Frank Lloyd Wright Trust to Offer Tours of Unity Temple (original) (raw)

Architecture Mon Sep 30 2013

Unity Temple, the Prairie-style concrete structure on Lake Street in Oak Park, is now open for tours, operated by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust in partnership with the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation and the Unity Temple Unitarian-Universalist Congregation.

Photo courtesy Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust.

The trust begins tours of the church Wednesday, October 2. The 45-minute tour can be combined with a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio at 951 Chicago Avenue, about a half-mile from Unity Temple.

Unity Temple is a National Historic Landmark, completed in 1908. It's the only surviving public building from Wright's Prairie period. The construction is exposed, poured-in-place reinforced concrete. Wright designed the sanctuary and the social room as two separate spaces, lit by skylights and joined by a low, central entry foyer.

The original Oak Park Unitarian Church was destroyed by fire in 1905. Wright had to work with a limited budget and on a restricted site, so he made use of unusual materials--generally used only for factories and warehouses--to produce what is considered one of his most sophisticated accomplishments.

You can tour Unity Temple at 875 Lake Street, Oak Park, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 3pm and Saturday from 9am to noon. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online or at entry or by calling 312-994-4000. Street parking is available or take the CTA Green Line to Harlem and walk three blocks east on Lake Street to Unity Temple. .