1120 Michigan Ave
Wilmette, IL 60091, USA

Alfred Bersbach House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Bersbach House, located at 1120 Michigan Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for architecture as an excellent local example of the Prairie School style. The period of significance is 1915, the year the house was built. It has been constantly occupied since its construction.

This elegant house is as striking now as it was at the time of its construction in 1915. It is a well-preserved and generously restored house that represents a trend in building that was at the time revolutionary, a quest to articulate in material form a time and original style of American architecture. Because of its architectural significance, the Bersbach House meets National Register Criterion C: "Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction."

Prairie School Architecture
The Prairie School was a short-lived, but distinctive episode in the history of architecture. The Prairie School is most often associated with Frank Lloyd Wright and his Oak Park studio and the numerous Prairie School commissions in the neighborhood. However, the Prairie School was formed by ideals that predate Frank Lloyd Wright's fame and included a wider community of architects. The architectural historian H. Allen Brooks organizes the development of the Prairie School into three phases: a late nineteenth century intellectual beginning, Wright at his peak, and the Prairie School after Wright abandoned it (Brooks, 1972: 7-8).

The first stage of the Prairie School was a time of discussion more than action. A network of architects regularly met and discussed ideas at the Chicago Architectural Club, the Architectural League of America, or in Steinway Hall, where a group of young architects shared office space, a receptionist, and drafting rooms (Brooks, 1972: 7). The "18" was the playful name given to the architectural community centered within Steinway Hall (Brooks 30-1). These discussions were influenced by the work of Louis Sullivan, who Brooks calls "the spiritual leader of the Prairie school (Brooks, 1972: 7)." However, the idea of a new school of American architecture existed outside of Steinway Hall. George Maher, another architect who is recognized to have broken with established architectural designs, is also recognized as an influence on Prairie School architects (Brooks, 1972: 36).

The first designs of the Prairie School in the late 1800s did not yet display the features that are now synonymous with the Prairie School. Many early houses reflect a preference for a picturesque style, consistent with the early work of McKim, Mead and White in the East, and English architects of the early Arts and Crafts period. Both of these sources also promoted the abandonment of classical styles. Louis Sullivan's philosophy was foundational for the Prairie School. Particularly influential was his aim to create a new American School of architecture; his dedication was to infuse this architecture with democratic ideals, and to conceive of a building as an organic thing. Sullivan's ideals later resurface in the writings of Wright and John Van Bergen.

Sullivan advocated that Americans should discard European Schools and criticized Greco-Roman designs in America as fraudulent because their placement in the United States was anachronistic. Sullivan emphasizes this point by explaining: "The Roman Temple can no more exist in fact on Monroe Street, Chicago USA, than can Roman civilization exist there (Sullivan, 1979:22)." Here Sullivan makes architecture synonymous with culture. Structures appropriate for ancient Rome were no longer relevant for Americans at the tum on the twentieth century. "Such an architecture," Sullivan continues, "must of necessity be a simulacrum, a ghost (Sullivan, 1979: 38)." Sullivan believed that the development of an architecture harmonious with "the time spirit of democracy" was appropriate for America (Sullivan, 1979: 15).

Sullivan emphasized the importance of remembering the natural origin of building materials. Sullivan was attentive to the fact that a building is constructed of many parts. He understood that. the materials of a building are but the elements of earth removed from the matrix of nature, reorganized and reshaped by force." (Sullivan, 1979: 32). Although famous for buildings like the Auditorium Theater that were not only lavishly decorated, but also superbly engineered due to the expertise of Denmark Adler, Sullivan still was conscious of the natural components of a building. During this early period of Prairie School architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright was experimenting with a variety of architectural styles, searching for an expression that would match the ideals of Sullivan.

The second period, during which the first time Prairie houses were built, spanned the first decade of the twentieth century. It was a period dominated by Frank Lloyd Wright and his apprentices, though many other independent architects made valuable contributions. It was during this time that these designs gained international attention and were labeled the "Chicago School". Chicago School now popularly refers to commercial skyscraper buildings in Chicago, built during the 1880s-1890s. However, as Brooks demonstrates with an article by the Chicago architect Thomas E. Tallmadge published in 1908, the phrase originally referred to work by the Prairie School (Brooks, 1972: 9-10). During the second period, the basic elements of the Prairie School were established and to some degree, standardized. These elements include wide, overhanging eaves; a horizontal emphasis in the building design; and use of natural materials such as stone, brick, wood, or plaster. Materials were used in a manner that highlighted their natural elements, e.g., the grain of wood trim, rather than the way it was shaped. As Prairie School architects promoted the concept of regionalism, they tended to specify local materials found in the Midwest landscape.

The third period of the Prairie School spanned from 1910 through the 1930s, although with the onset of World War I the style rapidly declined in favor. Ironically, the Prairie School became most popular after 1909 when Frank Lloyd Wright left for Europe. During this period, “.the participants increased in number, productivity was at a peak, and the most brilliant designs were then produced (Brooks, 1972: 9-10)." The masterpieces of stage three were the product of Frank Lloyd Wright's students and apprentices. Some of these students, including John Van Bergen, saw Wright's abandoned projects to fi-tuition. The Prairie School Style surfaced in designs of bungalow houses. Prairie School forms were published in the pages of Craftsman magazine and House Beautiful, which were two immensely popular Midwestern magazines (Brooks, 1972: 3-6). It was during this period that architects like John Van Bergen flourished.