Price is Wright: Illinois home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is for sale

One of the first homes architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed in the Prairie style, one familiar to fans of the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, is up for sale.

It is the first time Warren Hickox home, built in 1900, has been on the market since 1976. The 3,300-square-foot home in Kankakee sits next to another Wright design and has a listed price of $779,000.

Interest in the home has been brisk, said broker Victoria Krause Schutte of @properties Christie’s International Realty. She has three other Wright-designed listings, all in Michigan.

It is possible the new buyer, Schutte said, could be a preservationist or potentially a foundation, "but it could be a private owner as well."

The next-door home, commissioned by Hickox's sister, operates as a museum, Schutte said.

The Hickox home has a "spaciousness" to it, though the Dana-Thomas House, "a more fully formed Prairie style," is almost four times larger.

The high ceilings and openness are familiar elements, and the roof line evokes a Japanese geometry and architecture that Wright was fond of, Schutte said. The leaded-glass windows were "an obvious (Wright) design."

"When you walk inside, just the way the geometry plays off the light is very Frank Lloyd Wright-esque," she said.

Growing up in a Frank Lloyd Home

Jennifer St. Clair was 15 when she moved into the Hickox home with her family.

It was exciting, she said, because so many people were intrigued by the home, although sometimes it did dent her privacy.

"I thought it was pretty special to live there," said St. Clair, who resides in Minneapolis and has family in Springfield.

A go-to place? The cozy "social room," said St. Clair, where she could relax and gaze out the window.

"(Frank Lloyd Wright) was purposeful in his intent to encourage us to pause and enjoy the moment and the beauty," she said.

St. Clair said she is excited for the new owners the way she was as excited as that 15-year-old.

"Our hope is that whoever purchases the home will bring it back to its full glory," she said.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.