File:Arthur Heurtley House (7403391716).jpg

Arthur Heurtley House in Oak Park, a national landmark (1902). Scholars consider it to be the first full Prairie Style house--the first to be a completely new architectural style. It was the first house with an "inverted" floor plan, with bedrooms on the first floor and living rooms on the second floor. It also featured the "open plan" arrangement on the second floor, where full walls did not divide the rooms, instead using wooden screens and colonnades. The Prairie school partially derives its name from this concept; Wright remarked that "a little height on the Prairie" would allow an individual to see much farther. Another innovation was alternating bands of brick, which gave the building an additional horizontal texture that alleviated the harshness of exterior brick walls. Arthur Heurtley was the Secretary of the Northern Trust Company. He learned of Wright through his social connections, and the two shared a love for fine music.

This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 00000258.