Farnsworth House (Plano, Illinois)
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Farnsworth House
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| Nearest city | Plano, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 41°38′5.96″N 88°32′8.6″W / 41.6349889°N 88.535722°WCoordinates: 41°38′5.96″N 88°32′8.6″W / 41.6349889°N 88.535722°W |
| Built | 1951 |
| Architect | Ludwig Mies van der Rohe |
| Architectural style | International Style, Modernist |
| NRHP Reference # | 04000867 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 7, 2004 |
| Designated NHL | February 17, 2006 |
The Farnsworth House was designed and constructed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe between 1945 and 1951. It is a one-room weekend retreat in a once-rural setting, located 55 miles (89 km) southwest of Chicago's downtown on a 60-acre (24 ha) estate site, adjoining the Fox River, south of the city of Plano, Illinois. The steel and glass house was commissioned by Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a prominent Chicago nephrologist, as a place where she could engage in her hobbies — playing the violin, translating poetry, and enjoying nature. Mies created a 1,500-square-foot (140 m2) house that is widely recognized as an iconic masterpiece of International Style of architecture. The home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006, after joining the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The house is currently owned and operated as an historic house museum by the historic preservation group, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
In September 2008, the house was flooded by rains from the remnants of Hurricane Ike. Water levels reached about 18 inches (46 cm) above the floor and the 5 foot (1.5 m) stilts upon which the house rests. Much of the furniture was saved by elevating it above the flood waters. The house was closed to the public for the remainder of 2008 for repairs and reopened for public visitation in spring 2009.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was retained by Dr. Edith Farnsworth to design a weekend retreat during a dinner party in 1945. The wealthy client was highly intelligent, articulate, and intent on building a very special work of modern architecture. The program was to design the house as if it were for himself. Farnsworth had purchased the riverfront property from the publisher of the Chicago Tribune, Colonel Robert R. McCormick. Mies developed the design in time for it to be included in an exhibit on his work at MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1947.
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