Mrs. Thomas H. Gale House - Oak Park, IL
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 41° 53.512 W 087° 47.931
16T E 433729 N 4638078
This home was commissioned by the the wife of Thomas Gale after his death. It is the 2nd home Wright designed for the family.
Waymark Code: WM1VMY
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 07/14/2007
Views: 231
The following text is from chicagoarchitecture.info:
On a private drive in a private community it only makes sense to use one of Frank Lloyd Wright's more private designs. Wright had a thing for horizontal walls. Sometimes they are used to evoke feelings. Sometimes to accent. Or, as in this case, they are used to obscure. The lower floor features a long low wall keeping prying eyes out of the family's main living space. A parallel wall is used as a balcony railing on the second floor, further obscuring views and giving the occupants privacy where it is most needed. This is particularly important because the openness of the window wall continues through to the other side of the home. But like many aspects of a Wright design, there are dual uses. The long walls continue in the rear of the building where they frame a series of terraces and balconies to view the backyard. Similarly, the roof is only slightly pitched so that the eye remains firmly on the main mass of the building, rather than travel upward to some fancy gable. On a lot with lots of tall trees as vertical elements, the house becomes an intersection for visual lines, and a base from which the trees can sprout, rather than joining them in the canopy.
The home can be found at 6 Elizabeth Court in Oak Park. It is a private residence so please respect the owner's privacy and take any photos from the street.