(Oak Park, IL) – The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust will establish a new facility with the lease of space in the ground-floor lobby of The Rookery—a National Historic Landmark located at 209 South LaSalle Street, in downtown Chicago. Slated to open in early December 2010, the Preservation Trust’s newest location will feature a public information center, as well as administrative offices for the not-for-profit’s development, membership, events, communications, and guest relations divisions. In early 2011, the Trust will offer free tours of The Rookery and open a “ShopWright” gift store.

The Rookery is an icon of architecture set in the heart of the Midwest’s central financial district. The structure is both quintessentially Chicago, and contains one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most dramatic and significant interior compositions. In 1905 Wright remodeled The Rookery—creating a stunning balance between Burnham and Root’s ironwork and ornamentation with his own Prairie style concepts.

“Expanding into this new facility is the fulfillment of a long-standing dream of our organization to increase regional visibility and leverage Chicago audience participation,” said Preservation Trust Board Chair, Jim Schiefelbein. “We’ve explored many possibilities for a strategic downtown presence over the past several years and when an opportunity at The Rookery opened up late this past spring, our Board voted unanimously to move forward. It’s a perfect fit for us.”

The Preservation Trust currently operates two historic house museums in the Chicago area—Wright’s Oak Park Home and Studio, and the Robie House on the campus of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. The Rookery’s central location between these two sites will enable the Trust to better unify its organization and enhance operational effectiveness and efficiency, while alleviating severe staff overcrowding in Oak Park. In addition, the expansion will set the stage for improving the Trust’s guest relations, tours and amenities at both its Oak Park and Hyde Park facilities. 

The Rookery location itself also has an added benefit, as it will give the Trust the opportunity to present a third Wright site in Chicagoland, emphasizing an entirely different aspect of Wright’s legacy: his work on behalf of a business client.

Sponsors of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust downtown location include Wege Foundation, Steelcase Inc., Sidley Foundation, and the Board of Directors of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. The Rookery ownership has graciously provided a unique opportunity for the Trust to occupy a space adjacent to Frank Lloyd Wright’s lobby in a Chicago landmark building.  

About The Rookery

The Rookery, designed by Daniel Burnham and John Root, was completed in 1888 and is...