Ricker House

The richness of the Prairie school, and specifically of Griffin's work, is well illustrated by the design of this house. Though it shares many features found in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, it is highly dissimilar to his designs in its plan and massing. The main two-story gable-roofed section is stretched out to the sides by a veranda to the right and a partially enclosed breezeway and garage to the left (the garage itself was added somewhat later and was designed by Barry Byrne). One enters the house by the front terrace and thence into a central hall. The living space on the first floor is remarkably open, yet demarcated enough to suggest different uses. The large glass areas and the glass doors leading to the veranda effectively let nature and light enter through the patterned glass screens. On the second floor each corner of the building is opened up with a balcony that could be used as a sleeping porch. The suburban nature of the house, as fact and symbol, and its reliance on the automobile is emphatically stated by the importance placed on the garage and auto court as one of the principal entrances to the house.