After a few years of listings and re-listings, nearly six years of vacancy, and decades of weather damage and disrepair, the south wing, or "bedroom wing," of Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Coonley House in Riverside has sold for $355,000 to a buyer planning on a full, authentic restoration of the 105-year-old Prairie Style home. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 300 Scottswood Road was originally the guest wing of the larger Coonley House—also known as the Coonley Estate—which was divided into four separate residences in the 1950s. The other three wings are currently occupied and cared-for (with immaculate north wing recently listing for $2.1 million), while the bedroom wing needs some serious work to restore it to its former glory. It has a hole in the roof and clogged gutters have been forcing water into the home's interior, causing water damage and minor floor buckling. Additionally, this past winter, an unknown group of revelers broke in through one of the home's original stained glass windows and partied in the basement, leaving some wreckage and vandalism in their wake.
The new owner's plans for a full restoration will begin with the roof and exterior landscaping of the home, which contains ferns and other plantings original to the home and central to Wright's philosophy of organic architecture. The remaining original stained glass of the home (just the bedroom wing, not the entire estate) also contains hints of green, visible at certain times of day, to provide visual connections to the outside flora. Because the Coonley House is a National Historic Landmark, all exterior work must correspond to strict landmark guidelines, including the replacement of several broken Wright-designed tiles on the home's various elevations. Chances are that the renovation will cost just as much—if not more—than the home's sale cost, but for many, including the home's new owners, Wright's work remains priceless.
·300 Scottswood Rd Riverside, IL 60546 [Realtor]
·Frank Lloyd Wright's Famous Coonley House Officially Returns With $2.1M Ask [Curbed Chicago]
·Where Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School of Architecture Was Born [Curbed Chicago]
·All previous Frank Lloyd Wright coverage [Curbed Chicago]
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