mobile icon
Toggle Nav
My Cart
Close
  • Menu
  • Setting

bldg. 51 museum acquires heller house cast plaster capitals executed by richard bock

the isidore h. heller house was designed by architect frank lloyd wright and its design is credited as one of the turning points in wright's shift to geometric, prairie school architecture, which is defined by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, and an integration with the landscape, which is meant to evoke native prairie surroundings.

the house’s design demonstrates wright's shift away from emulating the style of his mentor, louis sullivan. richard bock, a wright collaborator and sculptor, provided the exterior plaster frieze panels and capitals located under the eaves. richard bock, the sculptor who provided statues for the dana-thomas house (1904) worked almost exclusively with wright from 1903 to 1913, and had previously designed the plaster frieze for wright's winslow house in 1894.

what little is known about isidore h. heller and his family has been compiled through personal interviews as well as census and county records. heller was born in austria in 1847, and his wife, ida, was born in wisconsin in 1857. heller worked at wolf, sayer, and heller: packers and butcher’s supplies, located on fulton street on the northwest side of chicago. heller and ida were married with had three children, including walter heller, a chicago investment banker.

heller purchased land in the hyde park area of chicago from jonas hamburger on january 2, 1895 and commissioned wright to design the house in 1896. a building permit was issued on july 13, 1897, at a cost of $7.70, and named william adams as the builder. the building was constructed on the 50 by 175 feet lot in 1897. the total cost of the work is estimated at $12,500. in 1906, the lot was enlarged when heller purchased an additional 25 feet to the north of his original plot.

the hellers lived in the house for about 16 years, until the death of ida heller on october 11, 1909. the house was sold to francis bickett on june 18, 1913, as records indicate that by 1915, heller had been living in silver lake for some years. bickett sold the house within a year to charles mcfarlane, and from 1924–39 the heller house was owned and occupied by joseph mayer and his wife; the house became known as the "joseph mayer house" to local residents. the mayers sold the home to mr. and mrs. wilfred fox in 1939, who reportedly made alterations to the home's third floor.

 

image courtesy of eric j. nordstrom photography and the bldg. 51 museum photo archive.

in 1948, george watson purchased the home from fox and owned it for the next 25 years, becoming the owner with the longest tenure. lewis bradford then bought the house in 1972, and had the exterior sandblasted, which caused extensive damage to the plaster ornament, sculpted by block (most of it has since been replaced, including the two-part capitals that wrapped around the diminutive wood columns). in 1977, victor and danielle barcilon bought the house. they occupied it until 1987, when it was sold to david and catherine epstein, who sold the home to serafino garella and judith bromley, in 1995. they restored a bathroom and restored the master bedroom's fireplace.

photograph courtesy of eric j. nordstrom.

photograph courtesy of eric j. nordstrom.

image courtesy of eric j. nordstrom photography and the bldg. 51 museum photo archive.

image courtesy of eric j. nordstrom photography and the bldg. 51 museum photo archive.

image courtesy of eric j. nordstrom photography and the bldg. 51 museum photo archive.

like the frieze containing human forms, the capitals were likely executed by richard bock. image courtesy of eric j. nordstrom photography and the bldg. 51 museum photo archive.

when wright designed the heller house in 1896, the influence of wright's mentor, louis sullivan is evident in the floral pattern of the richard bock plaster frieze panels and capitals on the home's third floor, although during the 1970s, restoration work—which utilized sandblasting—destroyed much of the detail on the frieze.

image courtesy of eric j. nordstrom photography and the bldg. 51 museum photo archive.

fret-sawn exteior fascia board (original) from the heller house. bldg. 51 museum collection.

the heller house was wright's first work in the hyde park neighborhood of chicago, an area that was influenced by the gothic revival work of henry ives cobb. hyde park experienced an explosion of growth after the township's incorporation into the city of chicago in 1889, the establishment of the university of chicago in 1892, and the columbian exposition in 1893. the design of the heller house was unlike any other home in chicago at the time it was built and was called wright's most "outrageous" design. the house blends together key elements of wright's prairie style and is located within a half mile of other early works. wright's robie house is six blocks from the heller house, and the blossom house and mcarthur house are nearby, in kenwood.

before the capital segments undergo restoration for future display in the bldg. 51 museum, a through paint analysis will be performed to record the multitude of finishes and their chemical composition.

the isidore h. heller house (1896) is credited as one of the turning points in wright's shift to geometricprairie school architecture, which is defined by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, and an integration with the landscape, which is meant to evoke native prairie surroundings.

furthermore, the design work demonstrates wright's gradual shift away from emulating the style of his mentor and former employer, louis sullivanrichard bock, a wright collaborator and sculptor, provided some of the ornamentation, including the intricate figural plaster frieze depicted below.

sullivan's influence can be seen in the richly ornate floral patterns of the richard bock plaster frieze panels on the home's exterior third floor. unfortunately,  during the 1970's, misguided restoration work—which utilized sandblasting—destroyed much of the detail on the high relief plaster frieze panels.

the heller house was wright's first work in the hyde park neighborhood of chicago, an area that was influenced by the gothic revival work of henry ives cobb. the house blends together key elements of wright's prairie style and is located within a half mile of other early works. wright's robie house is six blocks from the heller house, and the blossom house and mcarthur house are nearby,

hyde park experienced an explosion of growth after the township's incorporation into the city of chicago in 1889, the establishment of the university of chicago in 1892, and the columbian exposition in 1893. the design of the heller house was unlike any other home in chicago at the time it was built and was called wright's most "outrageous" design.

 

update as of 4-25-2017:

i revisited the heller house yesterday afternoon while in hyde park documenting commercial building terra cotta ornament. i took an additional 200-250 photographs of the exterior (lighting conditions were more favorable during this visit) ornament, including the replicated capitals made for the diminutive wood columns and east facade pilasters.

 

 

 



Some Of Our Clientele

WORDLWIDE SHIPPING

If required, please contact an Urban Remains sales associate.

NEW PRODUCTS DAILY

Check back daily as we are constantly adding new products.

PREMIUM SUPPORT

We're here to help answer any question. Contact us anytime!

SALES & PROMOTIONS

Join our newsletter to get the latest information

Close