Thomas P. Hardy House
Encyclopedia
The Thomas P. Hardy House is a Frank Lloyd Wright
designed Prairie school
home
in Racine
, Wisconsin
that was built in 1905. The house is
unimpressive when seen from the street, but striking when viewed from the Lake Michigan
shoreline.
Perched on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, the house is built vertically up and down the
hillside, and has a partial basement. The design of the seven art glass
windows on the
first floor facing the street is an abstraction of the floorplan of the house itself. Most
of the windows are either on the top level, or on the lake side. Not visible from the street
side are the terrace, one story below street level, and the living room which, with its
upper-story balcony, opens the entire living quarters to the lake view.
This house demonstrates Wright's desire to build right up to the land line. Most of the
homes on this street are pretty close to the sidewalk, since the hill drops away from the
street pretty quickly, but Wright's entryway for the Hardy house is literally at the line of
the sidewalk.
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...
designed Prairie school
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
home
in Racine
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
that was built in 1905. The house is
unimpressive when seen from the street, but striking when viewed from the Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
shoreline.
Perched on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, the house is built vertically up and down the
hillside, and has a partial basement. The design of the seven art glass
Art glass
Definitions of art glass can be as complex and contentious as definitions of what constitutes "art" and will inevitably include many refinements and exceptions...
windows on the
first floor facing the street is an abstraction of the floorplan of the house itself. Most
of the windows are either on the top level, or on the lake side. Not visible from the street
side are the terrace, one story below street level, and the living room which, with its
upper-story balcony, opens the entire living quarters to the lake view.
This house demonstrates Wright's desire to build right up to the land line. Most of the
homes on this street are pretty close to the sidewalk, since the hill drops away from the
street pretty quickly, but Wright's entryway for the Hardy house is literally at the line of
the sidewalk.
External links
- The Prairie School : : Thomas Paul Hardy residence Frank Lloyd Wright, architect Racine, Wisconsin Presentation rendering
- Hardy House - Frank Lloyd Wright Designed Buildings on Waymarking.com
- Table XV. Perspective of Hardy-House, Racine, Wisconsin
- Thomas Hardy House
- Finding Mr. Wright: Thomas P. Hardy Residence
- Wright in Racine | Window Restoration at the Hardy House
- Photo of the Thomas P. Hardy House
- Photos on Arcaid
