3234 W Washington Blvd
Chicago, IL 60624, USA

Patrick J. King House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

Two areas of significance apply to the King-Nash House —architecture and politics/government. The 1901 George Maher design is a significant example of the Prairie School architect's mature urban residential design during the second period, Farson phase (1897-1902-05). This mainly unaltered existing structure can be compared to Maher's highly acclaimed James A. Patten House, Evanston, Illinois, 1901, (demolished), in massing, architectural style, and materials. The thistle was used as the "motif-rhythm" theme i n both houses. In addition to its architectural significance, the King-Nash House is historically important to Chicago political history. Patrick A. Nash, who live d in the house from 1925 until his death in 1943, was the power behind the "Kelly-Nash Machine" which controlled Chicago city government i n the 1930s. The "Kelly-Nash Machine" was the genesis of the Democratic party machine that has existed through the Richard J. Daley era to the present.

George Washington Maher (1864-1926) and his contemporaries sparked a revolution in architectural design at the turn of the twentieth century which produced the distinctly American Prairie School. George Maher contributed to that movement which broke with traditional forms in his philosophical writings and in his original designs that were " . . . a consistent and occasionally highly personal series of historical designs. He followed the basic tenet of the Prairie School — functional design compatible with environment.

According to H. Alle n Brooks, the acknowledged authority on the Prairie School, Maher's distinction is that he sought the idea of massiveness, centralization, and substantiality in residential architecture. These attributes, couched in the Prairie idiom which emphasized horizontal line s and simplified, geometric angles, are visible in the formal, symmetrically proportioned King-Nash House. The substantial quality, reminiscent of Henry Hobson Richardson whom Maher greatly admired, is clearly stated by the rusticated stone while the simple, almost delicate detailing complements the design. Like other Maher houses during the Farson period (The John Farson House, Oak Park, Illinois, 1897), the King-Nash House is linked to Frank Lloyd Wright's William Winslow House, River Forest, Illinois, 1893. Maher was influenced by Wright's emphasis on horizontal spatial unity and spirant. In addition, the King-Nash House can be directly compared to Maher's James A. Patten House (demolished, 1938) which was designed and built simultaneously with the King-Nash House. (Announcements for both houses appeared in the American Contractor in April, 1901.) There are similarities in the rusticated building materials, architectural style, massing, and thematic detail. There is contrast, however, i n scale, as the King-Nash House is sited on a city lot, not on estate acreage. It is that harmony with its sit e that marks the King-Nash House as a successful example of Maher's work during the Farson period.

The choice of an indigenous plant and/or geometric shape provided the unifying theme to Maher's designs. His "motif-rhythm theory," while not original with Maher, is closely associated with this period of his work. (Maher first used the motif-rhythm system in the 1597 John Farson House.) In the King-Nash House, as in the demolished Patten House, Maher used the thistle and several geometric patterns. The exterior detailing in the capitals.