Herutley House featured on the 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Housewalk

Photo By Ivo Shandor

The 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Housewalk will commemorate Wright’s 150  birthday. The event will be held on Saturday, May 20th, 2017.  If you’re a Wright fan it will be, the place to be in May.

Buying Tickets Online

You can get your tickets direction from the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust on their website here. Tickets start at $90 and go up from there. Tickets in the more expensive tiers include additional access to or faster access to residences.

What You’ll See At the Frank Lloyd Wright House Walk

As part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Housewalk tour you’ll get access to a selection of architecturally important buildings in Oak Park and sometimes the surround communities. The tour usually highlights several Wright designs and often includes designs by his students as well. Other homes are often significant to the period of Wright’s work but are not Wright designs.

At each home, you’ll be directed by docents who will provide brief context or history as you visit each room.  In most homes, you’ll see ground floor rooms.  you may or may not have access to rooms on the second floor or bedrooms. This will be largely dependent on the building and the homeowners wishes.

As may of the homes are private residences any access should be considered a privilege not to be missed if you are a true Wright fan.

Can You See All The Houses in one Day?

While the event is billed as a house walk, the foundation does provide a trolley service to predetermined stops throughout the house walk neighborhood. These trolleys are great for those that only want to see a selected few homes and don’t want to trek all the way across town.

If you start early and the lines aren’t too long you should be able to see all the homes. Nicer weather of course usually brings a larger crowd and longer lines.

If you don’t plan to walk, still plan to be on your feet the entire day. Depending on the house it is not uncommon to have to stand in line to wait for entry to a home. From my own experience, the wait time can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes and sometimes longer depending on the demand.

How Much Time Do you Get in the Homes?

Home tours are kept moving at a fast pace to accommodate the large number of visitors. In each room you’ll usually be presented with a 1 to 2 minute summary by the docent, you’ll have a brief moment to look around and then you’ll be asked to move on. You should expect to spend about 15 minutes in each home.

If the tour has any public buildings like churches, those tour’s can run a bit longer depending on the size of the building.

Can I take Pictures at the Frank Llyod Wright House Walk?

Pictures are not allowed inside of the private residences. You can take photos of the homes from the street.

What Homes are on the 2017 House Walk?

Every year the Frank Lloyd Wright home and Studio is featured as a central part of the day’s activities. The home and studio are where you’ll pick up your entry bracelets and maps for the day. In addition during this year’s tour you’ll be able to visit the following homes: