Just beyond Chicago’s city limits, Unity Temple’s $25 million, multi-year, comprehensive and painstaking restoration is now complete, we wish to recognize and celebrate this extraordinary achievement of a world-class building.
Built between 1905 and 1908, Unity Temple represents a defining moment in Frank Lloyd Wright’s early career. Designed in Wright’s Oak Park Studio for his own Unitarian congregation, it is one of the first public buildings in America to feature exposed concrete and is one of Wright’s greatest public buildings of his early period. The harmony of the building’s strikingly geometric architecture and decorative elements exemplifies Wright’s theory of organic design. Unity Temple announced a new era of innovation in modern architecture. (Frank Lloyd Wright Trust)
Preservation Chicago applauds the extraordinary generosity of the Chicago-based, Alphawood Foundation which provided a $10 million grant in 2013 which generated the momentum to begin the extensive renovation project. Other significant funders such as the Tawani Foundation, the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, and Harboe Architects should be recognized for their tireless commitment to excellence on the extraordinary restoration of this world-class masterpiece.