North Hill: 100 West DeSoto Street

The North Hill neighborhood has many diverse architectural styles. The Godwin home is an excellent example of the Prairie style. At the start of the 20th century, another group of Chicago architects was at the forefront in the devlopment of a distinctive midwestern residential mode know as the Prairie Style. The acknowledged leader and spokesman of the movement and the architect who produced the most noteworthy examples was Frank Lloyd Wright. The architect of the style consciously rejected currently popular academic revival styles and sought to create buildings that reflect the rolling midwestern prairie terrain on which they were to be built. As a restult, the Prairie house had a horizontal appearnace with a broad hipped or gabled roof and widely overhanging eaves. Often the roof was penetrated by a large, plain rectanglular chimney. Windows were usually casements arranged in horizontal ribbons. One story porches or porte cocheres, wall and terrances often extended from the main structure of the house and further emphasized its horizontal appearance. Achitects working in this style represent a major achievement, one of international importance, in American architectural development (Source: National Trust For Historic Preservation. "What Style is it? - A Guide to American Architecture." ISBN 0-471-14434-7).