845 Lake St.: Unity Temple

When I first moved to Oak Park I looked forward to seeing Wright's masterpiece, Unity Temple. At first I was sorely disappointed. I felt it too closely resembled the post office next door. It wasn't until I wandered inside (you could do that 40 years ago!) that I truly understood why this magnificient space is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I've since grown to appreciate the exterior but my heart still belongs to the interior. I encourage you to view the building to see for yourself. Buy tickets here.

Some history from the Unity Temple Website.

In 1905, the original building was struck by lightning and destroyed. It was resolved immediately that the group would rebuild, and the architect was chosen from within the congregation. His name: Frank Lloyd Wright, nephew of the great Universalist preacher and social reformer Jenkin Lloyd Jones. His design embodied the spiritual vision of the Unitarian Transcendentalists. Among these bold and prophetic voices in religion and society were Emerson, Margaret Fuller, William Ellery Channing and Theodore Parker.

There is no steeple pointing up to a "God-Out-There" in the distant heavens. Instead, you find a remarkable sacred space, a temple that stands foursquare, where no one is more than forty-five feet from the pulpit, where the congregation can see each other, and where all are invited to look into other human faces and find divinity there.

View the video to appreciate the renovation of this historic structure and Wright's design concepts.