Charnley-Persky House

Went to check it out Wednesday at noon since they do a free tour. They started 10min early, so that was surprising and people got turned away who came on time. You’ll enter through the patio door not the main door of the house. The tour went by a little slow for me, but I am not really patient. Lots of background information before we even started the tour. There were a few really cool architectural pieces like the wooden stairwell lit by the above skylight but there really isn’t too much to see.

What an odd little house this is, and a museum I had never heard of until recently. I took advantage of the free tour on Wednesday at noon. It was well attended with around 15 guests. Our guide was very well-​versed and enthusiastic when it came to describing the history of the home and the involvement of Louis Sullivan as architect, and a young Frank Lloyd Wright as draftsman on this project. Built it 1891 – 92, it just preceded that exciting Colombian Exposition era and Worlds Fair of 1893. The house seems much smaller «in person» than it does in the pictures, and it must have been quite the experimental dwelling in its day: stark and linear and broad surrounded by mostly Victorians.
My favorite part of this home was the second story balcony, which to me recalls something Italianate or Florentine. It is accessed by the two second floor bedrooms. While the inner, three-​story open atrium and stairwell with skylight does allow for tons of natural light to flow in, it takes up a good third of the total space, making the surrounding rooms seem cramped. There are two odd little alcove rooms on either side of the entry which felt like a place you’d meet your priest for confession. The living room feels like a library as it is completely surrounded in bookshelves. The living room and dining windows are oddly plain and are begging for the old drapes that most certainly covered them when it was a home. While the house is wide in front, it is not at all deep, so the living room faces the street and the alley is behind it. On a long, narrow lot with virtually no garden or yard at all. The woodwork and Louis Sullivan and Wright details do make it interesting, but I couldn’t imagine it as a home. I do think it’s perfect in its current function as office space for an Architectural Society. And its a great little architectural memorial for the work of Louis Sullivan, if you are a fan.
If you come to the house, make sure to stroll all of Astor St. and check out some of the other remarkable homes on the street. It’s like wandering through a little chunk of London or old New York.