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Unity Temple

This is an archived listing.

Address

875 Lake St.

Neighborhood

Oak Park

Architect

Frank Lloyd Wright, 1908

Restoration

Harboe Architects, 2017

Website

utrf.org

Description

Frank Lloyd Wright designed Unity Temple from 1906-08 for the Unitarian Universalist congregation that still uses the building today. It was Wright’s first major public building commission and an antecedent of Modernism. Wright pioneered new construction techniques and modern materials in the design of Unity Temple, one of the first buildings in the United States to feature exposed concrete. In 2013, the Alphawood Foundation provided Unity Temple Restoration Foundation with a seed grant of $10 million to embark on a comprehensive restoration of the building, with the $25 million project hitting full stride in 2015. In June of 2017, Unity Temple was reopened and continues to attract visitors from around the world. A National Historic Landmark since 1970, Unity Temple was named as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in summer 2019, one of eight major works by Wright given this unique distinction.'

View this Building on Architecture.org

Archived In

2019 , 2020