hen the old chrurch of the Oak Park
Unitarian congregation burned to the ground in 1904, the members sought an
architect to design a new church on the same site. Shortly afterwards Dr.
Johonnot, pastor of the church, visited Frank Lloyd Wright to discuss the
possibility of Wright designing a new place of worship. Although the
Wrights had been members of the church for a number of years, it was an
unexpected move. Dr. Johonnot was very conservative in his tastes; he
apparently had in mind a traditional New England meeting house with a spire.
He should have known better, the pastor was persuaded to yield himself up
"in the cause of architecture".After securing the commission for the new church, Wright began to draw up the plans in the summer of 1904. Originally, the building was to be done of brick and stone, but because the budget for the project was severely limited, Wright finally decided to execute the building in cast concrete, a newly-revived means of construction. This decision caused serious delays in construction. Bids were taken on construction in March, 1906, and the building was still incomplete in April, 1907, although it was dedicated a few months later.
Let's take a look.