Inside Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School on Wright Plus 2016

Once a year on the third Saturday in May, proud owners of historic Frank Lloyd Wright houses and other landmark residences invite the public inside their carefully restored homes for Wright Plus, the Great American Housewalk.

On May 21, Wright Plus 2016 traces the arc of the Prairie School's early 20th century architecture with interior tours of nine private homes in Oak Park and River Forest. The walk features four homes designed by Wright and five buildings by the architects who worked in his Oak Park studio.

See an early example of Wright's work, the Thomas Gale House (1892), for the first time on the walk. Understand Wright's radical vision by comparing the Victorian elements of the Gale House with the clean lines of the William Winslow House (1893-94), a mansion returning to the walk after 39 years. The evolution of Wright's Prairie style continues with the Louisa and Harry Goodrich House (1896) and culminates with a forward-looking Prairie design, the Harry S. Adams House (1913).

Wright's strong influence on his employees is also displayed on Wright Plus 2016, which features the personal residence of William E. Drummond, Wright's chief architect. Two Drummond collaborations, the Charles J. Barr House and the River Forest Women's Club, which has been converted into an impressive residence, are inspired examples of innovations on the Prairie style.

Other Wright studio architects represented on the Housewalk are John S. Van Bergen, Charles White and Barry Byrne.

Also on the Wright Plus tour is the place where Wright’s vision for an American architecture was conceived and his studio architects worked: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio. Wright Plus tickets include entry to Wright’s Prairie-style masterpiece, the Frederick C. Robie House in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

Wright Plus 2016, featuring Wright and the Prairie School, takes place all day, Saturday, May 21, in Oak Park and River Forest and on Sunday, May 22 in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood for tours of the Robie House. Byrne's St. Thomas the Apostle Church (1922) is open 1-5 p.m. on May 22,with a lecture by Byrne expert Vincent L. Michael at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $110 each and $95 for members of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Transportation between Oak Park and River Forest is included in the ticket. For more information about the Housewalk and its many related events, visit flwright.org/wrightplus.