Chicago Architecture

Chicago Architecture & Cityscape

Roloson Houses

The four rowhouses were built as investment property by Robert W. Roloson, a successful grain merchant. The architectural commission was among the earliest received by Frank Llyod Wright after leaving the firm of Adler & Sullivan, and the design shows many of his early influences.

These are the only rowhouses designed by Frank Llyod Wright, that were actually built. The facades display the steeply pitched gables and rectangular bands of windows characteristic of the English Tudor Revival style. Sullivanesque terra-cotta ornament embellishes the spandrel between the second and third floors. Shows the influence of Sullivan on Frank Llyod Wright.