Stone sober: glessner house, chicago, 1885-1887 Henry Hobson Richardson

Residential Architect, Nov-Dec, 2002 by Meghan Drueding

the house H. H. Richardson designed for John and Frances Glessner on Chicago's fashionable Prairie Avenue was definitely more cathedral than chicken coop. Located on a choice corner lot, the granite structure presented an imposing, almost fortress-like facade to the street.

Its serious demeanor was slightly enlivened by egg-and-dart detailing and a carved tree-of-life design over the front door. But, for the most part, Richardson saved his more dramatic flourishes for the oak-paneled interior and brick-walled courtyard. The home's dignified simplicity marks a radical departure from the ornate, traditional styles so popular during the Gilded Age and attests to the vision of both architect and client. The Glessners, leading patrons of the arts in Chicago, enjoyed a close friendship with Richardson, who died a year before their house was completed. "I am convinced that this house of ours is the one of all that he built that he would have liked most to live in himself," John Glessner wrote.

Local preservationists have turned the home into a museum dedicated to 19th- and early-20th-century decorative arts. For a visitors' guide to the Glessner House Museum, visit www.glessnerhouse.org or call 312.326.1480.