Property Record
1319 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Thomas P. Hardy House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 11112 |
| Location (Address): | 1319 MAIN ST |
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| County: | Racine |
| City: | Racine |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
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| Year Built: | 1905 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1975 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Prairie School |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stucco |
| Architect: | FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Hardy, Thomas P., House |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 12/3/1974 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: | |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Southside Historic District |
| National Register Listing Date: | 10/18/1977 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. RESTORED IN 1967. STAINED GLASS RIBBON WINDOWS. WIDE OVERHANGING EAVES. The Hardy House encapsulates Wright’s hallmark design elements with long, flat lines, a low hipped roof, a squat chimney, window ribbons, and canopies that evoke the prairie horizon. The geometric art-glass windows typify Wright's turn-of-the-century work. And as in many of Wright’s residential designs, the Hardy House turns its back to the street, guarding the family’s privacy and offering passers-by a plain, stucco-clad, mostly solid wall. Much of this building can be seen only from the lake. Integration of house and site was always Wright’s primary concern. The steep-sloping lot overlooking Lake Michigan allowed Wright to layer the structure down the hillside, opening it up to the lake. A dramatic two-story glass wall faces the water, providing expansive views from the cathedral-ceilinged living room. From the top floor, containing bedrooms, a balcony overlooks the living room and the lake. A basement level, invisible from the street, opens to the hillside, with four doors leading from the dining room onto a cantilevered terrace. The house thus embodies another of Wright’s favorite ideas: breaking down the box to bring the outdoors inside. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 5/19/2002. "SOUTHSIDE HISTORIC DISTRICT WALKING TOUR GUIDE." Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Racine Landmarks Preservation Commission, South Side Historic District Walking Tour Guide, 1993. Perrin, Richard W. E., Historic Wisconsin Architecture, First Revised Edition (Milwaukee, 1976). Renewing Our Roots: A Guide To Racine, Wisconsin, Central City, Southside, Preservation-Racine, 1977. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |