“Preservationists and an Austin neighborhood organization are rallying to help save an architecturally-influential — but seriously deteriorating — Frank Lloyd Wright home on the Far West Side.

“The groups are seeking to rescue the J.J. Walser House, 42 N. Central Ave., a 1903 stucco residence and Chicago landmark that is a template for the architect’s more celebrated Prairie School designs.

“The home has been physically distressed for the last 25 years.

“‘It’s a very valuable asset for the community from the standpoint that there are not many communities that can say they have a Frank Lloyd Wright home,’ said Darnell Shields, executive director of Austin Coming Together. ‘It’s a cultural asset.’

“It takes a little work to really see the Walser house, and not just because of rotting exterior woodwork and crumbling stucco. A wide, four-story apartment building crowds in the home’s southern side, and an unruly mix of bushes and trees obscures its facade.

“But keep looking. The home’s beauty — and design elements that would become hallmarks of Wright’s early work — becomes apparent, from its horizontal lines, deeply overhanging eaves and the band of windows on the second floor.

“‘It’s part of this story of Wright in this area, and that’s why it’s so important to continue to save it,’ (Barbara) Gordon (of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy) said. ‘And it’s really important to keep it in Austin and have Austin celebrate it as one of their assets.” (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/20/24)

Preservation Chicago has been working very closely with stakeholders to try to bring about a successful outcome for the Walser House including preservation partners, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, Landmarks Illinois and other community organizations.

We have been monitoring the deteriorating condition of this important house and it has been a candidate for the Chicago 7 for many years. Our extensive experience working in neighborhoods of disinvestment has proven to be a very important component in working through the many challenges to stabilizing and restoring the Walser House by Frank Lloyd Wright. Hard work remains ahead, but we feel optimistic by the progress that is being made.

Read the full story at Chicago Sun-Times

• Coming to the rescue of Walser House, Austin’s Frank Lloyd Wright landmark; Said Barbara Gordon of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy: “It’s part of this story of Wright in this area, and that’s why it’s so important to continue to save it. And it’s really important to keep it in Austin and have Austin celebrate it as one of their assets.” Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/20/24
• Stuck in foreclosure limbo, Frank Lloyd Wright house in Austin needs a rescuer; Dennis Rodkin, Crain’s Chicago Business, 7/1/24
• J.J. Walser Jr. House, Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy Website