|
YEAR |
DESCRIPTION |
ST# |
1894
 |
Roloson
Rowhouses Baluster. By the late 1930s these houses had long been forgotten as
Wright's work. They were rediscovered in 1940 when Grant Carpenter
Manson "happened upon them while driving along Calumet Avenue looking for
some early Adler and Sullivan buildings". According to
William Storrer, Robert W. Roloson purchased four rowhouses and commissioned Wright to remodel them in
1894. This was Wright’s 26th project (Storrer 026).
Manson indicates that Roloson commissioned
Wright to "design the houses... on property which he wanted to improve.
The idea of erecting identical row houses..." Henry-Russell Hitchcock,
"In The Nature of Material" Page 108, says
they were "Remodeled as apartments". This
baluster is very similar to the design used in the Nathan G. Moore
Residence (1895). Wright often used identical or similar forms in
commissions of approximately the same date. An example is the same
wall sconce used in the Little Residence, Peoria (1902) and in the Dana
Residence (1902). In 1981, fire gutted the interior and the structure
was neglected. Under the assumption that the building would be torn
down, the building’s ornamental items were scavenged. "Robert
W. Roloson Houses" was published in 1979. Grant Carpenter
Manson writes extensively about the Rolson Rowhouses in “Frank
Lloyd Wright to 1910", 1958. Pp 69-71. Robin
Langley Sommer also wrights about it in "Frank
Lloyd Wright, American Architect for the Twentieth Century" 1993, Pp
36-37. 8" in diameter. |
0016.01.0606 |
1961
 |
Roloson Rowhouses (1894 S.026)
1961. Photographed on June 26, 1961 by Chicago Daily News photographer
Robert Stiewe. Stamped on verso: "Daily News. Dec 13, 1961." Caption pasted on verso:
"Little-known landmarks, the ‘Roloson houses’ at 3213-19 S. Calumet, were
built by
Frank
Lloyd Wright in
the 1890s. For many years they were lost to architectural memory. Today they
stand in the midst of a bad slum marked almost entirely for clearance. Will
they too be cleared? Nobody knows." Acquired from the archives of the
Chicago Daily News. Original 10 x 8 B&W print.
For more informamtion see
our
Wright Study on Robert W. Roloson
Rowhouses. |
1483.15.0310 |
| 1961
|
Roloson Rowhouses (1894 S.026)
1961 (Negative of #1483.15). Photographed on June 26,
1961 by Chicago Daily News photographer Robert Stiewe. Acquired from the
archives of the Chicago Daily News. Original 4x5 B&W negative.
For more informamtion see
our
Wright Study on Robert W. Roloson
Rowhouses. |
1483.17.0910 |
1963
 |
Roloson Rowhouses (1894 S.026)
1963. Stamped on verso: "Sun Times. May 12, 1963." Caption pasted on verso:
"This picture shows a portion of the only remaining ballustrade left in
front of the homes. Wright also used a series-of-balls pattern in an Oak
Park home ballustrade." Acquired from the archives of the Chicago Sun Times.
Original 8.25 x 9 B&W print.
See
Wright Study on Robert W. Roloson
Rowhouses |
1565.22.0310 |
1981
 |
Roloson Rowhouses
during remodel (1894 S.026) 1981. Sign reads "Four Landmark Frank Lloyd
Wright Townhouses For Sale." Label on verso: "Photographer: Gene Pesek.
Date: 2/9/81. Location: 3213 to3219 So Calumet. Reporter: Jackie Thomas.
Prints to: Don DeBat. 14A: 3rd floor bedroom with a fireplace on
the south wall and a spiral staircase going up to a bath and dressing room
on the floor above. 7A-8: fancy scroll work above the new front windows.
15-15A: remodeled rear area of the rehabed Frank Lloyd Wright townhouses.
10A and 3-3A: exterior view of the front showing the four units of the
rowhouse which are in the process of being remolded (remodeled)." Sun-Times
Caption pasted on verso dated Feb 13, 1981 "The Roloson houses, located in
the 3200 block of South Calumet, were built in 1894 and designed by Frank
Lloyd Wright. The four row houses are characterized by steep-sided
triangular gables and rectangular windows divided by heavy mullions."
Acquired from the archives of the Chicago Sun Times. Original 10 x 7 B&W
print.
See
Wright Study on Robert W. Roloson
Rowhouses |
1981.22.0310 |
1981
 |
Roloson Rowhouses Terra-cotta
Spandrel Panels (1894 S.026) 1981. Sullivanesque terra-cotta spandrel panel
between the second and third level windows. Photographed during the 1981
renovation. Label on verso: "Photographer: Gene Pesek. Date: 2/9/81.
Location: 3213 to3219 So Calumet. Reporter: Jackie Thomas. Prints to: Don
DeBat. 14A: 3rd floor bedroom with a fireplace on the south wall and a
spiral staircase going up to a bath and dressing room on the floor above.
7A-8: fancy scroll work above the new front windows. 15-15A: remodeled rear
area of the rehabed
Frank
Lloyd Wright
townhouses. 10A and 3-3A: exterior view of the front showing the four units
of the rowhouse which are in the process of being remolded (remodeled)."
Caption pasted on verso dated Feb 13, 1981: "Third-floor bedroom has a
fireplace and a spiral staircase that leads to a bath and dressing room
(above left). Standing in the main stairwell (above right) is Dr. Janice
Hutchinson, who is renovating the landmark houses with her brother,
businessman James J. Hutchinson Jr. (note: these two images not seen).
Exterior view (below) shows scroll work that decorates the facade.
(Sun-Times Photo by Gene Pesek). Caption pasted on verso: "Four landmark row
houses on the Near South Side designed by
Frank
Lloyd Wright are
getting a new lease on life. ¶ A suit in Housing Court once sought to
demolish the Roloson houses, which were vacant for years and fell into
disrepair. ¶ Neighbors described them as a nuisance. Parents from Douglas
Elementary School across the street complained that the houses harbored
packs of stray dogs that menaced children. ¶ Now the houses, listed in the
National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and designated as city
landmarks in 1979, are being rehabilitated by businessman James J.
Hutchinson Jr. and his sister, Janice, a pediatrician. They will occupy one
house. The others are now on the market for between $275,000 and $300,000
each. ¶ The project is one of a number of rehabilitation efforts under way
in the Near South Side neighborhood known as the ‘The Gap,’ an area of
stately old homes bounded by 31st St. on the north, 35th St. on the south,
Martin Luther King Dr. on the east and Michigan Ave. on the west. There has
been some new construction." Acquired from the archives of the Chicago Sun
Times. Original 10 x 7 B&W print.
See
Wright Study on Robert W. Roloson
Rowhouses |
1981.23.0310 |
1986
 |
Roloson Rowhouses (1894 S.026)
1986. Label on verso: "Photographer: Gene Pesek. Date: 9/17 (Also stamped
Oct 17 ‘86). Location: Chicago’s 2nd Ward. Prints to: Debat." Sun-Times
Caption pasted on verso: " Resident Paula Lingo and Ald. Bobby Rush (2nd)
stroll in front of the
Frank
Lloyd Wright town
houses in the 3300 (3200) block of South Calumet Avenue." Acquired from the
archives of the Chicago Sun Times. Original 10 x 8 B&W print.
See
Wright Study on Robert W. Roloson
Rowhouses |
1986.36.0310 |
1987
 |
Roloson Rowhouses
(1894 S.026) 1987. Label on verso: "Photographer: Al Podgorski. Date:
1-10-86 (miss dated). Location: 3213 S. Calumet. Prints to: Rich. Frank
Lloyd Wright homes... Sun-Times Caption pasted on verso: Photographer Al
Podgorski dated Jan 10 ‘87. Sun-Times Caption pasted on verso dated Sun Jan
11 ‘87 "These Frank Lloyd Wright designed apartments, at 3213-19 S. Calumet,
are among the many landmarks in the Gap neighborhood on the Near South
Side." Acquired from the archives of the Chicago Sun Times. Original 10 x 8
B&W print.
See
Wright Study on Robert W. Roloson
Rowhouses |
1987.64.0310 |
