref><ref name="Smith p. 7" /> Robie said in 1958 that the house had cost about $59,000; the land cost $14,000, the design and construction cost $35,000, and furnishings cost $10,000.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 14" /><ref name="AR p. 206" /><ref name="Connors p. 39">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=39}}</ref>{{Efn-ur|The total cost is {{inflation|start_year=1911|index=US-GDP|value=59000|r=-3|fmt=eq}}. This is broken down into ${{inflation|start_year=1911|index=US-GDP|value=14000|r=-3|fmt=c}} for the land,{{efn|name=cost}} ${{inflation|start_year=1911|index=US-GDP|value=35000|r=-3|fmt=c}} for the design and construction, and ${{inflation|start_year=1911|index=US-GDP|value=10000|r=-3|fmt=c}} for the furnishings.{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} This was far more than Wright's studio in Oak Park, which cost $4,700 in 1889; the [[Winslow House (River Forest, Illinois)|Winslow House]], which cost $20,000 in 1892; or the [[Willits House]], which cost $20,000 in 1903.<ref name="Connors p. 39" />{{Efn-ur|This is equivalent to the following in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}:{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}{{bulleted list
|Wright's studio: ${{inflation|start_year=1889|index=US-GDP|value=4700|r=-3|fmt=c}}
|Winslow House: ${{inflation|start_year=1892|index=US-GDP|value=20000|r=-3|fmt=c}}
|Willits House: ${{inflation|start_year=1903|index=US-GDP|value=20000|r=-3|fmt=c}}
}}}}[[File:Robie House exterior HABS ILL,16-CHIG,33-1.jpg|thumb|Exterior view from 1911, showing the southern elevation|left|alt=View of the southern elevation of the facade in 1911. At the center of the facade is the living and dining room terrace. The flat roof protrudes from the facade.]]

Despite the house's high cost, the Robies owned the site for only two and a half years,<ref name="PSR p. 10" /><ref name="Sullivan 1984" /> and they lived in the house for just over a year.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 89" /> Frederick Robie's father died soon after the family had moved in.<ref name="Lucas p. 10">{{harvnb|Lucas|2006|ps=.|page=10}}</ref><ref name="Hoffmann p. 89" /> Robie offered to pay his father's debts, which reportedly totaled roughly $1 million.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 89" /><ref name="Pitz 2010">{{Cite news |last=Pitz |first=Marylynne |date=November 6, 2010 |title=Restoring a Wright |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette-restoring-a-wrig/164087493/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |pages=C1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette-restoring-a-wrig/164087527/ C3]}}</ref><ref name="Gill p. 195">{{harvnb|Gill|1987|ps=.|page=195}}</ref>{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1911|index=US-GDP|value=1000000|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} Lora Robie, who claimed that her husband had been unfaithful,<ref name="Gill p. 195" /> moved out of the house in April 1911 and subsequently filed for divorce, which was finalized the next year.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 89">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=89}}</ref> Frederick Robie moved to New York City, while Lora and their children moved to [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]].<ref name="Hoffmann p. 89" /> Frederick Jr. later recalled that the family had taken just one bed when they moved out.<ref>{{cite news |last=Robie |first=Frederick C. Jr. |date=March 29, 1957 |title=Voice of the People: the Robies Comment on Robie House |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=14  |id={{ProQuest|180089035}}}}</ref> When the elder Frederick declared bankruptcy in 1913, he reported having $25,672 in assets, nearly all of which consisted of a $25,000 mortgage loan that the Union Trust Company had placed on the house.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 25, 1913 |title=Forced to Wall by Honor Debts: Fred C. Robie, Who Assumed Obligations of Excelsior Supply Co., Files Petition. Liabilities Are $591,805. Schedules Residence as Part of Assets to Pay Bills He Stood Good for |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=15  |id={{ProQuest|173711781}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=June 25, 1913 |title=Director Bankrupt for Company's Debt |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-inter-ocean-director-bankrupt-for-co/163854431/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The Inter Ocean |pages=7}}</ref> Despite Robie's personal issues, Wright would later call the residence "a good house for a good man".<ref name="Gill p. 195" />

The Robies sold the house in December 1911<ref name="Hoffmann p. 89" /><ref name="Smith p. 9">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|page=9}}</ref> to David Lee Taylor, president of the advertising agency Taylor-Critchfield Company.<ref name="PSR p. 10" /> The final sale price was approximately 20% less than the construction cost.<ref name="Rodkin o039" /> David's son Phillips, who was 10 years old when his father bought the house, recalled that he frequently ran half-mile laps between the living and dining rooms, although his siblings did not join him.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 90">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=90}}</ref> David Taylor died in the house on October 22, 1912, less than a year after he bought the house.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 24, 1912 |title=Obituary |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-inter-ocean-obituary-for-david-lee-t/163850797/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The Inter Ocean |pages=2 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=October 23, 1912 |title=David Lee Taylor Is Dead |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-obituary-for-david-lee-t/163850716/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=2}}</ref> Taylor's widow, Ellen Taylor, sold the house and most of its contents to Marshall Dodge Wilber, treasurer of the Wilber Mercantile Agency, that November.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 90" /><ref name="The Inter Ocean 1912">{{Cite news |date=November 24, 1912 |title=Realty Deals of Week Reviewed |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-inter-ocean-realty-deals-of-week-rev/163856212/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The Inter Ocean |pages=24 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=November 26, 1912 |title=Chicago Apartment Is Part of $300,000 Deal at Evanston |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-examiner-chicago-apartment-is-pa/163856117/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=Chicago Examiner |pages=16}}</ref> Marshall reportedly paid $45,000 for the house;<ref name="The Inter Ocean 1912" /> he, his wife Isadora, and their two daughters lived nearby on Dorchester Avenue at the time.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 90" /> According to Phillips, the only objects his mother took with them were a lamp, a chair, and a humidor.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 90" />

The Wilbers were the last family to occupy the house, moving in on December 3, 1912,<ref name="Lucas p. 10" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 91" /> and living there for fourteen years.<ref name="Rodkin o039" /><ref name="Smith p. 9" /> The billiard room became a music room, and the living room became a parlor. The Wilbers employed a cook and a "second girl", who lived on site, and a handyman, who came to the house every day.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 91">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=91}}</ref> The Wilbers' residence sometimes hosted events, such as meetings of the Chicago Dramatic Society and the Quadranglers of the University of Chicago.<ref>For the Chicago Dramatic Society meeting, see, for example: {{Cite news |date=May 6, 1919 |title=Society and Entertainments |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-society-and-entertainmen/163855911/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=21 |postscript=none}} and {{Cite news |date=March 13, 1913 |title=Music and the Stage |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-inter-ocean-music-and-the-stage/163855948/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The Inter Ocean |pages=6}} For the Quadranglers meeting, see {{Cite news |date=February 7, 1914 |title=What Society People Are Doing |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-inter-ocean-what-society-people-are/163855868/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The Inter Ocean |pages=4}}</ref> Marshall also constructed a machine shop near the garage, while Isadora hired three men to restore the facade {{Circa|1913}}.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 91" /> The roof and three windows were replaced in 1916, and the Wilbers decorated the house with several photographs of their 25-year-old daughter Marcia after she died that year.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=91–92}}</ref> The original coal-fired boiler was ineffective at warming the house during winter, so the Wilbers added an oil-fired furnace in 1919, replacing it in 1921. The Wilbers' surviving daughter, Jeannette, recalled that Wright often visited their house on short notice.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 92">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=92}}</ref> By 1926, Jeannette had moved out.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 92" /> Marshall was in his sixties and wished to sell the house, as he was not in good health.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 92" /><ref name="Lucas p. 10" />

=== Chicago Theological Seminary ownership ===

==== 1920s to early 1950s ====
[[File:Robie House Interior HABS ILL,16-CHIG,33-7.jpg|thumb|Interior of the dining room|alt=Interior of the dining room as seen in 1911. The dining room chairs have high, flat backs. The chairs surround a table with lamps at its corners.]]In June 1926, the Wilbers sold their Woodlawn Avenue residence to the [[Chicago Theological Seminary]],<ref name="Lucas p. 10" /><ref name="Hoffmann pp. 92–94">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=92–94}}</ref> whose campus was just to the south.<ref name="Smith p. 9" /> The seminary paid $90,000 for the house and the furnishings, which remained largely intact, except for a bedspread that Isadora took as a souvenir.<ref name="Hoffmann pp. 92–94" /> Originally, the residence was to be used as an administrative building until the seminary completed a new building.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bargelt |first=Louise |date=June 20, 1926 |title=Designed Serve Needs Two Families: All Appearances of Single Residence. |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=B7  |id={{ProQuest|180704589}}}}</ref> The seminary used the house as a dormitory, meeting space, and classrooms,<ref name="Sullivan 1984" /> though it wanted to redevelop the site in the long term.<ref name="Smith p. 9" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 94">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=94}}</ref> Seminary officials placed some of the furniture in storage.<ref name="Smith p. 9" /> In addition, it sometimes gave tours of the Robie House.<ref name="PSR p. 10" /><ref name="Smith p. 9" /> The architect [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]], the director of the [[Illinois Institute of Technology]] (IIT), was among those who toured the house.<ref name="Smith p. 11">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|page=11}}</ref>

By 1941, the seminary was considering demolishing the house,<ref name="Smith p. 11" /><ref name="Hansen 1941">{{Cite news |last=Hansen |first=Harry |date=October 12, 1941 |title=First Reader |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-first-readerharry/163867405/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |pages=23}}</ref> which was then being used as a women's dormitory.<ref name="Hansen 1941" /> A graduate student at IIT inadvertently learned of the demolition plans and informed his instructors, including Mies.<ref name="Smith p. 11" /> In response, writers such as [[Alexander Woollcott]], [[Carl Sandburg]], and [[Lewis Mumford]], as well as architects such as [[Buckminster Fuller]] and [[Eliel Saarinen]], protested the demolition.<ref name="Smith p. 11" /> One of Wright's apprentices, William F. Deknatel, led a committee to advocate for the house's preservation.<ref name="Smith p. 11" /><ref name="PSR pp. 10–11" /> Ultimately, the plans were postponed due to World War II.<ref name="PSR pp. 10–11">{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|pages=10–11}}</ref> In 1952, the seminary applied for a [[zoning variance]] to convert the first story into a dormitory.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 14, 1952 |title=Zone Board OK's Diamond Tool Shop on S. Side |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-zone-board-oks-diamond/163867863/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=9}}</ref> By that decade, the Robie House was being used for conferences,<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957">{{Cite news |date=March 2, 1957 |title=Plan Seminary Dormitory for Married Folk |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-plan-seminary-dormitory/163506456/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=7 }}</ref><ref name="Lister 1957">{{cite news |last=Lister |first=Walter |date=March 19, 1957 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright Fights To Save '06 House He Built |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=12 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326293280}}}}</ref> and much of its original decorations had been destroyed.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 94" /> At the time, the building was called the Conference House.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 28, 1956 |title=Laymen Vow to Promote Church Work |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-laymen-vow-to-promote-ch/163867729/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=14}}</ref>

==== Redevelopment plans ====
The [[University of Chicago]]'s president [[Lawrence A. Kimpton]] was planning to redevelop the surrounding neighborhood.<ref name="Smith p. 12" /> As part of this project, [[Holabird & Root]] were hired to design a dormitory on the Robie House's site.<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957" /><ref name="Smith p. 13">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|page=13}}</ref> In response to a request from a local teacher, city alderman [[Leon Despres]], who represented the neighborhood, introduced a resolution in the [[Chicago City Council]] to create a landmark commission.<ref name="Smith p. 13" /> In March 1957, the seminary announced that it would replace the Robie House with a dormitory,<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957" /><ref name="Smith p. 12">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|page=12}}</ref> which would have also involved demolishing the Goodman House and the [[Zeta Beta Tau]] fraternity house immediately to the north.<ref name="Fuller 1957">{{Cite news |last=Fuller |first=Ernest |date=March 12, 1957 |title=Fraternity Acts to Save Home Wright Designed |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-fraternity-acts-to-save/163507908/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=26 }}</ref> The seminary planned to begin demolishing the house that September,<ref name="Smith p. 15">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|page=15}}</ref> saying it would have cost up to $100,000 to modernize the building.<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957a">{{cite news |date=March 19, 1957 |title=Wright Terms Doomed Robie House Sound, Hits Plan to Raze Structure: Only Kitchen is Out of Date, He Finds |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=B10  |id={{ProQuest|180080335}}}}</ref><ref name="The Grand Rapids Press 1957">{{Cite news |date=March 13, 1957 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright Fights to Save His 1906 Creation |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-grand-rapids-press-frank-lloyd-wrigh/163511012/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The Grand Rapids Press |pages=5}}</ref> The seminary's president [[Arthur Cushman McGiffert]] said that two institutions had declined an offer to take over the house and relocate it.<ref name="The Grand Rapids Press 1957" />

Architects, students, and artists shortly expressed opposition to the proposed demolition, as did Despres and Chicago's mayor [[Richard J. Daley]].<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|pages=12–13}}</ref> The [[University of Fine Arts of Hamburg]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 28, 1957 |title=Save the Robie House, German Artists Urge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-save-the-robie-house-ge/163524960/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=3 }}</ref> the [[American Institute of Architects]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 15, 1957 |title=Realty Notes |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-realty-notes/163538618/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=39}}</ref> and fellows at Wright's [[Taliesin (studio)|Taliesin]] studio also opposed the demolition.<ref name="Smith p. 13" /> Wright himself returned to the Robie House on March 18 to protest its demolition,<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957a" /><ref name="Smith p. 14">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|page=14}}</ref> saying, "It all goes to show the danger of entrusting anything spiritual to the clergy."<ref name="Hoffmann p. 94" /><ref name="Gill p. 494">{{harvnb|Gill|1987|ps=.|page=494}}</ref> Wright claimed that the building was in relatively good condition, "considering the abuse it has suffered",<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957a" /><ref name="Smith p. 14" /> and that the kitchen was the only decrepit part of the house.<ref name="Fitzpatrick 1965">{{cite news |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Thomas |date=March 21, 1965 |title=Doom Haunts Wright's Robie House: Only a Fifth of Aid Fund Is in Hand |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=B1  |id={{ProQuest|179834555}}}}</ref><ref name="Pippert 1965">{{Cite news |last=Pippert |first=Wesley G. |date=May 8, 1965 |title=Chances Grow for Saving Wright's Robie House, Landmark in Chicago |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-beacon-chances-grow-for-savi/163759436/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The Wichita Beacon |pages=2 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> He also claimed that he could repair the house for $15,000.<ref name="Lister 1957" /> McGiffert offered to move the house to [[Jackson Park (Chicago)|Jackson Park]] or the Midway,<ref name="nyt-1957-04-15">{{Cite news |last=Horne |first=Louther S. |date=April 15, 1957 |title=House by Wright Appears Doomed; Chicago Seminary Firm on Plan to Raze Robie Home Despite Pleas to Save It Wright Would Waive Fee |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/04/15/archives/house-by-wright-appears-doomed-chicago-seminary-firm-on-plan-to.html |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> but Wright dismissed the idea as inappropriate.<ref name="Wisconsin State Journal 1957">{{Cite news |date=April 22, 1957 |title=Robie House Recognized as Landmark |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-robie-house-reco/163505995/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=8}}</ref> Among other things, it would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to disassemble and rebuild the house elsewhere.<ref name="The Columbia Record 1958">{{Cite news |date=January 2, 1958 |title=Prototype of American Homes to Be Saved From Demolition |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbia-record-prototype-of-america/163538909/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The Columbia Record |pages=26}}</ref> Wright offered to design a dormitory for the seminary if the Robie House remained in place, but the seminary declined his offer.<ref name="Smith p. 14" /><ref name="nyt-1957-04-15" /> The Chicago government designated the house as a landmark in April 1957<ref name="Wisconsin State Journal 1957" /><ref name="The New York Times 1957" /> and formed a committee of three men to preserve the house that July.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 3, 1957 |title=Three Named to Help Save Robie House |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-three-named-to-help-save/163524755/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=22 }}</ref>

Meanwhile, the University of Chicago chapter of [[Phi Delta Theta]], Wright's old fraternity,{{efn|When he was a student at the [[University of Wisconsin]], Wright had joined that university's chapter of Phi Delta Theta.<ref name="Fuller 1957" />}} offered to swap ownership of the Robie House and its own fraternity house at 5737 South Woodlawn Avenue, three houses north.<ref name="Fuller 1957" /><ref name="Smith p. 15" /><ref name="The Grand Rapids Press 1957" /> The house's demolition was postponed while the fraternity negotiated with the seminary. By October, the seminary had tentatively agreed to give the house to the [[Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation]] if the foundation raised $200,000.<ref name="Smith p. 15" />{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1957|index=US-GDP|value=200000|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} Phi Delta Theta and Zeta Beta Tau ultimately offered to donate their houses to the seminary.<ref name="Smith p. 15" />  Julian Levi, who led the South East Chicago Commission, asked his friend [[William Zeckendorf]], whose real-estate development firm [[Webb and Knapp]] was developing structures in Hyde Park, if he wanted to temporarily occupy the house.<ref name="The Columbia Record 1958" /> In December 1957, Zeckendorf offered to buy the Robie House for $125,000.<ref name="Smith p. 15" /><ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957b">{{cite news |date=December 21, 1957 |title=New York Builder Offers $125,000 for Robie House |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=9  |id={{ProQuest|180275528}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1957-12-21">{{Cite news |date=December 21, 1957 |title=Wright Building Saved; Zeckendorf Will Pay $125,000 for Doomed Robie House |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/12/21/archives/wright-building-saved-zeckendorf-will-pay-125000-for-doomed-robie.html |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref>{{Efn-ur|Equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1957|index=US-GDP|value=125000|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} To facilitate the house's sale, in February 1958, the seminary applied for permission to [[Zoning|rezone]] the lots immediately to the north.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 18, 1958 |title=Famed Robie House's Fate Up to City Council |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-famed-robie-houses-fate/163505850/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=5}}</ref> A City Council subcommittee recommended that August that the rezoning be approved.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 19, 1958 |title=Urge Rezoning of Land Near Robie House |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-urge-rezoning-of-land-ne/163538285/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=2  |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=August 20, 1958 |title=Robie House Saved |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-la-crosse-tribune-robie-house-saved/163539077/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The La Crosse Tribune |pages=17 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> [[Aline B. Saarinen]], architecture writer for ''[[The New York Times]]'', wrote that the houser's preservation "was an uphill fight the whole way".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saarinen |first=Aline B. |date=April 19, 1959 |title=Preserving Wright Architecture; Steps Must Be Taken To Assure Future Of His Buildings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/04/19/archives/preserving-wright-architecture-steps-must-be-taken-to-assure-future.html |access-date=January 21, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref>

=== Zeckendorf and University of Chicago ownership ===

==== Acquisition and resale ====
[[File:Robie House Exterior 19.jpg|thumb|Exterior detail seen from 58th Street|alt=The facade of the house as seen from 58th Street. The house has a brick facade with stone and concrete decorations. There is an overhanging cantilevered roof at the center.]]
Zeckendorf formally acquired the house in August 1958,<ref name="Smith p. 16">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|page=16}}</ref> paying $102,000, in exchange for allowing the seminary to approve any subsequent sales.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1965a">{{cite news |date=April 18, 1965 |title=Robie House Restoration to Commence in Month: $250,000 Goal Set for Repairs of Monument |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie-house-restoration/163758639/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=SA2  |id={{ProQuest|179885236}}}}</ref> He planned to occupy it for four years.<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957b" /><ref name="nyt-1957-12-21" /> Prior to taking over the house, he wanted to donate it to the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]],<ref name="The Columbia Record 1958" /><ref name="nyt-1957-12-21" /> and he suggested that the building could be converted to a library or museum.<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1957b" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Murtagh |first=William J. |date=Apr 1960 |title=Something Worth Saving: the National Trust and Our Heritage |work= Americas |page=8 |volume=12 |issue=4 |id={{pq|1792717068}}}}</ref> Immediately after buying the house, Zeckendorf announced that he would instead donate it to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.<ref name="Smith p. 16" /> Although the agreement between Zeckendorf and the seminary specified that the National Trust would take over the house, the National Trust agreed to give the house to the Wright Foundation.<ref name="Smith p. 16" /> There were unofficial suggestions to turn the house into Chicago's official mayoral residence<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 7, 1959 |title=Propose Robie House Use as Mayor's Home |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-propose-robie-house-use/163538406/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=11}}</ref> or into an artists' studio.<ref>{{cite news |last=Truit |first=Richard |date=September 21, 1958 |title=Woman Urges Revival of Hyde Pk. Art Center: Former Headquarters of Art Colony |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=S1  |id={{ProQuest|182127102}}}}</ref>

Zeckendorf's firm vacated the house in February 1962 after their Hyde Park developments were completed, and he wanted to donate the house to a "responsible organization" that could preserve it.<ref>{{cite news |last=Philbrick |first=Richard |date=April 4, 1962 |title=U. Of Chicago May Take Over Robie House: Wright Masterpiece Adjoins Campus |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-u-of-chicago-may-take-o/163745894/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=6  |id={{ProQuest|183124559}}}}</ref> The University of Chicago agreed to take over the house in June 1962, in exchange for giving the seminary a nearby plot of land.<ref name="Philbrick 1962">{{cite news |last=Philbrick |first=Richard |date=June 9, 1962 |title=U. Of C. Given F. L. Wright's Robie House: Plan to Restore Famed Building |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-u-of-c-given-f-l-wri/163747459/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=C9  |id={{ProQuest|183190983}}}}</ref> Two months later, preservationists formed a committee to raise $250,000 for the building's restoration.<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1962" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 21, 1962 |title=Landmark Saved |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-decatur-daily-review-landmark-saved/163747572/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The Decatur Daily Review |pages=4 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> William Hartmann of the architectural firm [[SOM (architectural firm)|SOM]] said that structural repairs would cost $198,000, while the rest of the funds would be spend on furnishings.<ref name="Chicago Daily Tribune 1962">{{cite news |date=August 21, 1962 |title=Drive Begun to Restore Robie House: National Campaign to Seek $250,000 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-drive-begun-to-restore-r/163747675/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=A6  |id={{ProQuest|182979504}}}}</ref> There were suggestions for the house to be converted into a residence for visiting scholars, for the university's president, or classrooms for a department of the university.<ref name="Huff 1962">{{Cite news |last=Huff |first=Mary |date=September 9, 1962 |title=Robie House Restoration Is Campaign Goal |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie-house-restoration/163744937/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=8.1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-group-seeks-robie-house/163744869/ 8.10]}}</ref> Another proposal called for the [[National Park Service]] to take over the house and operate it as a monument.<ref name="Sembower 1964">{{Cite news |last=Sembower |first=John F. |date=August 21, 1964 |title=Quarter Million Dollars Needed to Repair Structure That Cost Only $40,000 to Build |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/republican-and-herald-quarter-million-do/163755489/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Republican and Herald |pages=9}}</ref> Regardless of which option was selected, the university planned to allow visitors to tour the house.<ref name="Philbrick 1962" /><ref name="nyt-1963-02-02">{{Cite news |date=February 2, 1963 |title=International Group Seeks Funds to Restore Robie House in Chicago |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/02/02/archives/international-group-seeks-funds-to-restore-robie-house-in-chicago.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> The university formally took [[Title (property)|title]] to the Robie House on February 4, 1963,<ref name="Nelson 1963">{{cite news |last=Nelson |first=Robert |date=February 19, 1963 |title=Posterity Gets Robie House: Chicago Gem |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=4 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|510486661}}}}</ref><ref name="Philbrick 1963">{{cite news |last=Philbrick |first=Richard |date=February 5, 1963 |title=U. C. Deeded Robie House; Drive Begins |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/117997768/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=23  |id={{ProQuest|182577323}}}}</ref> and agreed to occupy the building and maintain it.<ref name="PSR p. 12">{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|page=12}}</ref>

University officials immediately began raising money for the restoration;<ref name="nyt-1963-02-02" /><ref name="PSR p. 12" /><ref name="Philbrick 1963a">{{cite news |last=Philbrick |first=Richard |date=February 3, 1963 |title=Seek $250,000 to Restore Robie House: U. of C. to Accept Zeckendorf's Gift of Deed |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=12  |id={{ProQuest|182613024}}}}</ref> by then, the basement walls were leaking, the paint was peeling, and the wiring and mechanical systems were out of date.<ref name="Nelson 1963" /> More than 100 architects and academics from around the world were appointed to the restoration committee.<ref name="PSR p. 14">{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|page=14}}</ref> The university wanted to use the lower stories as a conference center, while the third floor bedrooms would be used by visiting scholars.<ref name="Democrat and Chronicle 1965">{{Cite news |date=June 20, 1965 |title=The House That Wright Built |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-the-house-that-wr/163758049/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Democrat and Chronicle |pages=71}}</ref> Students from various universities began touring the house in April 1963,<ref>{{cite news |date=April 8, 1963 |title=Student Tours of Robie House Are Started |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=19  |id={{ProQuest|182674875}}}}</ref> and the committee had collected about $31,000 by August.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 15, 1963 |title=$31,000 Gifts in Robie House Project Bared |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=D14  |id={{ProQuest|182790787}}}}</ref> Among the donors to the house's restoration were the Edgar J. Kaufmann Charitable Foundation<ref name="Philbrick 1963" /> and [[Edward Bok]]'s American Foundation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 6, 1964 |title=Fund for the Robie House Of Wright Is Given $10,000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/06/fund-for-the-robie-house-of-wright-is-given-10000.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> The Robie House's fundraising committee spent $975 in late 1963 to repair damage caused by winter weather,<ref>{{cite news |date=October 17, 1963 |title=Robie House to Be Sealed Up for Winter |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=C15  |id={{ProQuest|179312883}}}}</ref> and it had raised about $40,000 by early 1964.<ref name="Buck 1964">{{cite news |last=Buck |first=Thomas |date=January 5, 1964 |title=Robie House Restoration Fund Is Short $210,000 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=B10  |id={{ProQuest|179358135}}}}</ref><ref name="The Belleville News-Democrat 1964">{{Cite news |date=April 2, 1964 |title=Dedicated as U.S. Landmark |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-belleville-news-democrat-dedicated-a/163753198/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The Belleville News-Democrat |pages=19 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The fundraising committee continued to give tours of the house to raise money.<ref name="Starr 1964">{{cite news |last=Starr |first=Frank |date=May 14, 1964 |title=Robie House Tours Teach History, Art |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie-house-tours-teach/163755955/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=S1  |id={{ProQuest|179468611}}}}</ref><ref name="Hoffmann 1963">{{Cite news |last=Hoffmann |first=Donald L. |date=August 22, 1963 |title=Seek to Save Architectural Masterpiece |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-times-seek-to-save-archi/163756538/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The Kansas City Times |pages=12}}</ref> Ira J. Bach, who led the committee, said the house needed additional funds, even as it received donations from around the world.<ref name="Buck 1964" />

==== Usage ====
[[File:Robie House.jpg|alt=View of the Robie House's front door. There is a concrete path leading from the sidewalk to the front door, which is recessed from the facade. To the right is the living room, which has a brick facade.|thumb|Eastward view from Woodlawn Avenue toward the front door; the living room terrace is in the foreground]]
In February 1965, the Wright Foundation determined that the house could be restored for $109,000, rather than the originally planned $250,000.<ref name="Pippert 1965" /> [[Taliesin Associated Architects]], a firm composed of Wright's former acolytes, was hired to design the renovation.<ref name="NPS p. 5">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1966|ps=.|page=5}}</ref> Renovations began in mid-1965, after the University of Chicago had raised approximately $55,000.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1965a" /><ref name="PA-1965-10">{{cite magazine |date=Oct 1965 |title=Robie House Restoration Underway |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1965-10.pdf |magazine=Progressive Architecture |pages=55, 57 |volume=46 |issue=10}}</ref> The house also began opening to the public on Saturdays,<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1965">{{Cite news |date=May 23, 1965 |title=Wright's Robie House to Be Open Sundays |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wrights-robie-house-to/163761338/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=18}}</ref> charging a $1 admission fee, proceeds from which would be used for the renovation.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1966">{{cite news |date=June 5, 1966 |title=Robie House Job Waits for Money |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie-house-job-waits-fo/163761046/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=4  |id={{ProQuest|178999465}}}}</ref> The first phase included weatherproofing, plumbing, heating, and roof upgrades.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="PA-1965-10" /><ref name="Nolte 1965">{{Cite news |last=Nolte |first=Robert |date=July 8, 1965 |title=Robie House Repairs Near Mid-way Point |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie-house-repairs-near/163759212/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=3}}</ref> The house's original contractor, H. B. Barnard Co., was hired to rebuild the roof,<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1965" /> though the new roof was more vulnerable to water damage than the original.<ref name="Pitz 2010" /> The plaster surfaces were also repainted, and the window frames were replaced.<ref name="PSR p. 14" /> A second phase involved renovating the interiors, while the rest of the restoration was canceled due to a lack of funds.<ref name="Nolte 1965" /> The house was still vacant by 1966, and the University of Chicago needed another $200,000.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1966" /> The same year, the [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]] announced a preservation program for historic buildings in Chicago, which would provide for the restoration of the Robie House.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 24, 1966 |title=Federal Program To Save Historic Chicago: Famous Houses To Be Restored, Preserved |work=Chicago Daily Defender |page=4 |id={{pq|494237948}}}}</ref>

In July 1966, [[Adlai Stevenson III]] announced that the newly-formed Adlai E. Stevenson Institute of International Affairs, a [[think tank]] devoted to [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] causes, would be headquartered at the Robie House.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 15, 1966 |title=Name World Affairs Site for Stevenson: Will Be Located in Robie House |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=C13  |id={{ProQuest|178999484}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=July 15, 1966 |title=U.N. Told of Center to Honor Stevenson |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/07/15/archives/un-told-of-center-to-honor-stevenson.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref><ref name="PSR p. 15">{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|page=15}}</ref> The institute intended to convert part of the house into offices, and it would also host meetings and seminars there.<ref name="PSR p. 15" /> The house had no structural issues, so the institute hired SOM to refurbish the house and add some furnishings. At ground level, the entrance hall became a reception room; the billiard room became a library, and the playroom became a seminar hall.<ref>{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|pages=15–16}}</ref> The living room was converted to a lounge, the dining room retained its original function, and the second-floor guest rooms became a public relations office. The third-floor bedrooms also became offices.<ref name="PSR pp. 16–17">{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|pages=16–17}}</ref> The Stevenson Institute moved into the building in February 1967,<ref>{{cite news |last=Bruckner |first=D. J. R. |date=February 6, 1967 |title=Stevenson Institute to Open in Chicago Today: Facility Commemorating Late Envoy to U.N. to Sponsor World Studies |work=Los Angeles Times |page=27 |issn=0458-3035 |id={{ProQuest|155551229}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=February 6, 1967 |title=Stevenson Institute Opens in Chicago |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/02/06/archives/stevenson-institute-opens-in-chicago.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> and the institute hosted its first party at the house in 1968.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 10, 1968 |title=Party in a Landmark |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-party-in-a-landmark/163764629/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=34}}</ref> Though the house was poorly suited as a workplace for the institute's 25 employees, the University of Chicago allowed the institute to stay there without paying rent.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Willie |first=Lois |date=January 22, 1969 |title=World Institute's Activists Have 'Dream to Realize' |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-dispatch-world-institutes/163762239/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The Reporter Dispatch |pages=45}}</ref> Some of the Robie House's decorations were damaged in a burglary in 1970.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gill |first=Donna |date=May 8, 1970 |title=80 Students Clean Up Robie House Damage |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-80-students-clean-up-rob/163769266/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=8}}</ref><ref name="Newsweek 1971">{{cite magazine |date=April 19, 1971 |title=Where Are They Now?: the House on 58th Street |magazine=Newsweek |pages=20 |volume=77 |issue=16 |id={{ProQuest|1882530705}}}}</ref>

The Stevenson Institute formally merged with the University of Chicago in 1975, and the university continued to use the house's meeting rooms.<ref>{{Cite news |last=King |first=Seth S. |date=October 19, 1975 |title=University of Chicago Absorbs Stevenson Institute of Politics |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/19/archives/university-of-chicago-absorbs-stevenson-institute-of-politics.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> The institute also allowed the public to make appointments to tour the house.<ref name="Mermigas 1977">{{Cite news |last=Mermigas |first=Diane |date=September 17, 1977 |title=Stately Mansions |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-stately-mansionsdiane/163771723/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The Daily Herald |pages=4, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-stately-mansions/163771770/ 5], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-stately-mansions/163771798/ 6]}}</ref> Subsequently, the university's office of development used the house, followed by the university's alumni association.<ref name="Lucas p. 11">{{harvnb|Lucas|2006|ps=.|page=11}}</ref> By the 1980s, the Robie House served as the alumni association's headquarters.<ref name="Sullivan 1984" /><ref name="Campbell 1987">{{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={{Pq|294429166}}}}</ref> At the time, a reporter described the house as being in poor shape, with cracked walls, peeling paint, and damaged decorations due to patchwork repairs. Meanwhile, the university spent only $15,000 annually on maintenance, and it did not even try to obtain funding from external sources.<ref name="Campbell 1987" /> The house was filled with desks and cabinets.<ref name="Sullivan 1984" /> The university continued to host guided tours of the Robie House for a fee,<ref name="Sullivan 1984" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sommers |first=Carl |date=October 6, 1991 |title=Q and A |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/06/travel/q-and-a-486191.html |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> though photography was not allowed at the time.<ref name="Goldfarb 1993">{{Cite news |last=Goldfarb |first=Jeffrey |date=August 22, 1993 |title=Robie House was done just Wright |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-arizona-republic-robie-house-was-don/163910991/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=The Arizona Republic |pages=T1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-arizona-republic-robie-house/163911133/ T7]}}</ref> In addition, the interior tours covered only two<ref name="Goldfarb 1993" /><ref name="nyt-1995-04-16">{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Brenda |date=April 16, 1995 |title=In Chicago, a Tour of Parks and Boulevards |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/16/travel/in-chicago-a-tour-of-parks-and-boulevards.html |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> or three rooms.<ref name="Coates 1995">{{Cite news |last=Coates |first=James |date=May 26, 1995 |title=A new Wright: The plan is in the CD-ROM |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-a-new-wright-the-plan-i/163985549/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=7.66, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-interactive/163985890/ 7.71]}}</ref>

=== Frank Lloyd Wright Trust use ===
As early as 1992, the University of Chicago was negotiating to have the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation (later the  Frank Lloyd Wright Trust) take over the house's operation.<ref name="Lucas p. 11" /><ref name="Ryan 1995" /> In February 1995, the University of Chicago announced that the building would be converted to a [[historic house museum]].<ref name="nyt-1995-04-16" /><ref name="Ryan 1995">{{Cite news |last=Ryan |first=Nancy |date=February 22, 1995 |title=Wright's wonder: Robie House to be refurbished, opened as a museum |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wrights-wonder-robie-h/163916142/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=2.1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie/163916182/ 2.8]}}</ref>  The university would spend $2.5 million on renovations and turn over operations to the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.<ref name="Ryan 1995" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=Jun 1995 |title=Robie House Museum |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1995-06.pdf |work=Progressive Architecture |page=49 |volume=76 |issue=6 |id={{pq|197320625}}}}</ref> The National Trust for Historic Preservation agreed to lease the house in October 1996,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 22, 1996 |title=Wright House Goes on Trust's Roster |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wright-house-goes-on-tru/163990412/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=23 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=October 20, 1996 |title=Illinois in Brief |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-illinois-in-brief/163991761/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=Southern Illinoisan |pages=29 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and the university moved out during early 1997.<ref name="Lucas p. 11" /><ref name="Mack 1997">{{Cite news |last=Mack |first=Linda |date=February 23, 1997 |title=Design forum is lively marketplace of ideas |work=Star Tribune |page=04.F |id={{pq|426798602}}}}</ref>

==== 1990s and 2000s ====
[[File:Chicago, robie house di frank lloyd wright, 1908-1910, ingresso 02 scale.jpg|alt=A staircase in the house. The ceiling above the staircase has a curved opening. There is a double door with glass panes to the left.|thumb|A staircase in the house]]
After taking over the house, the Wright Trust began hosting more frequent tours,<ref name="The Taylorville Daily Breeze Courier 1997">{{Cite news |date=June 27, 1997 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation will restore Robie House |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-taylorville-daily-breeze-courier-fra/163990466/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=The Taylorville Daily Breeze Courier |pages=18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=June 6, 1997 |title=Chicagoland by design: A critical look at the area's finest architecture tours |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-chicagoland-by-design-a/163992695/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=7.43, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-chicagoland-by-design-a/163992757/ 7.44]}}</ref> and it opened a bookstore in the garage in August 1997.<ref name="The Taylorville Daily Breeze Courier 1997" /> The Wright Trust planned to begin a 10-year-long renovation project in 2001,<ref name="Cramer 1997">{{cite magazine |last=Cramer |first=Ned |date=Jan 1997 |title=Wright and Meis go public |work=Architecture: The AIA Journal |page=29 |volume=86 |issue=1 |id={{Pq|227795387}}}}</ref> which was to cost $7 million.<ref name="Connors, Tom 2000">{{Cite magazine |author1=JEC |last2=Connors |first2=Tom |date=October 2000 |title=Preserving Wright's and Richardson's Chicago-area icons |work=Architectural Record |page=46 |volume=188 |issue=10 |id={{pq|222112486}}}}</ref><ref name="Mendoza 2001">{{Cite news |last=Mendoza |first=Lori |date=January 21, 2001 |title=Righting a Wright house |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sunday-oregonian-righting-a-wright-h/164071259/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=The Sunday Oregonian |pages=L1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sunday-oregonian-righting-a-wright-h/164071296/ L8]}}</ref> The bricks had cracked due to repeated [[Frost weathering|freezing and thawing]],<ref name="Kamin 1999">{{cite news |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=February 14, 1999 |title=Crumbling Icons Some of Frank Lloyd Wright's Greatest Buildings Are Falling Apart. But the Bigger Question is: What Can We Do to Save Them? |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=1  |id={{ProQuest|418855393}}}}</ref> and there were stains, termite infestations, and deteriorated porches.<ref name="Pitz 2010" /><ref name="Anderson 2002">{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Jon |date=November 28, 2002 |title=Robie's rescue a work in progress |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robies-rescue-a-work-in/164077071/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=2.1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie/164077305/ 2.14]}}</ref> In addition, the roof was leaking, and the heating system was ineffective.<ref name="Noland 2003">{{Cite news |last=Noland |first=Eric |date=June 8, 2003 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright 'eyesore' now treasured by Chicagoans |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-frank-lloyd-wright-eyes/164076718/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Oakland Tribune |pages=60}}</ref> This prompted the trust to create a master plan for the renovation.<ref name="Lucas p. 13">{{harvnb|Lucas|2006|ps=.|page=13}}</ref> In 1999, workers removed asbestos from the site in preparation for the wider ranging renovation.<ref name="nyt-1999-08-12">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=August 12, 1999 |title=Work Is Set to Begin On the Robie House |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/12/garden/work-is-set-to-begin-on-the-robie-house.html |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref><ref name="Connors, Tom 2000" /> The house received a $1 million grant for its restoration through the [[Pritzker Foundation]] and the federal [[Save America's Treasures]] program.<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 28, 1999 |title=First lady visits historic sites |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pantagraph-first-lady-visits-histori/164039028/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=The Pantagraph |pages=50 |postscript=none |agency=Associated Press}}; {{Cite news |last=Heinzmann |first=David |date=October 28, 1999 |title=Treasured sites get a real lift |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-treasured-sites-get-a-re/164067584/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=2.1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-treasures/164067645/ 2.2] |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=MacDonald |first=Heather |date=October 28, 1999 |title=First lady promotes preserving landmarks |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-first-lady-promotes-preserving/164041012/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=The Times |pages=13}}</ref> The Illinois government also provided $2 million through the Illinois First program, which covered the remainder of the first phase of the renovation.<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" />

A renovation of the Robie House commenced in 2002,<ref name="Lucas p. 13" /> though the house continued to host tours in the meantime.<ref name="The Taylorville Daily Breeze Courier 1997" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Richards |first=Kristen |date=Jul 1997 |title=Looking for Mr. Wright? |work=Interiors |page=20 |volume=156 |issue=7 |id={{pq|221527290}}}}</ref> The conservation–restoration firm Gunny Harboe Architects oversaw the renovation.<ref name="LaTrace y014">{{cite web |last=LaTrace |first=AJ |date=April 27, 2018 |title=Inside the Renovation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/real-estate/april-2018/inside-the-renovation-of-frank-lloyd-wrights-robie-house/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |website=Chicago Magazine}}</ref><ref name="Keegan v273">{{cite web |last=Keegan |first=Edward |date=August 2, 2019 |title=Frederick C. Robie House Restoration |url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/frederick-c-robie-house-restoration_o |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Architect}}</ref> As part of the first phase, workers documented the art glass, mechanical systems, and climate in the house; added wheelchair-accessible restrooms; and created architectural drawings.<ref name="Lucas p. 13" /> Workers also fixed water damage, replaced the roof, and remedied the termite infestations.<ref name="Lucas pp. 13–14">{{harvnb|Lucas|2006|ps=.|pages=13–14}}</ref><ref name="Anderson 2002" /> In addition, new mechanical systems and utilities were installed, and the facade and terraces were stabilized.<ref name="Lucas pp. 13–14" /> The original brickwork manufacturer, Belden Brick, manufactured replacement bricks for the house.<ref name="Pitz 2010" /> This work was completed in 2003.<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /><ref name="Spiselman q794">{{cite web |last=Spiselman |first=Anne |date=April 7, 2009 |title=A Masterpiece of Restoration |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2009/04/05/a-masterpiece-of-restoration/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |website=Tampa Bay Times}}</ref> The third story remained closed to the public after the renovation,<ref name="Mendoza 2001" /> since it did not comply with Chicago fire-safety regulations.<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /><ref name="Reid h771">{{cite web |last=Reid |first=Kerry |date=April 30, 2014 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright homes do-it-yourself tour |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2014/04/30/frank-lloyd-wright-homes-do-it-yourself-tour-2/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706}}</ref>

The second phase, which involved renovating the interior, was delayed due to a lack of funds.<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /><ref name="Hyde Park Citizen 2003">{{Cite news |date=July 24, 2003 |title=Lack of Funding Stops Historic Restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House |work=Hyde Park Citizen |page=1 |id={{Pq|367507204}}}}</ref> Visitation, and by extension revenue, had declined after the [[September 11 attacks]];<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /> at the time, the trust needed another $4 million for the interior.<ref name="Anderson 2002" /><ref name="Hyde Park Citizen 2003" /> The trust sold engraved bricks to finance the renovations of the Robie House and Wright's Oak Park studio.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 16, 2003 |title=Brick purchases to strengthen Wright's Robie House |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/northwest-herald-brick-purchases-to-stre/164076560/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Northwest Herald |pages=29}}</ref> Work on the pantry and dining room began in 2006 or 2007,<ref name="Spiselman q794" /> with an estimated cost of $3 million.<ref name="LaTrace y014" /><ref name="WTTW News g178">{{cite web |date=March 29, 2019 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House Reopens After Massive Renovation |url=https://news.wttw.com/2019/03/29/frank-lloyd-wright-robie-house-reopens-after-renovation |access-date=January 24, 2025 |website=WTTW News |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=March 28, 2019 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's famed Robie House completes painstaking restoration |url=https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/frank-lloyd-wrights-famed-robie-house-completes-painstaking-restoration |access-date=January 24, 2025 |website=House & Garden}}</ref> During its renovation, the house continued to host tours and events.<ref name="Lasky 2016">{{cite news |last=Lasky |first=Julie |date=January 14, 2016 |title=Pilgrimage; Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House: Where Family Life Met Tragedy; A displaced Chicagoan visits Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House in her town—and finds a family abode way ahead of its time |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|1756636016}}}}</ref> In 2009, the trust began allowing visitors to tour the third floor and servants' rooms, and it began allowing visitors to interact with artifacts from the house.<ref name="Lincoln Journal Star 2009">{{Cite news |date=July 5, 2009 |title=Trust expands programming at Wright's Robie House |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincoln-journal-star-trust-expands-progr/164083718/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Lincoln Journal Star |pages=28}}</ref> By then, the house hosted 30,000 visitors annually.<ref name="Pitz 2010" /> The trust wanted to reproduce or build replicas of the original decorations and fixtures.<ref name="Spiselman q794" />

==== 2010s to present ====
The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust continued to raise funding for the house's renovation.<ref name="Kamin c915">{{cite web |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=October 4, 2014 |title=Bach and Robie: Tale of two Wright homes has different angles, outcomes |url=https://www.goerie.com/story/lifestyle/2014/10/04/bach-robie-tale-two-wright/24757641007/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |website=GoErie.com}}</ref> In 2014, the house received a grant through the [[Getty Foundation]]'s Keeping It Modern initiative;<ref>{{cite web |last=Meier |first=Allison |date=September 19, 2014 |title=Getty Foundation Announces New Grants to Conserve Modern Architecture |url=https://hyperallergic.com/149909/getty-foundation-announces-new-grants-to-conserve-modern-architecture/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |website=Hyperallergic |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Gelt |first=Jessica |date=September 17, 2014 |title=Getty Foundation launches effort to conserve modern architectural gems |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-the-getty-foundation-announces-keeping-it-modern-initiative-20140917-story.html |access-date=January 25, 2025 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> the $50,000 grant was used to develop a preservation plan.<ref name="Kamin 2014">{{Cite news |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=September 21, 2014 |title=Different stories for 2 Wright homes |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-different-stories-for-2/164090653/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=1.9 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=Apr 2015 |title=Conserving Twentieth Century Architecture |work=Concrete International |pages=37–41 |id={{Pq|1671039845}}}}</ref> By then, the trust had already raised $2 million of a projected $6 million renovation budget.<ref name="Kamin 2014" /> The same year, the house became part of Museum Campus South, a group of museums in Hyde Park.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cholke |first=Sam |date=July 24, 2014 |title=Hyde Park Museums Band Together to Form 'Museum Campus South' |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140724/hyde-park/hyde-park-museums-band-together-form-museum-campus-south/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=DNAinfo Chicago |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=July 24, 2014 |title=South Side Museums Form 'Museum Campus South' |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/south-side-museums-form-museum-campus-south/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=CBS Chicago}}</ref> An interior restoration began in late 2017,<ref name="Clark d847" /> covering the first and second stories.<ref name="Keegan v273" /> The interior restoration focused on the interior elements, such as woodwork, glass, and furniture.<ref name="Kamin d510" /> Workers restored original design elements such as millwork and sconces,<ref name="LaTrace y014" /> and the project involved repainting the house to its original colors and repairing the original front door.<ref name="Keegan v273" /><ref name="WTTW News g178" /><ref name="Chan q289">{{cite web |last=Chan |first=Justin |date=March 29, 2019 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House Reopens in Chicago |url=https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14002-frank-lloyd-wrights-robie-house-reopens-in-chicago |access-date=January 24, 2025 |website=Architectural Record}}</ref> The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust borrowed some of the house's original furniture from the [[Smart Museum of Art]].<ref name="WTTW News g178" />

The restoration was completed in March 2019,<ref name="WTTW News g178" /><ref name="Chan q289" /> having cost $3.5 million.<ref name="Clark d847" /> In total, the renovation project had cost over $11 million.<ref name="Rodkin s376">{{cite web |last=Rodkin |first=Dennis |date=February 1, 2023 |title=Knockoff of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House quickly grabs buyers' attention |url=https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/knockoff-frank-lloyd-wrights-robie-house-grabs-buyers-attention |access-date=January 20, 2025 |website=Crain's Chicago Business}}</ref><ref name="Kamin d510">{{cite web |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=March 25, 2019 |title=The Robie House, a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, is again a full-fledged architectural symphony (and open for tours) after a meticulous restoration |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2019/03/25/the-robie-house-a-frank-lloyd-wright-masterpiece-is-again-a-full-fledged-architectural-symphony-and-open-for-tours-after-a-meticulous-restoration/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |website=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706}}</ref> Tours of the house were suspended in March 2020 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois]].<ref name="Schering f862" /> The house reopened that June,<ref name="Schering f862">{{cite web |last=Schering |first=Steve |date=June 16, 2020 |title=Tours resume at Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Robie House |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2020/06/16/tours-resume-at-frank-lloyd-wright-home-and-studio-robie-house/ |access-date=January 21, 2025 |website=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706}}</ref><ref name="Malone 2020">{{cite magazine |last=Malone |first=David |date=June 8, 2020 |title=Two Frank Lloyd Wright sites set to reopen for tours with enhanced health and safety protocols |work=Building Design & Construction |id={{Pq|2410751475}}}}</ref> though tour groups were initially restricted to eight people.<ref name="Malone 2020" />

== Architecture ==
[[File:Frank Lloyd Wright - Robie House 4.JPG|thumb|The prow-shaped bay at the eastern end of the southern vessel|alt=The facade at the eastern end of the house's southern "vessel". There is a protruding window bay shaped like a ship's prow. Above it is a deeply overhanging roof.]]
The Robie House (also known as the Frederick C. Robie House<ref>See, for instance: {{Cite news |last=Dorman |first=John L. |date=November 18, 2015 |title=Tracing Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park, Illinois |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/travel/frank-lloyd-wright-oak-park-illinois.html |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US  |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=April 29, 2013 |title=Robie House |url=https://www.wttw.com/tenbuildings/robie-house |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=WTTW Chicago}}</ref>) is designed in the [[Prairie School|Prairie style]].<ref>{{harvnb|Levine|1997|ps=.|page=52}}</ref><ref name="Davies y780">{{cite web |last=Davies |first=Rachel |date=August 15, 2024 |title=Prairie-Style Homes: Everything You Need to Know About Frank Lloyd Wright's First Design Era |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/prairie-style-homes-everything-you-need-to-know |access-date=January 26, 2025 |website=Architectural Digest}}</ref> Wright wanted the architecture, art, and furnishings to have a consistent design;<ref name="Lasky 2016" /> and he aspired for the house to be a ''[[Gesamtkunstwerk]]'', an ideal work of art.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 14" /><ref name="Smith p. 7" /> Though many components of the Robie House were symmetrical or nearly so,<ref name="Connors p. 19" /> the house as a whole is asymmetrical.<ref name="Langston 2010">{{Cite news |last=Langston |first=Patrick |date=February 20, 2010 |title=The Wright stuff; As the iconic Robie House in Chicago turns 100, Patrick Langston follows architect Frank Lloyd Wright's enormous influence all the way to the streets of Ottawa |work=Ottawa Citizen |page=I.1 |id={{Pq|241325228}}}}</ref> The author Joseph Connors writes that Wright's use of symmetrical details had been inspired by the teachings of [[Friedrich Fröbel]] and the [[École des Beaux-Arts]].<ref name="Connors p. 19">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=19}}</ref> The design shares elements with Wright's [[F. F. Tomek House]] in [[Riverside, Illinois]],<ref name="Hoffmann p. 17" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Phillips |first=Richard |date=May 14, 1982 |title=The story of Riverside is a tale of two men and a city |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-the-story-of-riverside-i/163774801/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=3.1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-the-story-of-riverside-i/163774831/ 3.2]}}</ref> and his [[Larkin Administration Building]] in [[Buffalo, New York]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Apple |first=R. W. Jr |date=August 28, 1998 |title=Where a Sense of Place Is Still Cast in Stone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/28/arts/on-the-road-where-a-sense-of-place-is-still-cast-in-stone.html |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> Connors cites the Yahara Boat Club in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], and the River Forest Tennis Club in [[River Forest, Illinois]], as additional forerunners to the Robie House.<ref>{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=52}}</ref>

In designing the Robie House, Wright largely avoided the cruciform and pinwheel plans that he had used in previous houses.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 21" /> The house still uses a variation of a pinwheel plan, albeit one in which the west–east axis is more heavily emphasized than the north–south axis.<ref name="Levine p. 542">{{harvnb|Levine|1997|ps=.|page=54}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|McCarter|1997|ps=.|page=92}}</ref>  The house's floor plan consists of two large rectangles, or "vessels", offset from one another.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 19" /><ref name="McCarter p. 942">{{harvnb|McCarter|1997|ps=.|page=94}}</ref> Each vessel is about one-half the site's length.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 19" /> The southern, primary vessel extends west and contains communal spaces,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 19" /><ref name="Gibson j3482">{{cite web |last=Gibson |first=Eleanor |date=June 5, 2017 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House is one of the most important 20th century buildings |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2017/06/05/robie-house-frank-lloyd-wright-150-anniversary-prairie-style-20th-century-architecture-usa/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |website=Dezeen}}</ref> which terminate in [[Bow (watercraft)|prow]]-shaped bays to the west and east.<ref name="Levine p. 542" /><ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=17, 19}}</ref> The northern, secondary vessel extends east and contains service rooms, such as the kitchen and entrance hall.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 21" /><ref name="Gibson j3482" />

=== Exterior ===
Unlike similar houses, which had roofs supported by [[load-bearing wall]]s, the Robie House's roofs are [[cantilever]]ed outward from the house's core. The exterior walls are treated as [[Curtain wall (architecture)|curtain walls]] or non-structural screens.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=40}}</ref> In addition, Wright wanted people to view the house primarily from its southwest corner, where 58th Street and Woodlawn Avenue intersect.<ref>{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=56}}</ref> In contrast to his contemporaries, who prioritized exterior design over interior design, Wright believed that the facade's design should be subordinate to the house's interior function.<ref name="Hoffmann 1963" />

Because the site was flat and significantly longer on one side, Wright designed the house as a long, low building,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 17" /><ref name="Levine p. 53" /> similarly to other Prairie style buildings.<ref name="Davies y780" /> As such, even though the house is three stories tall, the [[massing]] gives the impression of a single-story house with a small attic.<ref name="Levine p. 53" /> The strong horizontal emphasis of the design was atypical of contemporary homes, which generally emphasized their vertical details.<ref name="Davis p. 209" /><ref name="Murphy 2018">{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Jean |date=May 13, 2018 |title=Restoring the Robie Major renovation awaits Frank Lloyd Wright |work=Daily Herald |id={{pq|2038281787}}}}</ref> According to Wright, the low-to-the-ground design was intended to give the house a "more intimate relation with outdoor environment and far-reaching vistas".<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 17, 1963 |title='Natural Houses' of Frank Lloyd Wright |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/11/17/archives/natural-houses-of-frank-lloyd-wright.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> As it was not possible for Wright to add a garden, the house is instead decorated with urns and planters.<ref name="Sanderson n786" /><ref name="Connors p. 28">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=28}}</ref> The primary rooms on the second story are raised;<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 17" /> this provided privacy, as it allowed views outward while preventing passersby from looking in.<ref name="Gill p. 193" /><ref name="Lasky 2016" /><ref name="McCarter p. 942" /> The house is set back from Woodlawn Avenue, but the main roof and one perimeter wall extend past the western [[Elevation (architecture)|elevation]] of the facade, reducing the visual effect of the setback.<ref>{{harvnb|McCarter|1997|ps=.|pages=93–94}}</ref><ref name="Connors p. 28" />

==== Facade ====
[[File:Frank Lloyd Wright - Chicago, IL - Frederick Robie House (P).jpg|thumb|The brick bollards and piers under the Robie House's southern balcony, seen from 58th Street|alt=Red brick bollards and piers under the Robie House's southern balcony. Above the bricks are stone slabs. The underside of the balcony is covered in stone.]]
The house sits on a [[Water table (architecture)|water table]] made of concrete,<ref name="Sanderson n786" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 42">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=42}}</ref> while the facade is made largely of brick.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> The house also uses concrete for balconies; [[cut stone]] for [[window sill]]s and [[Coping (architecture)|copings]]; and a wood frame for the third story.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 31" /> According to Frederick Robie Jr., Wright ordered custom-made bricks for the house, which measure {{convert|1+5/8|by|11+5/8|in}} across.<ref name="AR p. 210" /> The low, narrow bricks in the facade are laid horizontally.<ref name="Sanderson n786" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 42" /><ref name="Gibson j3482" /> The bricks are colored violet, red, and orange with scattered dark spots.<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 42" /> Wright emphasized the horizontal axis further by deepening the horizontal joints between each row of bricks,<ref name="Huff 1962" /><ref name="Nelson 1963" /> while filling in the vertical joints.<ref name="Connors p. 25">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=25}}</ref> The horizontal joints were infilled with [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] in the mid-20th century.<ref name="Huff 1962" /><ref name="Nelson 1963" /> The water table and cut-stone sills and copings were also oriented horizontally, further emphasizing the fact that the house was low to the ground.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 42" /> The northern facade is a plain brick wall.<ref name="Connors p. 27">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=27}}</ref> An L-shaped chimney rises from the center of the house; it is topped by a brick closet leading to a rooftop balcony.<ref>{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=57}}</ref>

Wright incorporated horizontal bands of windows into the facade.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 6, 1966 |title=Hyde Park's Ageless Homes Symbolize Wright's Foresight |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=Q3  |id={{ProQuest|178916412}}}}</ref> These windows are made of [[art glass]] to blur the distinction between indoor and outdoor spaces<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|2013|ps=.|page=209–210}}</ref> and to illuminate the rooms.<ref name="Mermigas 1977" /> In contrast to [[double-hung window]]s, which consist of sliding window panes stacked above each other, Wright used [[casement windows]], which are side-by-side and can swing outward.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 53">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=53}}</ref> There are 175 art glass panels throughout the house,<ref name="Pitz 2010" /><ref name="Reid h771" /><ref name="Hammond 2002">{{Cite news |last=Hammond |first=Margo |date=August 25, 2002 |title=Chicago, your town for books |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-chicago-your-town-for-b/164078504/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Tampa Bay Times |pages=1E, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-hammond/164078580/ 7E]}}</ref>{{efn|One pane was later removed, so sources have also cited the house as having 174 panes of glass.<ref name="Hammond 2002" /> {{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=|page=53}}, gives a different figure of 265 panes.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 53" />}} arranged in 29 patterns.<ref name="Murphy 2018" /> These panels have intricate, vertically oriented geometric motifs.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 53" />

[[File:Frank Lloyd Wright - Robie House 7.JPG|left|thumb|View of the house from the northern property line|alt=View of the house from the northern property line. The facade is made of brick with some windows. The overhanging roofs and exterior terraces are also visible.]]

The main entrance leads to the first floor<ref name="Connors p. 28" /><ref name="Yates 1963" /> and is recessed significantly from the western facade on Woodlawn Avenue.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 44">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=44}}</ref><ref name="Levine p. 55">{{harvnb|Levine|1997|ps=.|page=55}}</ref><ref name="Lucas p. 7">{{harvnb|Lucas|2006|ps=.|page=7}}</ref> The entrance courtyard has a floor made of red tiles.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 44" /><ref name="Lucas p. 7" /> A staircase leads up to a porch hanging off the western side of the second floor.<ref name="Connors p. 28" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 44" /> There are three additional entrances to the house from the eastern driveway, which lead to the first-floor playroom, the first-floor laundry and furnace room, and the second-floor kitchen.<ref name="Connors p. 30">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=30}}</ref> An ornamental gate was originally installed outside the driveway.<ref name="Connors p. 30" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 57" /> A brick perimeter wall runs along the northern and eastern boundaries of the site.<ref name="Connors p. 27" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 35">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=35}}</ref> The wall originally was about one story high;<ref name="Connors p. 19" /> the top of the wall was shortened in the 1960s<ref name="Connors p. 18">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=18}}</ref> to provide bricks for the construction of a storage room near the garage.<ref name="NPS p. 2" />

The house's attached garage can fit three cars.<ref name="Nelson 1963" /><ref name="Yates 1963">{{Cite news |last=Yates |first=Ulys H. |date=March 2, 1963 |title=Robie House—Frank Lloyd Wright's Masterpiece |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-bulletin-robie-housefrank/163368524/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |pages=13}}</ref> The attached garage was a novelty when the house was built;<ref>{{cite news |last=Sawyers |first=June |date=August 16, 1991 |title=The Wright Oak Park legacy A community preserves his special flavor |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=3  |id={{ProQuest|283112441}}}}</ref><ref name="Sembower 1964" /> at the time, cars were considered especially vulnerable to catching fire, so houses generally had detached garages.<ref>{{cite web |last=Heathcote |first=Edwin |date=February 24, 2017 |title=How the suburban garage has driven creativity and invention |url=https://www.ft.com/content/4b3923a6-f439-11e6-95ee-f14e55513608 |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Financial Times |id={{pq|1881018191}}}}</ref> To visually separate the garage and the rest of the house, Wright added a gap to the roof, and he added [[Post and lintel|posts and lintels]]  beneath the rooftop gap.<ref>{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=24}}</ref> The garage functions as a bookstore for the museum.<ref name="The Taylorville Daily Breeze Courier 1997" /><ref name="Hammond 2002" />

==== Terraces and roofs ====
The [[massing]] includes several terraces on different levels.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=38}}</ref> The largest such terrace is a balcony on the south side of the second floor,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 17" /><ref name="Connors p. 25" /><ref name="Levine p. 55" /> which has a brick parapet.<ref name="Gill p. 193" /> It measures {{Convert|40|ft}} long<ref name="Smith p. 7" /> and is accessed by a row of 12 [[French doors]].<ref name="Starr 1964" /><ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=67, 70}}</ref><ref name="Connors p. 26">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=26}}</ref> The southern balcony is supported by several metal beams, which are concealed beneath a stone [[Coping (architecture)|coping]] and are flanked by brick columns.<ref name="Connors p. 25" /> During construction, Wright added a pit at each end of the balcony, and the French doors next to these pits were converted to windows.<ref name="Connors p. 26" /> Under the balcony are two full-height brick piers, alternating with three half-height brick bollards.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 29" /> There is another balcony to the northwest, a porch to the west, and several smaller porches hanging off the building.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 17" /> The western porch measures {{Convert|9+2/3|ft}} wide and is cantilevered off the western facade.<ref name="Smith p. 7" />

The house is topped by several [[hip roof]]s, which have shallow [[Roof pitch|pitches]]<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> and are made of red [[Ludowici Roof Tile|Ludowici tile]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Poore |first1=Patricia |year=1988 |title=Tile Roofs |work=The Old House Journal 1987 Yearbook |publisher=The Old-House Journal Corporation |page=226}}</ref> The roofs have projecting [[eave]]s, emphasizing the horizontal orientation of the facade,<ref name="Sanderson n786" /><ref name="McCarter p. 93" /> and there are upturned bronze [[Rain gutter|gutters]].<ref name="Connors p. 54">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=54}}</ref> Above the second floor, a shallow eave allows light to be reflected off the second-story terrace into the living and dining rooms. There is a deeper eave above the third-story bedrooms.<ref name="Lucas p. 7" />

=== Interior ===
{{Multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| total_width       = 700
| image1            = Frederick C. Robie House, 5757 Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL HABS ILL,16-CHIG,33- (sheet 1 of 10).png
| alt1              = Floor plan of the first, or ground, story
| caption1          = First (ground) floor plan
| image2            = Frederick C. Robie House, 5757 Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL HABS ILL,16-CHIG,33- (sheet 2 of 10).png
| alt2              = Floor plan of the second story. This story is labeled in the plan as the first floor, since it uses European numbering.
| caption2          = Second floor plan
| image3            = Frederick C. Robie House, 5757 Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL HABS ILL,16-CHIG,33- (sheet 3 of 10).png
| alt3              = Floor plan of the third story. This story is labeled in the plan as the second floor, since it uses European numbering.
| caption3          = Third floor plan
| align             = center
}}
[[File:Chicago, robie house di frank lloyd wright, 1908-1910, salone al primo piano, 01.jpg|thumb|The western end of the living room|alt=The western end of the living room. There is a protruding niche with windows at the end of the living room. In addition, there are lamps on the ceiling and walls, as well as a red sofa in the foreground.]]The house has around {{Convert|9065|ft2}},<ref name="Smith p. 7" /> with four bedrooms, six bathrooms, eleven closets, and a servants' quarters.<ref name="Connors p. 39" /> In contrast to contemporary residences, the Robie House has several [[open plan]] spaces,<ref name="Davis p. 209" /> and it lacks side rooms such as a reading room and a women's lounge,<ref name="Langston 2010" /> Wright used low ceilings throughout the house,<ref name="Sullivan 1984" /><ref name="Pippert 1965" /> juxtaposing them with high ceilings for esthetic effect.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gellner |first=Arrol |date=July 3, 1999 |title=Vary room volume for home comfort, interest |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-vary-room-volume-for-hom/164068160/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=59}}</ref>  The [[superstructure]] is made of horizontal steel beams and brick [[Pier (architecture)|piers]].<ref name="Sanderson n786" /><ref name="Connors p. 10">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=10}}</ref> Steel is used extensively, including under the terraces and in the living-room ceiling,<ref name="Connors p. 18" /> the latter of which uses bolted-steel beams {{convert|15|in}} thick.<ref name="AR p. 210" /><ref name="Smith p. 7">{{harvnb|ps=.|Smith|2008|page=7}}</ref>  The house had a central lighting system,<ref name="Levine p. 56">{{harvnb|Levine|1997|ps=.|page=56}}</ref><ref name="Gill p. 194">{{harvnb|Gill|1987|ps=.|page=194}}</ref> which was operated from three control panels.<ref name="Sembower 1964" /> There were also a central vacuum system,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 90" /><ref name="Langston 2010" /> burglar and fire alarms,<ref name="Gill p. 194" /> a valve to water all the planters,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 90" /> and a heating and air-cooling system.<ref name="Levine p. 56" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fishman |first=Joel |date=March 28, 1982 |title=Chicago's designs top U.S. |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-star-chicagos-designs-top/163773567/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The Standard-Star |pages=G1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-star-chicagos-designs-top/163773602/ G2]}}</ref> Radiators for the heating and cooling system are concealed in cabinets,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Robledo |first=S. Jhoanna |date=December 15, 2014 |title=How to Install Air-Conditioning in Your Frank Lloyd Wright: And other architect-specific queries, answered. |work=New York |id={{pq|1636825048}}}}</ref> and there are also four fireplaces.<ref name="Murphy 2018" />

Originally, the rooms were decorated in a cream, brown, ocher, and salmon color scheme.<ref name="Smith p. 7" /> Rougher-textured paint was used in bedrooms, while smoother paint was used in the communal areas.<ref name="Clark d847" /> The house was originally illuminated by 30 [[Sconce (light fixture)|sconces]] designed by Wright, of which only two remained in the 1960s.<ref>{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|page=17}}</ref> Wright designed two types of sconces: oak and brass fixtures for the bedrooms and other private spaces, and frosted-glass fixtures for communal spaces.<ref name="Pitz 2010" /> The house includes eight Japanese–inspired oak screens, which served as partitions; each screen consists of square bars measuring {{Convert|1+5/8|in}} thick.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 49">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=49}}</ref> To provide privacy, some of the windows have roller shades.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 53" /> Lora Robie's closet includes built-in hooks, since [[clothes hanger]]s had not been invented when the Robie House was built.<ref name=wp-2019-09-05>{{Cite news|date=2019-09-05|title=On the trail of Frank Lloyd Wright in Illinois and Wisconsin|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/on-the-trail-of-frank-lloyd-wright-in-illinois-and-wisconsin/2019/09/05/662d57e8-bfa4-11e9-a5c6-1e74f7ec4a93_story.html|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210130232212/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/on-the-trail-of-frank-lloyd-wright-in-illinois-and-wisconsin/2019/09/05/662d57e8-bfa4-11e9-a5c6-1e74f7ec4a93_story.html|archive-date=2021-01-30|access-date=2025-02-19|work=Washington Post|language=en}}</ref>

==== First story ====
In contrast to the light-filled upper stories, the first story is a dark space with low ceilings.<ref name="Connors p. 36">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=36}}</ref><ref name="McCarter p. 98">{{harvnb|McCarter|1997|ps=.|page=98}}</ref> From the main entrance on Woodlawn Avenue, visitors had to follow a circuitous path to access the rest of the house.<ref name="Connors p. 28" /> The entrance foyer is on the first (ground) floor of the northern vessel<ref name="Hoffmann p. 47">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=47}}</ref> and has a plaque on its east wall.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 49" /> The billiard room and playroom are to the south of the foyer; a coat closet and a stair to the second-floor kitchen are to the east; and a bathroom is to the north.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 47" /> The coat-closet doorway and the foyer's southern doorway both have movable oak screens. There is also a window alcove on the north wall, next to a radiator with three windows.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=49–51}}</ref>

The billiard room was originally at the west end of the southern vessel, while the playroom occupied the east end.<ref name="Huff 1962" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 22">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=22}}</ref> The windowless western wall of the billiard room, which exists mostly to support the living room above it, could be used as storage space or as a [[wine cellar]].<ref name="Hoffmann p. 53" /> The billiard room's northern wall has [[clerestory]] windows with lozenge motifs.<ref name="Hoffmann pp. 53–55">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=53–55}}</ref> On the southern wall is a small garden and a concrete terrace.<ref name="Levine p. 53" /><ref name="Hoffmann pp. 53–55" /> The billiard room is separated from the playroom by a stairway leading to the second floor.<ref name="Yates 1963" /><ref name="Connors p. 36" /> Within the playroom, there is a cantilevered bench within an [[inglenook]],<ref name="Hoffmann p. 57" /> as well as a prow-shaped niche to the east.<ref name="Pippert 1965" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 57">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=57}}</ref> The billiard room and playroom both have individual fireplaces.<ref name="Murphy 2018" /> Subsequent owners used wood-and-plasterboard partitions to divide the playroom and billiard room into six rooms.<ref name="Huff 1962" />

The Robie House has a partial cellar with a boiler plant.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="Democrat and Chronicle 1965" /><ref name="Connors p. 10" /> The house does not have a full cellar because the site was originally swampland<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> and because Wright did not want to excavate the "damp sticky clay of the prairie".<ref name="Hoffmann p. 47" /> The boiler plant, consisting of a coal room and furnace room, is only four steps below ground.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 47" /> It is located at the west end of the house's northern vessel, along with the coat room, laundry, and workshop. At the east end of the northern vessel's first story is the garage.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 22" /> There were maintenance pits in the garage,<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /><ref name="Lasky 2016" /> but these were filled in when the garage was converted into offices in the mid-20th century.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 47" /> The garage and the other service rooms could be accessed only from the outside.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 47" />

==== Second story ====
[[File:Robie House - 33511869124.jpg|thumb|The second-floor stair hall|alt=The second-floor stair hall. There are half-height plaster partitions with wooden screens above them. The wooden screens have slats.]]
In designing the second floor, Wright sought to eliminate "boxes beside or inside other boxes" by blurring the boundaries between the rooms.<ref name="Huff 1962" /> The rooms were still distinguished from each other by the use of different [[cabinetry]] and carpet designs.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 61">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=61}}</ref> The stairway from the center of the first floor leads to an intermediate hall on the second floor, between the northern and southern vessels.<ref name="Levine p. 55" /><ref name="McCarter p. 98" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 61" /> The stair hall is separated from the southern vessel by a {{Convert|5|ft|4=-tall|adj=mid}} screen made of wooden slats.<ref name="McCarter p. 101">{{harvnb|McCarter|1997|ps=.|page=101}}</ref> Movable [[portière]]s, or curtains, hang above the doorways in the stair hall.<ref name="Connors p. 36" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 61" /> In addition, the stair hall has a bookcase on its northern wall, and a doorway leads northwest to the guest bedroom's balcony.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 61" />

The living and dining rooms in the southern vessel have similar design features and are separated only by a fireplace.<ref name="Connors p. 54" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 22" /> Their ceilings vary in height, dividing both rooms into three [[Bay (architecture)|bays]] from north to south.<ref name="Connors p. 39" /><ref name="McCarter p. 99" /> The outer bays have {{convert|7.5|ft|adj=on}} ceilings, while the central bay has {{convert|9|ft|adj=on}} ceilings.<ref name="McCarter p. 99" /> Wooden boards, which are designed to resemble ceiling beams, span the ceiling's width.<ref name="Levine p. 56" /><ref name="McCarter p. 99" /> The spaces are illuminated both by recessed lights above the outer bays (which are hidden behind grilles), as well as spherical lamps.<ref name="Connors p. 39" /><ref name="McCarter p. 99" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 70">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=70}}</ref> There is also a chimney [[flue]] and ventilation openings near the ceiling, in addition to two steel beams that support the roof.<ref name="McCarter p. 99" /> The house's south balcony extends from the living and dining rooms,<ref name="Connors p. 54" /><ref>{{harvnb|McCarter|1997|ps=.|pages=99–101}}</ref> and both rooms have decorative wooden screens as well.<ref name="Connors p. 36" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 61" />[[File:Chicago, robie house di frank lloyd wright, 1908-1910, salone al primo piano, 03.jpg|thumb|The fireplace at the eastern end of the living room; the dining room is beyond it|left|alt=The fireplace at the eastern end of the living room. The mantelpiece is made of stone, and the fireplace is flanked by brick columns. There is a gap between the columns above the fireplace, and the dining room is visible through the gap.]]The living room occupies the western part of the southern vessel.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 22" /> The prow on the living room's west wall serves as a niche<ref name="Fitzpatrick 1965" /><ref name="McCarter p. 99">{{harvnb|McCarter|1997|ps=.|page=99}}</ref> and has windows and doors with multicolored glass.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=64}}</ref> The north wall of the living room has five casement windows, while the western section of the south wall has a narrow [[sidelight]] and casement window. The carpet is decorated with a rose rectangle and a dozen green squares.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 70" /> The fireplace between the living and dining rooms has narrow brick piers<ref name="Connors pp. 36–37">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|pages=36–37}}</ref> and a fieldstone [[Fireplace mantel|mantel]].<ref name="Sembower 1964" /> The fireplace serves a mostly ceremonial function, since the house is heated by concealed radiators.<ref name="McCarter p. 99" /><ref name="Connors pp. 36–37" /> The dining room is east of the living room;<ref name="Hoffmann p. 22" /> its east wall has a breakfast nook within a [[bay window]].<ref name="Connors p. 36" /> The north wall of the dining room has a wooden sideboard, complementing the French doors on the opposite wall.<ref name="McCarter p. 101" /><ref name="Hoffmann pp. 75–76">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=75–76}}</ref>

The northern vessel includes servants' quarters, a kitchen, and a guest room.<ref name="Hoffmann pp. 81–82" /><ref name="Levine p. 542" /> The guest bedroom, at the western end,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 22" /> has a carpet with rotated squares and vessel motifs.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 81">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=81}}</ref> The guest room's bathroom has frosted-glass windows,<ref name="Hoffmann pp. 81–82">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=81–82}}</ref> and a balcony next to the guest bedroom overhangs the entrance court.<ref name="Connors p. 36" /><ref name="McCarter p. 98" /> A stairway separates the guest room from the kitchen, which is located at the center of the northern vessel.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 22" /> The kitchen has a plain design with casement windows and some wood and glass decorations.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 82">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=82}}</ref> At the east end of the northern vessel, there are three servants' rooms,<ref name="Hoffmann 1963" /><ref name="Connors p. 39" /> above the garage.<ref name="Yates 1963" /> These consist of two bedrooms for maids, in addition to a servants' dining room.<ref name="Connors p. 39" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 22" /> The servant bedrooms have flower boxes, intricate casement windows, and sloped ceilings.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 82" />

==== Third story ====
[[File:Chicago, robie house di frank lloyd wright, 1908-1910, camera al secondo piano, 01.jpg|thumb|One of the bedrooms on the third floor|alt=One of the bedrooms on the third floor. The room has wooden floors, a sloping ceiling, and windows with geometric patterns.]]
A stairwell leads from the second story to the third story, which Wright described as a "belvedere".<ref name="Levine p. 542" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 82" /> The third floor is T-shaped in plan, with the stem of the T being above the northern vessel;<ref name="Connors p. 19" /><ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=23}}</ref> the floor plan vaguely resembles a [[Greek cross]] with asymmetrical arms.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 86">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=86}}</ref> The third story abuts the chimney to its west and visually connects the vessels below it.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 86" /> It has three bedrooms,<ref name="Hoffmann p. 19" /> each of which overlooks a balcony with planters and urns.<ref name="Connors p. 39" /> The master bedroom occupies the southern end of the T.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 86" /> The master bedroom has a [[walk-in closet]], a master bathroom, a dressing room with built-in drawers, and a fireplace.<ref name="Connors p. 39" /><ref name="Hoffmann p. 87">{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=87}}</ref> Another bedroom at the northwest corner overlooks Woodlawn Avenue and has a closet and glass decorations. The smallest bedroom in the house is at the northeast corner, whose windows mostly face eastward. In all three bedrooms, there are small casement windows for flower boxes.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 87" />

==== Furniture ====
Wright designed many pieces of the house's original furniture.<ref name="Gibson j3482" /> George Niedecken built much of the furniture,<ref name="Connors p. 39" /><ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=32}}</ref> which was made of oak.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> In the foyer, there were objects such as oak furniture and patterned carpets.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 47" /> The foyer's oak furniture, which included a cantilevered table, a geometrically patterned table scarf, and chairs, was intended to complement the design.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=51}}</ref> The living room's original furniture included a sofa with extended armrests.<ref name="nyt-1999-08-12" /> The living room also included a bench with side tables; a smoker's cabinet; a small [[Study (room)|study]] with a desk and lamp; and movable chairs.<ref name="Connors p. 37">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|page=37}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|page=71}}</ref> The dining chairs had high seatbacks to give the dining table a more intimate feel,<ref name="Hoffmann pp. 75–76" /><ref name="Connors p. 37" /> thereby creating a "room within a room".<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /> The rectangular dining table was expandable and had table scarves.<ref>{{harvnb|Hoffmann|1984|ps=.|pages=73–75}}</ref> There were lampposts at each of the dining table's corners,<ref name="McCarter p. 101" /><ref name="Connors p. 37" /> which were intended to draw diners' focus toward the center of the table, discouraging side conversations.<ref name="Goldfarb 1993" /> The house also had an imported Austrian carpet.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /><ref name="Steinberg 1991">{{Cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Janet |date=June 2, 1991 |title=Chicago houses Wright's artistry in architecture |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-chicago-houses-w/163840719/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer |pages=G5, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-wright/163846093/ G6]}}</ref> For the guestroom, Wright designed a dresser, a double bed, and side chairs.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 81" /> Wright did not design the third-story furniture, which included wardrobes and built-in drawers.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 87" />
[[File:Robie House - 34223293251.jpg|alt=A replica of one of the house's sofas. The seats have red upholstery, and there are wooden desks on either side of the sofa.|thumb|Sofa in the house]]
When the house was converted into the Stevenson Institute's headquarters in the 1960s, some contemporary furniture designed by SOM was added to the house, including upholstered chairs. The house's original sofa was reproduced at that time.<ref name="PSR pp. 16–17" /> By then, the house was decorated in a plum, dark red, brown, and saffron gold color palette. Some pieces of furniture were upholstered in silk, wool, or mohair, while other furnishings (primarily seating) were covered with natural leather.<ref>{{harvnb|The Prairie School Review|1967|ps=.|page=18}}</ref>

Some of Wright's original furniture is in the collection of the University of Chicago's [[Smart Museum of Art]].<ref name="Hoffmann p. 94" /><ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /> The Smart Museum also owns disassembled pieces of furniture from the Robie House, pieces from other Wright houses, and pieces not designed by Wright.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 94" /> In 2019, the Smart Museum lent the dining chairs and table to the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.<ref name="WTTW News g178" /> The original sofa, also in the Smart Museum's collection, has been on loan to the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York since 1982.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Daniels |first=Mary |date=March 6, 1983 |title=The Met Finds a Room for a Real Wright Masterpiece |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-the-met-finds-a-room-for/163781661/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=13.1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-the-met-finds-a-room-for/163781708/ 13.4] |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=December 5, 1982 |title=Design; Making Room for Wright |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/05/magazine/design-making-room-for-wright.html |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> When the house was being considered for demolition, some of the art glass windows were moved to a police station at the University of Chicago.<ref name="Donovan Daily Herald 2003" /> Replicas of the Robie House's dining room chairs,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Louie |first=Elaine |date=October 9, 1986 |title=Home Beat; Wright's Designs to Be Offered Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/09/garden/home-beat-wright-s-designs-to-be-offered-again.html |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US  |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Winship |first=Frederick M. |date=October 9, 1986 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright furniture designs being reproduced |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evansville-press-frank-lloyd-wright-furn/163781907/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=Evansville Press |pages=8 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> the lamps,<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 13, 1994 |title=Japanese Reproduce Wright Lamp Designs |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orlando-sentinel-japanese-reproduce/163914182/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=The Orlando Sentinel |pages=120}}</ref> the sconces,<ref>{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Nancy L. |date=December 5, 1996 |title=Four Score and Seven Catalogues to Go . . . Historic Houses Join the Shop-by-Mail Blitz |work=The Washington Post |page=T.17 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|408288777}}}}</ref> and the cantilevered living-room couch have also been sold.<ref>{{cite news |last=Klages |first=Karen E. |date=September 4, 1994 |title=Finding Mr. Wright the Search is Over: Here Are the Men Bringing Frank Lloyd Wright Furniture to the Masses |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=1  |id={{ProQuest|283944292}}}}</ref> A lamp from the house was auctioned off for $704,000 in 1988, making it the most expensive Wright–designed furnishing ever sold at the time.<ref>{{cite web | last=Venant | first=Elizabeth | title=The Wright Time for Household Objects : The great architect's creations for homes are now commanding respect—and top prices | website=Los Angeles Times | date=December 4, 1988 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-04-ca-1186-story.html | access-date=January 24, 2025|postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Reif |first=Rita |date=June 12, 1988 |title=Lamp by Frank Lloyd Wright Sells for $704,000, a Record |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/12/nyregion/lamp-by-frank-lloyd-wright-sells-for-704000-a-record.html |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref>

== Management ==
[[File:Robie House Dining Room 22.jpg|alt=A view of the dining room, looking toward an exterior terrace|thumb|Tours of the house include the dining room.<ref name="Reid h771" />]]
The University of Chicago owns the house, leasing it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation,<ref name="Mack 1997" /><ref name="Mendoza 2001" /> which jointly operates the museum with the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.<ref name="Cramer 1997" /> The Wright Trust hosts guided tours of the house, which are hosted five days a week<ref name="Reid h771" /> and last 45 to 60 minutes each.<ref name="Nast e439">{{cite web |last=Glusac |first=Elaine |date=March 3, 2021 |title=Museum Review |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/activities/chicago/robie-house |access-date=January 24, 2025 |website=Condé Nast Traveler}}</ref> There are also audio tours of the house.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chu |first=Jeff |date=October 15, 2011 |title=Take Monday Off Chicago |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=d1 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|2729700003}}}}</ref> The third floor is excluded from most of the house's tours but is part of the "Private Spaces" tour.<ref name="Reid h771" /><ref name="Lincoln Journal Star 2009" /> The Robie House is part of the annual "Wright Plus" walking tour,<ref>{{cite web |date=April 30, 2024 |title=Wright Plus Architectural Housewalk |url=https://www.timeout.com/chicago/things-to-do/wright-plus-architectural-housewalk |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Time Out Chicago}}</ref> which includes visits to several buildings designed by Wright.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zak |first=Victor |date=March 18, 2001 |title=Something so right in Oak Park |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-somethi/164072115/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=The Central New Jersey Home News |pages=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-oak/164072926/ F5]}}</ref> Since 2018, the Robie House has been part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail, a collection of 13 buildings designed by Wright in Illinois.<ref>{{cite web | last=Malone | first=David | title=Illinois Office of Tourism unveils new Frank Lloyd Wright Trail | website=Building Design+Construction | date=May 8, 2018 | url=https://www.bdcnetwork.com/home/news/55161732/illinois-office-of-tourism-unveils-new-frank-lloyd-wright-trail | access-date=February 9, 2025|postscript=none}}; {{cite web | title=13 Wright sites on Illinois trail | website=Los Angeles Times | date=May 4, 2018 | url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/cruises/frank-lloyd-wright-trail-illinois-gallery-20180504-photogallery.html | access-date=February 9, 2025 |issn=0458-3035}}</ref><!-- Visitor numbers unavailable as the trust doesn't have specific information on Robie House visitation -->

The trust typically hosts training courses for volunteer tour guides twice annually.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mullen |first=Caitlin |date=September 13, 2016 |title=Training for Frank Lloyd Wright Home guides to start soon |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/09/13/training-for-frank-lloyd-wright-home-guides-to-start-soon/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706}}</ref> Over the years, the trust has trained several grade-school students as tour guides.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brodsky |first=Karyn |date=July 7, 2002 |title=Junior guides lead tours of Wright-designed homes |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=6  |id={{ProQuest|419610911}}}}</ref> In addition, the trust rents out the house for events.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Blackwell |first=Elizabeth |date=November 16, 2015 |title=Entertaining at home-- only better: Looking to host a special event with a personal touch? Throw a party at someone else's house |magazine=Crain's Chicago Business |page=33 |volume=38 |issue=46 |id={{ProQuest|1734375884}}}}</ref>

== Impact ==

=== Reception ===
When the Robie House was built, local residents disliked how the building stood out from its surroundings.<ref name="Anderson 2002" /><ref name="Noland 2003" /> The house was viewed more positively in the architecture community,<ref name="Smith p. 8" /> though its historic significance was not widely recognized until the 1930s.<ref name="Sprinkle p. 89">{{harvnb|Sprinkle|2007|ps=.|page=89}}</ref> After its demolition was proposed in 1957, ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' described the house as "one of the most important works of one of the world's most influential architects", calling the proposed demolition a "needless tragedy".<ref>{{cite news |date=April 26, 1957 |title=Saving the Robie House |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=20 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|509575229}}}}</ref> Another commentator called the Robie House "for many Americans the finest work of art turned out by any of our architects in our history as a nation."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kienitz |first=John Fabian |date=Sep 1945 |title=Fifty-Two Years of Frank Lloyd Wright's Progressivism |work=The Wisconsin Magazine of History |page=64 |volume=29 |issue=1}}</ref> The Swiss architect [[Werner M. Moser]] said that Europeans regarded the Robie House "as a monument of historic value".<ref name="Philbrick 1963a" /> The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' said in 1965 that a visit to the house's living room was comparable to seeing a [[Giotto]] painting or hearing a [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] symphony for the first time.<ref name="Fitzpatrick 1965" />

A critic for the ''Chicago Tribune'' said in 1984 that "the strength and vitality that turned so many heads in 1909 still shine brightly."<ref name="Sullivan 1984" /> The same year, Donald Hoffman said that the house "embraced so many opposite tendencies"; for instance, the house's attic contrasted with its low-lying [[Form (architecture)|form]], and its closed-off exteriors stood in contrast to the openness of the interiors.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 35" /> Robert Campbell of ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' called the Robie House "probably the greatest the master [Wright] ever did", along with [[Fallingwater]] in [[Greater Pittsburgh]].<ref name="Campbell 1987" /> The ''[[Condé Nast Traveler]]'' wrote that "the essential integrity of the design, inside and out, is intact and engrossing".<ref name="Nast e439" /> The writer Neil Levine said that the Robie House felt "buoyant and spacious" despite its low-lying massing,<ref name="Levine p. 53" /> and a writer for ''[[The Ottawa Citizen]]'' said the house was representative of the "energy and optimism" that characterized the early 20th century.<ref name="Langston 2010" /> Alan Colquhoun, writing in 2002, said that the house's "aesthetic control is total and somewhat oppressive" and that even the movable furniture had been designed to complement the rest of the house's decorations.<ref name="Colquhun n844">{{cite book |last=Colquhoun |first=Alan |url=https://archive.org/details/modernarchitectu0000colq/page/55/mode/2up |title=Modern Architecture |date=2002 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-102727-7 |page=55 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The house has been the subject of various comparisons. A writer for ''The Wall Street Journal'' described the Robie House as "a sheet cake that wants to be a ziggurat".<ref name="Lasky 2016" /> Other sources called the building a "quintessential Prairie School house"<ref name="Steinberg 1991" /> and one of his best Prairie style structures.<ref name="Ure-Smith j173">{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |date=May 15, 1972 |title=Metropolitan to Set Up Wright interior |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/15/archives/metropolitan-to-set-up-wright-interior.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Ure-Smith |first=Jane |date=June 27, 2009 |title=Architectour of Chicago |url=https://www.ft.com/content/c8430e2a-61de-11de-9e03-00144feabdc0 |access-date=January 25, 2025 |website=Financial Times}}</ref><ref name="Kamin c915" /> Writers have also likened the building's low massing to a ship,<ref name="Kamin 1999" /><ref name="Newsweek 1971" /><ref>{{cite news |date=April 15, 1994 |title=Wright's Reputation As Master Builder Endures in Exhibit |work=The Christian Science Monitor |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|291213058}}}}</ref> and it was described as an example of "Dampfer architecture", in reference to the German word for "steamship".<ref name="Hoffmann p. 14" /><ref name="Gill p. 194" /> Another source described the house as the "culmination" of Wright's early work.<ref name="Mendoza 2001" />

=== Architectural influence ===
[[File:RobieHouseWindows ChicagoIL.jpg|thumb|Interior window detail|alt=Geometric patterns on four windows as seen from inside the house]]

The Robie House was one of the first residences in the U.S. to be made of cement blocks and poured concrete.<ref name="The Belleville News-Democrat 1964" /> A writer for ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' said that some of the house's design features had since become commonplace, including cantilevered slabs, concrete floors, and corner windows.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Muller |first=Peter |date=June 8, 1954 |title=Modern Architecture Needs No Defending |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-modern-archite/163509173/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |pages=11}}</ref> The house's continuous windows and protruding roof were also popularized nationwide.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1962 |title=Houses Fine Example of Nation's Progress |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/buffalo-courier-express-houses-fine-exam/163747875/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Buffalo Courier Express |pages=4}}</ref> Newspapers have cited the house as having introduced other architectural details, such as spare bathrooms, self-watering planters, attached garages, [[picture window]]s, and split-level spaces.<ref name="Sembower 1964" /><ref name="Goldfarb 1993" /> Some of the house's architectural features had been used in Wright's previous designs, such as [[Warren McArthur]]'s house<ref>{{Cite news |last=Starr |first=Frank |date=March 12, 1964 |title=Wright Homes Cherished |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wright-homes-cherishedf/163757286/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=2A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wright-homes-cherished/163757398/ 2A6]}}</ref> and Wright's Oak Park studio.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 21, 1968 |title=Oak Park Homes to Be Shown in Walk |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-oak-park-homes-to-be-sho/163761806/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=116}}</ref> The Robie House was one of the most prominent buildings that Wright designed in his Oak Park studio,<ref name="Newsweek 1971" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Seibert |first=Barney |date=August 19, 1969 |title=Oak Park Honors Architect Wright |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/anaheim-bulletin-oak-park-honors-archite/163762531/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Anaheim Bulletin |pages=12 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> as well as one of the last structures he designed there.<ref name="Connors pp. 59–60" /> Wright himself considered the house to be a "cornerstone of modern architecture".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frank Lloyd Wright Trust |date=May 2019 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Modern Vision: Frederick C. Robie House Conservation Management Plan |url=https://flwright.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/RobieCMP_FLWT_web.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=17 March 2025}}</ref>

The [[Commission on Chicago Landmarks]] said: "The bold interplay of horizontal planes about the chimney mass, and the structurally expressive piers and windows, established a new form of domestic design."<ref>{{cite web | title=Frederick C. Robie House, 5757 Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL | website=The Library of Congress | date=December 4, 2024 | url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.il0039.sheet/?sp=7 | access-date=January 27, 2025}}</ref> A 1957 article in ''[[House & Home]]'' magazine said that "The house introduced so many concepts in planning and construction that its full influence cannot be measured accurately for many years to come",<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=One Hundred Years of the American House|work=House and Home|date=May 1957|pages=110, 116|postscript=,}} quoted in {{cite book | last=Pfeiffer | first=Bruce Brooks | title=Frank Lloyd Wright: Master Builder | publisher=Thames & Hudson | series=Architecture Series | year=1997 | isbn=978-0-500-28027-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=95dfQgAACAAJ | page=72}}</ref><ref name="The York Dispatch 1957">{{Cite news |date=May 13, 1957 |title=Landmark Defended |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-york-dispatch-landmark-defended/163542425/ |access-date=January 21, 2025 |work=The York Dispatch |pages=5}}</ref> calling it the most consequential house to be built in the U.S. in a century.<ref name="The York Dispatch 1957" /> Similarly, ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' said in 1962 that the Robie House was Wright's first residence to "have an effective influence on modern residential architecture",<ref>{{cite news |last=Hufford |first=Kenneth |date=May 7, 1962 |title=U.S. Drive Builds to Save Historic Landmarks: National Trust Encourages Public Support |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=3 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|510351443}}}}</ref> and [[Walter Gropius]] called the house "a milestone in independent architecture".<ref name="Yates 1963" />

In contrast to the Robie House, Wright's later designs (with exceptions such as Fallingwater) were not designed with a diagonal vantage point in mind. Nonetheless, some architects such as [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]] did design buildings that were intended to be viewed from an angle.<ref name="Connors pp. 60–61">{{Harvnb|Connors|1984|ps=.|pages=60–61}}</ref> The Robie House's other architectural features inspired architects in Europe, starting with the Dutch architect [[J. J. P. Oud]], who in 1918 was the first to publish an article about the house.<ref name="Connors pp. 60–61" /><ref name="Smith p. 8">{{harvnb|Smith|2008|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> These features influenced the design of European structures such as Mies's [[Barcelona Pavilion]] and the [[Rietveld Schröder House]].<ref name="Smith p. 8" /> In turn, American architects began using these design features in the 1930s.<ref name="Smith p. 9" /> Specific structures influenced by the Robie House include a residence in [[Franklin Park, Pennsylvania]];<ref>{{Cite news |last=Greene |first=Joan |date=January 26, 1997 |title=Wright-inspired house offers lots of openness |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-record-wright-inspired-house-offers/163992870/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=News Record |pages=27}}</ref> the [[Domino's]] Pizza headquarters in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]];<ref>{{cite news |last=Frank |first=Stephen |date=February 4, 1998 |title=Workspaces: Pizza Man |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=B8 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398751882}}}}</ref> and a residence on Navajo Avenue in [[Edgebrook, Chicago]].<ref name="Rodkin s376" /> Decorations from the house, such as the sconces, have also been replicated.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Barbieri |first=Susan M. |date=Aug–Sep 2000 |title=Prairie passion |work= Minnesota Monthly |page=32 |volume=8 |issue=4 |id={{Pq|204577190}}}}</ref>

The Robie House was listed as "one of the seven most notable residences ever built in America" in a 1956 ''[[Architectural Record]]'' article.<ref name="Murphy 2018" /><ref>{{cite book | last=Twombly | first=Robert C. | title=Frank Lloyd Wright: His Life and His Architecture | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | publication-place=New York | date=January 16, 1991 | isbn=978-0-471-85797-6 | page=384}}</ref> A 1976 poll of American-architecture experts ranked the Robie House among the top structures in the U.S.,<ref>{{cite news |last=Conroy |first=Sara Booth |date=July 25, 1976 |title='The Proudest Achievements of American Architecture': Form and Function A Poll of the 'Proudest Achievements of American Architecture' |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=121 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|146559854}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=McFeatters |first=Ann |date=July 23, 1976 |title=Architects, critics favor buildings at U of Virginia |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-albuquerque-tribune-architects-crit/160773417/ |access-date=December 12, 2024 |work=The Albuquerque Tribune |pages=11}}</ref> while a 1982 poll of ''[[Architecture: the AIA journal]]'' readers ranked the Robie House as the country's third-best building.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 21, 1982 |title=Shopping Habits ... Screening Tenants ... Top U.S. Buildings |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=31 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134746965}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |last=Gapp |first=Paul |date=May 23, 1982 |title=Architecture: Falling Water Rises to the Top of the AIA's 'Best' List |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=G16  |id={{ProQuest|172714490}}}}</ref> In 1991, the [[American Institute of Architects]] (AIA) named the house among the Top All-Time Work of American Architects.<ref name="Gibson j3482" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek07/0413/0413n_polls.cfm |title=AIArchitect This Week &#124; for Whom the Polls Toll |access-date=December 17, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217071702/http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek07/0413/0413n_polls.cfm |archive-date=December 17, 2013}}</ref> In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the Robie House was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by AIA's Illinois chapter.<ref>{{cite news|last=Waldinger|first=Mike|title=The proud history of architecture in Illinois|url=https://springfieldbusinessjournal.com/2018/01/the-proud-history-of-architecture-in-illinois/|access-date=January 30, 2018|newspaper=Springfield Business Journal|date=January 30, 2018}}</ref>

=== Landmark designations ===
Chicago's Commission on Architectural Landmarks designated the Robie House as a landmark in 1957, in an attempt to stave off the building's demolition.<ref name="PSR p. 12" /><ref name="Wisconsin State Journal 1957" /><ref name="The New York Times 1957">{{Cite news |date=April 22, 1957 |title=Robie House Aided; Chicago Board Names Doomed Wright Home a Landmark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/04/22/archives/robie-house-aided-chicago-board-names-doomed-wright-home-a-landmark.html |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> The house was also the first 20th-century building that the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] tried to preserve.<ref name="Smith p. 14" /> The AIA's Chicago chapter gave the building's owners a plaque in 1960, recognizing the building as a landmark.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 7, 1960 |title=38 Structures to Be Honored as Landmarks: Plaques to Be Given Owners at Fete |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=21  |id={{ProQuest|182457224}}}}</ref> After the [[Commission on Chicago Landmarks]] replaced the Commission on Architectural Landmarks in 1968,<ref name="Krizmis 1970">{{cite news |last=Krizmis |first=Patricia |date=August 2, 1970 |title=Our Architectural Landmarks: Will They Last? |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=A10  |id={{ProQuest|169888361}}}}</ref> the Robie House was again nominated for city-landmark designation in early 1971.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Houston |first=Jack |date=January 28, 1971 |title=Robie House Proposed as Chicago Landmark |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie-house-proposed-as/163768805/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=11}}</ref> At the landmark commission's recommendation,<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 13, 1971 |title=Landmark Hearing Scheduled |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-landmark-hearing-schedul/163769657/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=148}}</ref> a [[Chicago City Council]] committee approved the designation that August.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 7, 1971 |title=Unit Visits Alta Vista, Plans to Seek Landmark Status for It |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-unit-visits-alta-vista/163769782/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=21}}</ref> The Commission on Chicago Landmarks' designation applied only to the exterior<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=October 6, 1994 |title=Arts Club's Interior Gets a Reprieve Landmarks Panel Delays Decision; Developer Irked |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-arts-clubs-interior-get/163912196/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-club/163912471/ 12]}}</ref> and prevented unauthorized alterations.<ref name="Krizmis 1970" />

When the house was being considered for demolition in 1957, the [[National Park Service]] initially refused to consider preserving the house, as it was not yet 50 years old.<ref name="Sprinkle p. 89" /> The Robie House was ultimately designated as Chicago's first [[National Historic Landmark]] in July 1963,<ref>{{harvnb|Sprinkle|2007|ps=.|page=94}}</ref> and a plaque affirming this designation was dedicated in April 1964.<ref name="The Belleville News-Democrat 1964" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 2, 1964 |title=Robie House is Given Plaque as Landmark |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-robie-house-is-given-pla/163531231/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=38}}</ref> The house was also added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on October 15, 1966,<ref name="nris" /> the day the [[National Historic Preservation Act of 1966]] went into effect.<ref>{{cite book |author=United States. National Park Service |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u3p1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PR9 |title=The National Register of Historic Places |author2=Preservation Press |publisher=National Park Service. |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-942063-21-9 |page=9}}</ref> The Robie House is a contributing property to the [[Hyde Park–Kenwood Historic District]], designated in 1979,<ref name="NRHPI-79000824">{{cite web |date=February 14, 1979 |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form |url=http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/PDFs/200151.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128033802/http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/pdfs/200151.pdf |archive-date=November 28, 2009 |access-date=November 1, 2011 |publisher=Illinois Historic Preservations Society}}</ref> and the house was further designated as an Illinois Historic Landmark in 1980.<ref name="nhlsum" />

The [[United States Department of the Interior]] nominated the Robie House and nine other Wright–designed buildings to the World Heritage List in 2015;<ref>{{cite web |last=Hopey |first=Don |date=January 30, 2015 |title=Fallingwater one of 10 Wright structures nominated for World Heritage List |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/art-architecture/2015/01/30/Frank-Lloyd-Wright-s-Fallingwater-Laurel-Highlands-nominated-inclusion-World-Heritage-List/stories/201501300216 |access-date=December 9, 2024 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |issn=2692-6903}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 17, 2022 |title=Ten Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Nominated for UNESCO Distinction |url=https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/10-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-nominated-for-unesco-distinction/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241128133816/https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/10-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-nominated-for-unesco-distinction/ |archive-date=November 28, 2024 |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=Metropolis |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Winston |first=Anna |date=February 3, 2015 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright buildings nominated for UNESCO World Heritage List |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2015/02/03/frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-nominated-unesco-world-heritage-list-guggenheim-taliesin-fallingwater/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702132302/https://www.dezeen.com/2015/02/03/frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-nominated-unesco-world-heritage-list-guggenheim-taliesin-fallingwater/ |archive-date=July 2, 2024 |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=Dezeen}}</ref> the buildings had previously been nominated in 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 26, 2008 |title=World Attention Fallingwater is Commanding a Greater View |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |pages=B.6 |id={{ProQuest|390486630}}}}</ref> UNESCO added eight properties, including the Robie House, to the World Heritage List in July 2019 under the title "[[The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright]]".<ref>{{cite web |last=Axelrod |first=Josh |date=July 7, 2019 |title=UNESCO Adds 8 Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings To Its List Of World Heritage Sites |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/07/739359081/unesco-adds-8-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-to-its-list-of-world-heritage-sites |access-date=January 18, 2025 |publisher=NPR |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Tareen |first=Sophia |date=July 7, 2019 |title=Guggenheim Museum Added to UNESCO World Heritage List |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Guggenheim-Museum-Added-to-UNESCO-World-Heritage-List--512323791.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708030357/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Guggenheim-Museum-Added-to-UNESCO-World-Heritage-List--512323791.html |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |access-date=January 18, 2025 |publisher=WNBC}}</ref>

=== Media and exhibits ===

The Robie House was detailed in [[Ernst Wasmuth Verlag|Ernst Wasmuth]]'s 1910 ''[[Wasmuth Portfolio]]''.<ref name="Hoffmann p. 14" />{{Efn|1=An online copy of the [http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/FLWright-jp2 Wasmuth Portfolio], including Plate XXXVII of [http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FLWright-jp2&CISOPTR=134&REC=15 Volume 2] containing a rendering of the Robie House and third floor plans, as well as an overlay of the first and second floor plans, is available through the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah.}} The [[Historic American Buildings Survey]] cataloged the building's architectural details and floor plans in the 1960s,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hinds |first=Michael Decourcy |date=December 27, 1979 |title=Old House Plans, Revised for Today |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/27/archives/old-house-plans-revised-for-today-old-house-plans-revised-for-today.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US  |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=May 6, 1969 |title=Cromie Looks at Authors and Books |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-cromie-looks-at-authors/163766502/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=18}}</ref> and Donald Hoffmann wrote a book about the house in 1984''.''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gapp |first=Paul |date=June 2, 1985 |title=In Review |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-in-reviewpaul-gapp/163536161/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=307}}</ref> In addition, presentations from a 1984 symposium at the house were published in the book ''The Nature of Frank Lloyd Wright''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gapp |first=Paul |date=September 1, 1988 |title=Wright Legacy Inspires Several New Chapters |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=10  |id={{ProQuest|282456362}}}}</ref> An animated tour of the house was released on [[CD-ROM]] in 1995,<ref name="Coates 1995" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Herko |first=Carl |date=January 22, 1995 |title=Revisiting the Larkin Building – visually |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-revisiting-the-larkin-b/163986078/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=The Buffalo News |pages=E1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-cd-rom/163986123/ E2]}}</ref> and the house was depicted in a stamp issued by the [[United States Postal Service]] in 1998.<ref>{{Cite news |date=Feb 1998 |title=The buzz |work=Architecture: The AIA Journal |page=31 |volume=87 |issue=2 |id={{pq|227767580}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Terry |last2=Buñuel |first2=Diego |date=January 13, 1998 |title=Postal Service delivers honor to Robie House |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-postal-service-delivers/163535009/ |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=124}}</ref> The house has been the subject of several documentary films, including a 1975 [[BBC]] documentary,<ref>{{cite web |last=Moser |first=Whet |date=February 1, 2018 |title=Old BBC Documentary Lavishes Attention on Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/february-2018/old-bbc-documentary-lavishes-attention-on-frank-lloyd-wrights-robie-house/ |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Chicago Magazine}}</ref> a 2004 episode of [[HGTV]]'s ''Restore America: A Salute to Preservation'' series,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Miller |first=Stuart |date=June 28, 2004 |title=HGTV |work=Broadcasting & Cable |page=40 |volume=134 |issue=26 |id={{pq|225299449}}}}</ref> and the 2013 [[PBS]] documentary and companion book ''10 Buildings that Changed America''.<ref>{{cite web | title=10 Buildings that Changed America | website=WTTW Chicago | date=February 27, 2016 | url=https://www.wttw.com/ten/buildings | access-date=February 7, 2025}}</ref>

Several exhibits have featured the Robie House. For example, models of the house were displayed at the [[Cincinnati Art Museum]] in 1933<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alexander |first=Mary L. |date=March 19, 1933 |title=The Week in Art Circles |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-the-week-in-art/163867078/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer |pages=55}}</ref> and at the Exhibition of American Art in Paris during 1938.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 24, 1938 |title=Wright House Included in Paris Display |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-wright-house-inc/163866932/ |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=12}}</ref> The house was also featured in several exhibits at New York City's [[Museum of Modern Art]] (MoMA) in 1941, 1961, and 1994,<ref>{{Unbulleted list citebundle|For the 1941 exhibit, see {{cite news |last=Cortissoz |first=Royal |date=November 24, 1940 |title=All Sorts of Art, Chiefly American: Vertumnus the Robie House at Chicago |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=E8 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1247284462}}}}|For the 1961 exhibit, see {{Cite news |date=February 12, 1961 |title=Stephens Exhibition Entitled 'Architecture Worth Saving' |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/columbia-missourian-stephens-exhibition/163749030/ |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=Columbia Missourian |pages=21}}|For the 1994 exhibit, see {{Cite news |last=Muschamp |first=Herbert |date=February 18, 1994 |title=Review/Architecture; An Architect From the Ground Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/18/arts/review-architecture-an-architect-from-the-ground-up.html |access-date=January 25, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}}}</ref> and a model of the house was displayed at MoMA in 1964.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Brien |first=George |date=May 28, 1964 |title=Modern Household Designs Get a New Home in Museum |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/28/archives/modern-household-designs-get-a-new-home-in-museum.html |access-date=January 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> Furniture from the house was displayed at the University of Chicago's [[Smart Museum of Art]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 11, 1979 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright designs at U. of C. |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=N2  |id={{ProQuest|171821491}}}}</ref> and at the [[National Gallery of Art]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Gurewitsch |first=Matthew |date=November 3, 2000 |title=Review / The Gallery: In the Swirl of Art Nouveau |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=W.9 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398744858}}}}</ref> while chairs from the house was displayed at New York's [[Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum|Cooper Hewitt Museum]] in 1983<ref>{{Cite news |last=Reif |first=Rita |date=August 28, 1983 |title=Antiques View; New Insights Into Wright's Design |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/28/arts/antiques-view-new-insights-into-wright-s-design.html |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> and at the [[Boston Design Center]] in 1992.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Margo |date=January 31, 1992 |title=Furnishing the Wright way |work=Boston Globe |page=51 |id={{pq|294648443}}}}</ref> The [[Chicago Athenaeum]] organized an exhibit about the Robie House and Wright's other Chicago designs in 1992.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=July 9, 1992 |title=Wright show keeps focus within city limits |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-wright-show-keeps-focus/163840552/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=9A  |id={{ProQuest|283253530}}}}</ref>

The house has been depicted in other creative works as well. For instance, the graphic designer [[Steven Brower]] cut a pizza box into the shape of the Robie House.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zimmer |first=William |date=October 20, 1996 |title=Honoring Women as Keepers of the Home |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/20/nyregion/honoring-women-as-keepers-of-the-home.html |access-date=January 26, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref> Edmund V. Gillon Jr. released a model of the house in 1998,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harlow |first=Tim |date=October 9, 1996 |title=Imagination adds dimension to paper dolls and crafts |work=Star Tribune |page=3.E |id={{pq|426756800}}}}</ref> and a rendering of the house was also included in a 2002 pop-up book about Wright's work.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=Jul 2002 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright in Pop-Up |work=Contract |page=22 |volume=44 |issue=7 |id={{pq|223763333}}}}</ref>  [[Lego]] started selling a model of the Robie House in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilding |first=Mark |date=January 26, 2025 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House joins Lego set |url=https://www.bdonline.co.uk/frank-lloyd-wrights-robie-house-joins-lego-set/5023511.article |access-date=January 26, 2025 |website=Building Design |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Waite |first=Richard |date=August 29, 2011 |title=Lego unveils Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House |url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/archive/lego-unveils-frank-lloyd-wrights-robie-house |access-date=January 26, 2025 |website=The Architects' Journal}}</ref> In addition, [[Blue Balliett]]'s mystery novel ''[[The Wright 3]]'' was set in the house.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goedhart |first=Bernie |title=Young house detectives smell a rat in Chicago |work=The London Gazette |id={{Pq|434361457}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |date=May 14, 2006 |title=Building a Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/books/review/building-a-case.html |access-date=January 27, 2025 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Frank Lloyd Wright works]]
* [[List of Chicago Landmarks]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Illinois]]
* [[List of World Heritage Sites in the United States]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in South Side Chicago]]

== References ==
=== Notes ===
'''Explanatory notes'''
{{Notelist}}

'''Inflation figures'''
{{notelist-ur}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite book | last=Connors | first=Joseph |url=https://archive.org/details/robiehouseoffran00conn |url-access=registration | title=The Robie House of Frank Lloyd Wright | publisher=University of Chicago Press | publication-place=Chicago | date=1984 | isbn=978-0-226-11542-9 | page=}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Susan O'Connor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S06qaWdtScgC&pg=PA209#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Chicago's historic Hyde Park |last2=Vinci |first2=John |date=2013 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-92519-6 |publication-place=Chicago London |ref={{harvid|Davis|2013}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Gill |first=Brendan |url=https://archive.org/details/manymaskslifeoff0000gill_t0l6 |title=Many Masks: A Life of Frank Lloyd Wright |date=1987 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |isbn=978-0-399-13232-2 |publication-place=New York |page= |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book | last=Hoffmann | first=Donald | title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House |url=https://archive.org/details/franklloydwright0000hoff_n3y1 |url-access=registration | publisher=Courier Corporation | date=1984 | isbn=978-0-486-14026-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Levine |first=Neil |url=https://archive.org/details/architectureoffr0000neil |title=The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-691-03371-6 |chapter=V: Building Against Nature on the Pacific Rim |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite magazine|editor-first=Suzette|editor-last=Lucas|url=<!--publuu.com/flip-book/603260/1688661/page/4-->|title=Conserving a Masterpiece: The Frederick C. Robie House|work=Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly|pages=4–17|volume=17|issue=2|date=Spring 2006}}
* {{cite book |last=McCarter |first=Robert |title=Frank Lloyd Wright |date=1997 |publisher=Phaidon Press |isbn=978-0-7148-3148-0 |publication-place=London |pages=}}
* {{cite magazine |date=Oct 1958 |title=Mr. Robie knew what he wanted |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1958-10.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=109 |issue=10 |ref={{Harvid|Architectural Forum|1958}}}}
* {{cite report |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/620ea545-086b-48b8-b3cb-02011c292dcd/ |title=Robie House |date=October 15, 1966 |publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]], [[National Park Service]] |access-date= |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1966}} |website=}}
* {{Cite magazine |first=Kathryn |last=Smith |title=How the Robie House was Saved |work=Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly |volume=19 |number=4 |date=Fall 2008 |pages=4–19 |url=<!-- publuu.com/flip-book/603260/1688707/page/4 -->}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Sprinkle |first=John H. Jr. |date=Spring 2007 |title="Of Exceptional Importance": The Origins of the "Fifty-Year Rule" in Historic Preservation |work=The Public Historian |pages=81–103 |volume=29 |issue=2 |id={{pq|222800563}}}}
* {{cite Wright Companion |ref=none}} (S.127)
* {{Cite magazine |year=1967 |title=The Frederick C. Robie House, Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect |url=https://usmodernist.org/PSR/PSR-1967-4.pdf |work=The Prairie School Review |pages=10–19 |volume=IV |issue=4 |ref={{harvid|The Prairie School Review|1967}}}}
* {{cite book | last=Weil | first=Zarine | last2=Wright | first2=Frank Lloyd | last3=Long | first3=Tim | last4=Bachand | first4=Cheryl | last5=Reis | first5=Brian | title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House | publisher=Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust ; In association with Marquand Books | publication-place=Oak Park, Ill. : Seattle | date=2010 | isbn=978-0-615-36404-9 |ref=none}}

== External links ==
* [http://cal.flwright.org/tours/robie Frank Lloyd Wright Trust: Robie House Tours]
* [https://www.loc.gov/item/il0039/ Drawings, photos and data pages in the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey]

{{Subject bar|portal1=Architecture|portal2=Chicago|portal3=Illinois|portal4=National Register of Historic Places|commons=Category:Robie House|voy=Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Illinois}}
{{Chicago Landmark houses}}
{{Museums in Chicago}}
{{Frank Lloyd Wright}}
{{UChicago}}
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[[Category:1910 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:1910s architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:Chicago Landmarks]]
[[Category:Frank Lloyd Wright buildings]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Illinois]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1910]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago]]
[[Category:Hyde Park, Chicago]]
[[Category:Museums in Chicago]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Chicago]]
[[Category:Prow houses]]
[[Category:University of Chicago]]