Images of Glessner House, 1886, Chicago, Illinois, by H. H. Richardson. Digital Imaging Project: Art historical images of European and North American architecture and sculpture from classical Greek to Post-modern. Scanned from slides taken on site by Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton College. (original) (raw)

H. H. Richardson
commissioned in 1885

Built originally in a very fashionable area of Chicago, the Glessner House differed strikingly from the "Revival" style houses in the area.

The entranceUnlike many Richardson buildings, this grey granite house uses no polychromy and very little carved ornament. The interior follows "arts and crafts" models with William Morris wallpaper in one of the bedrooms.

Details of the entrance arch and the front facade windows

The side facadeThe plan is an "L" around a garden with rooms opening on to it. The side, based on a farmhouse with stables, is essentially a passageway with slit windows. The living room on this side, isolated from the street, opens onto the court-garden. The side entrance, a rusticated "Syrian" arch, is typical of Richardson's architecture.

The side and the side entrance