Wright Around Chicago: Community Enrichment Series
Join the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust for an ongoing series of presentations that engage our community with the life and work of Frank Lloyd Wright and the rich and varied histories of the neighborhoods in which he defined his visionary Prairie style.
With programs held citywide and centered around the Preservation Trust’s three main sites in Oak Park, downtown Chicago, and Hyde Park, Wright Around Chicago brings an expansive interpretation to Wright’s work, considering it within the context of the city that was his home.
J. L. Silsbee and the Making of an Artful ResidenceChristopher Payne, Architect and Lecturer
From 1880 to 1890, Joseph Lyman Silsbee gained immense popularity as an architect. In this decade, from his offices in Syracuse, Buffalo and Chicago, he executed approximately 200 designs. He created designs of every type and size but the design of upper class residences was his specialty. At work on Silsbee’s designs were teams of talented draftsmen and architects. Among them were some of America’s most well-known early twentieth century architects including Irving Gill, Frank Lloyd Wright, and George Washington Maher. In Silsbee’s residential work, we find evidence of his interest in art, fashion and design. His gift for originality was a key to his success and one reason why his offices were such a fertile training ground for future architects.
Photograph: John Bemis Residence, Buffalo, NY, 1885, J.L. Silsbee. Courtesy of Christopher Payne.
Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Oak Park Public Library, Veteran’s Room, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park
Admission: Free - REGISTER NOW (space is limited)