For the Press

Oak Park, IL – Beginning July 2009 the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust will introduce an expanded selection of guest experiences for visitors to Wright’s Robie House. The new experiences are open to the public and will encourage a more personal connection with the museum, allowing guests options to direct their interaction with the Robie House, providing expanded access, and offering opportunities for deeper engagement with Wright’s icon of modern design.

The new expanded tours and programs include guided tours with special themes and are designed to provide visitors with a deeper understanding of Wright’s design intent and a more personal experience. The new Private Spaces In-Depth tour provides access to the entire building, including the kitchen, servants’ wing and the third floor. The tour also allows guests to take interior photography. For the more casual observer the Robie House will continue to feature guided tours as well as a new self-guided experience to encourage visitors to walk freely through the awe-inspiring spaces.

The expanded Robie House experiences will highlight in-depth examinations of the museum and objects from the Preservation Trust collection as well as family workshops and social events. The new curatorial program, Engage with Artifacts, provides rare insight into Wright’s designs and allows participants to interact with the Preservation Trust curators and explore original artifacts. Led by a professional photographer, the Picturing Architecture tour facilitates the investigation of architecture through the use of photography.

Family workshops at the Robie House engage younger audiences in exercises that encourage appreciation of design and architecture. Designed especially for young adults, the Redrawing Wright program helps students examine the home’s revolutionary spaces as they engage in free exploration and creative drawing. After Hours at Wright’s Robie House events bring nightlife to one of Wright’s most celebrated spaces as guests are treated to cocktails and hors d’oeuvres against a backdrop of spectacular art glass windows.

New programming for the icon of modern architecture will offer public access from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday from July through December 2009. Development of the revolutionary new model of a historic site museum will culminate in the Robie House Centennial Celebration commencing in April 2010. Visit GoWright.org for a complete listing of Robie House programs and tickets to the expanded offerings as dates and times will vary for tours, programs and events.

Preservation Trust Awarded MacArthur Foundation Grant

The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust was recently awarded the prestigious MacArthur Foundation grant. The $250,000 grant will be allocated during the course of the next five years and largely support the Preservation Trust’s dynamic new programming at the Robie House. Awarded annually, past recipients of the MacArthur Foundation include the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Architecture Foundation and the Chicago Children’s Museum.

Receiving the grant is a tremendous honor as the Preservation Trust is responsible for all funding to support programming, restoration and preservation of Wright’s Robie House and Wright’s Home and Studio in Oak Park.

The Preservation Trust programs are often a guest’s first exposure to the concept of the built environment as art form. Architectural resources are an effective tool for educating young people, understanding design within an international context, and providing inspiration for people of all ages.

About Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House sparked a revolution in residential architecture whose influence still reverberates today. Designated by the American Institute of Architects as one of the 10 most significant structures of the 20th century, this American treasure is celebrated as one of Chicago’s most important works of art. The home is internationally regarded as a Prairie style masterpiece and a modern architectural icon.

About The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust

The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust engages the public in educational and aesthetic experiences to foster an appreciation of architecture, design and the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Preservation Trust presents two Wright structures as public historic architecture museums, his remarkable Home and Studio in Oak Park, Illinois and his Prairie style masterpiece, the Robie House in Chicago. The Preservation Trust is responsible for restoring and preserving the two Wright sites they manage, including the current multimillion dollar restoration of Wright’s Robie House. More information on the many restoration, preservation and education programs of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust can be found at GoWright.org.