Nathan G. Moore House
Encyclopedia
The Nathan G. Moore House also known as the Moore-Dugal Residence is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
. The house was built one block south of Wright's home and studio
at 333 Forest Avenue in the Chicago
suburb of Oak Park, Illinois
. It was originally completed in 1895 in the Tudor Revival style at the request of client Nathan Moore. Wright obliged his client's wishes, but long after disliked the house for its adherence to historical styles.
A 1922 fire gave Wright the opportunity to redesign the house. The structure was completely rebuilt above the first floor in a manner in keeping with Wright's other works of the late 1910s and early 1920s. While the new design stayed evocative of Tudor architecture, the house was heavily ornamented by details of Sullivanesque, Mayan, and other exotic origins. Wright’s second scheme remains largely intact today and the house continues to be a private residence despite a brief period as a tour home.
and had attended law school
in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He had recently been hired into the office of Chicago attorney
John P. Wilson. However, Moore chose to reside in Oak Park with his wife Anna and first daughter Mary (born in 1883) instead of Chicago. The couple’s second daughter, Marjorie, was born in 1889 while they lived in their first Oak Park house.
to request his services rather than simply calling at the emerging architect’s house across the street.
Moore had apparently not come to Wright in admiration of his design style. According to Wright, he proclaimed that “I don’t want you to give us anything like the house you did for Winslow” referring to the recently completed Wright designed Winslow House in River Forest, Illinois
. “I don’t want to go down backstreets to my morning train to avoid being laughed at.” Moore then proceeded to show Wright pictures of English half-timber
buildings as inspiration for the proposed dwelling. Wright was apprehensive to design a house in a historical style, but he accepted the commission because of his financial obligations to his family (as he said, his “three children were now running around the streets without proper shoes”).
The first plan proposed a remodel of the home Moore had bought in 1886. Plans changed and the existing structure was instead moved three lots west to front Superior Street. This made way for the construction of a three story Tudor Revival house which was completed in 1895. The three story structure was built tight against the northern lot line which allowed for maximum yard space to the south. Walls on the main floor were faced in golden-tan Roman brick
while the upper floors were finished in typical, dark-stained half timbering over light stucco
. A steep, gable
d roof and two slender, tall, brick chimneys topped off the composition. The main house was symmetrically proportioned with few exceptions – including the chimneys and window openings flanking the Superior Street entrance. A garage connected the residence to a garden house at the northwestern corner of the property. Wright also designed a matching stable
building across an alley
to the southwest. The interior was paneled
in dark wood yet was amply lit by bands of diamond-patterned, leaded casement window
s which opened the rooms up to the south garden. Inside also featured eight fireplaces, each with unique custom surrounds. (See more period images of the first Moore House).
Nathan and Anna Moore “were delighted with the house.” Unfortunately the same cannot have been said for Wright. He came to regard the design with embarrassment and admitted that his “heart wasn’t it.” His decision caused further regret after he was asked on more than one occasion to devise similar Tudor inspired houses for other clients. Like his mentor and former employer, Louis H. Sullivan
, Wright considered the copying of historic styles to be “uncreative” and completely contrary to American freedom. Even so, Wright managed to work a few interpretive deviations into the design of the Moore House. These included a broad, south-facing porch complete with brick end piers, Sullivanesque details on the balustrades
, and his signature bowl-shaped urns. “It was the first time…an English, half-timbered house ever saw a porch,” Wright stated and further conceded that “the porch was becoming to the house.”
).
In the early morning of December 23, 1922, an electrical fire destroyed the third floor and caused significant damage to the lower floors of the Nathan G. Moore House. At the time, Wright was engaged in the construction of several projects in California
, but he accepted Moore’s request to design the reconstruction and appointed Charles E. White, Jr.
as local coordinator. Within a year the house was again ready to be occupied.
While Wright took this opportunity to completely redesign the house, he retained the essence of the Tudor style. The foundations as well as most of the first floor walls and south porch were retained. A slate
roof and masonry chimneys were rebuilt in almost identical form to the originals, but Wright chose to leave out the second floor walls. The new roof sat directly on the first floor, thus making the entire structure significantly shorter. The pitched roof of the previous porch was traded for a second floor terrace
with two open lightwell
s to the porch below.
This second house was more imbued with integral ornament
than the first. A simple, first floor bay window
in the east elevation was exchanged for one with a Gothic
motif. Each side featured paired lancet window
s and a facing of intricately adorned terracotta. While half-timbering was limited to the peaks of three gables, the remaining surfaces were replaced by banding of terracotta and heavily carved, geometrically patterned wood. In these details, Wright not only drew inspiration from English Tudor, but also from Mayan architecture and the elaborate, organic style of Louis Sullivan. The result showed similarities to other Wright designs of the period, including Midway Gardens
(1913), the Imperial Hotel
(1915–23), the Hollyhock House
(1917–1921), and the four textile block houses (1923). The stables and garden house, which both survived the fire and retained original detailing, serve as a comparison between the styles of the earlier and later designs.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. The house was built one block south of Wright's home and studio
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio at 951 Chicago Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois, has been restored by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust to its appearance in 1909, the last year Frank Lloyd Wright lived there with his family. Frank Lloyd Wright purchased the property and built the home in...
at 333 Forest Avenue in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb of Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
. It was originally completed in 1895 in the Tudor Revival style at the request of client Nathan Moore. Wright obliged his client's wishes, but long after disliked the house for its adherence to historical styles.
A 1922 fire gave Wright the opportunity to redesign the house. The structure was completely rebuilt above the first floor in a manner in keeping with Wright's other works of the late 1910s and early 1920s. While the new design stayed evocative of Tudor architecture, the house was heavily ornamented by details of Sullivanesque, Mayan, and other exotic origins. Wright’s second scheme remains largely intact today and the house continues to be a private residence despite a brief period as a tour home.
History
In 1886, Nathan Grier Moore bought a small, wood-framed house on a 50 feet by 150 feet lot at the southwestern corner of Forest Avenue and Superior Street. Moore had been born in 1853 in Cherry Tree, PennsylvaniaCherry Tree, Pennsylvania
Cherry Tree is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 443 at the 2000 census.-History:Cherry Tree is situated mostly in a valley near the headwaters of West Branch of the Susquehanna River where the river is fed by Cush Cushion Creek.Cherry Tree was originally...
and had attended law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He had recently been hired into the office of Chicago attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
John P. Wilson. However, Moore chose to reside in Oak Park with his wife Anna and first daughter Mary (born in 1883) instead of Chicago. The couple’s second daughter, Marjorie, was born in 1889 while they lived in their first Oak Park house.
First Wright design
Nathan Moore purchased the neighboring lot to the south in 1891 after the previous house on that site had been destroyed by fire. He soon announced his intention to build a new home on his expanded property. Frank Lloyd Wright accounted in his autobiography that Moore had been approached by many architects, including Norman S. Patton, before Wright himself was asked to design the project in 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Moore reportedly traveled to Wright’s newly opened downtown Chicago studio in the Schindler BuildingGarrick Theater (Chicago)
The Schiller Theatre Building was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler of the firm Adler & Sullivan for the German Opera Company. At the time of its construction, it was one among the tallest buildings in Chicago...
to request his services rather than simply calling at the emerging architect’s house across the street.
Moore had apparently not come to Wright in admiration of his design style. According to Wright, he proclaimed that “I don’t want you to give us anything like the house you did for Winslow” referring to the recently completed Wright designed Winslow House in River Forest, Illinois
River Forest, Illinois
River Forest is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The village is closely tied to the larger neighboring community of Oak Park, Illinois. There are significant...
. “I don’t want to go down backstreets to my morning train to avoid being laughed at.” Moore then proceeded to show Wright pictures of English half-timber
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
buildings as inspiration for the proposed dwelling. Wright was apprehensive to design a house in a historical style, but he accepted the commission because of his financial obligations to his family (as he said, his “three children were now running around the streets without proper shoes”).
The first plan proposed a remodel of the home Moore had bought in 1886. Plans changed and the existing structure was instead moved three lots west to front Superior Street. This made way for the construction of a three story Tudor Revival house which was completed in 1895. The three story structure was built tight against the northern lot line which allowed for maximum yard space to the south. Walls on the main floor were faced in golden-tan Roman brick
Roman brick
Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick originating in Ancient Rome and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type of brick, inspired by the ancient prototypes...
while the upper floors were finished in typical, dark-stained half timbering over light stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
. A steep, gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof and two slender, tall, brick chimneys topped off the composition. The main house was symmetrically proportioned with few exceptions – including the chimneys and window openings flanking the Superior Street entrance. A garage connected the residence to a garden house at the northwestern corner of the property. Wright also designed a matching stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
building across an alley
Alley
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane found in urban areas, often for pedestrians only, which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting...
to the southwest. The interior was paneled
Panelling
Panelling is a wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials....
in dark wood yet was amply lit by bands of diamond-patterned, leaded casement window
Casement window
A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows are hinged at the side. A casement window (or casement) is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows are hinged at the side. A casement window (or casement) is a...
s which opened the rooms up to the south garden. Inside also featured eight fireplaces, each with unique custom surrounds. (See more period images of the first Moore House).
Nathan and Anna Moore “were delighted with the house.” Unfortunately the same cannot have been said for Wright. He came to regard the design with embarrassment and admitted that his “heart wasn’t it.” His decision caused further regret after he was asked on more than one occasion to devise similar Tudor inspired houses for other clients. Like his mentor and former employer, Louis H. Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
, Wright considered the copying of historic styles to be “uncreative” and completely contrary to American freedom. Even so, Wright managed to work a few interpretive deviations into the design of the Moore House. These included a broad, south-facing porch complete with brick end piers, Sullivanesque details on the balustrades
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
, and his signature bowl-shaped urns. “It was the first time…an English, half-timbered house ever saw a porch,” Wright stated and further conceded that “the porch was becoming to the house.”
Property expansion and Edward R. Hills House
Soon after the new house was finished, Moore resumed the expansion of his property. In 1900 he bought the house on a 100 ft wide lot to the south from prior owner William C. Gray. That same year, Wright was rehired to remodel this recent purchase for Moore’s eldest daughter. Actual construction waited until yet another house was acquired south of the former Gray house in 1905. This last house had been owned by a Mr. and Mrs. D.L. McDaniels. With an estate that now measured 250 feet by 150 feet, Moore was able to demolish the McDaniels house and move the Gray house south where it was subsequently refurbished and enlarged. The house, along with 60 ft of Forest Avenue frontage, was deeded to Mary and her husband Edward Rowland Hills in 1910 (see also Edward R. Hills HouseEdward R. Hills House
Wright's design for the repositioned home – now in its third revision – utilized the Gray home foundation and framing for several walls and floors but otherwise entirely engulfed the original building. The existing stair hall was retained and extended to serve as the central circulation spine for...
).
Fire and second Wright design
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, but he accepted Moore’s request to design the reconstruction and appointed Charles E. White, Jr.
Charles E. White, Jr.
Charles E. White, Jr. was a noted Chicago area architect who for a time worked in the Oak Park studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and who, both before and after that time, had a successful and influential career as an architect and a writer on architectural subjects...
as local coordinator. Within a year the house was again ready to be occupied.
While Wright took this opportunity to completely redesign the house, he retained the essence of the Tudor style. The foundations as well as most of the first floor walls and south porch were retained. A slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof and masonry chimneys were rebuilt in almost identical form to the originals, but Wright chose to leave out the second floor walls. The new roof sat directly on the first floor, thus making the entire structure significantly shorter. The pitched roof of the previous porch was traded for a second floor terrace
Terrace (building)
A terrace is an outdoor, occupiable extension of a building above ground level. Although its physical characteristics may vary to a great degree, a terrace will generally be larger than a balcony and will have an "open-top" facing the sky...
with two open lightwell
Lightwell
In architecture a lightwell, light well or air shaft is an unroofed external space provided within the volume of a large building to allow light and air to reach what would otherwise be dark or unventilated area...
s to the porch below.
This second house was more imbued with integral ornament
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
than the first. A simple, first floor bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
in the east elevation was exchanged for one with a Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
motif. Each side featured paired lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s and a facing of intricately adorned terracotta. While half-timbering was limited to the peaks of three gables, the remaining surfaces were replaced by banding of terracotta and heavily carved, geometrically patterned wood. In these details, Wright not only drew inspiration from English Tudor, but also from Mayan architecture and the elaborate, organic style of Louis Sullivan. The result showed similarities to other Wright designs of the period, including Midway Gardens
Midway Gardens
Midway Gardens was a 300’ square indoor/outdoor entertainment facility in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. It was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who also collaborated with sculptor Alfonso Iannelli on the famous “sprite” sculptures decorating the facility...
(1913), the Imperial Hotel
Imperial Hotel, Tokyo
The Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan, was created in the late 1880s at the request of the Japanese aristocracy to cater to the increasing number of western visitors to Japan. The hotel site is located just south of the Imperial Palace grounds, next to the previous location of the Palace moat...
(1915–23), the Hollyhock House
Hollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House is a building in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, built in 1919–1921...
(1917–1921), and the four textile block houses (1923). The stables and garden house, which both survived the fire and retained original detailing, serve as a comparison between the styles of the earlier and later designs.
1946 to present
On August 16, 1946, Nathan Moore died; his house and property were left to Mary Hills. The Hills did not keep the estate, but instead sold it the following June to Milton G. and Mary Summerville. During the transaction, the Hills retained the southern 40 feet of land to expand their own narrow lot. The home is currently owned by Bob Dugal who opened the house for seasonal public tours. However, these tours ceased operation in 2001 due to the progression of Dugal's Friedreich’s ataxia disease.External links
- Historic photographs of Moore House prior to 1922 fire (on dgunning.org – Virtual Tour of Forest Avenue); the maturity of the landscape indicates that the top photo was taken several years before the bottom image.