Oak Park is a community that has history. E.E. Roberts, famed architect, was one of Oak Park’s historical notables.
OakParkApartments.com likes knowing its history. Many of OPA’s properties are vintage, being built during the early 1900’s and some properties are truly historic. OPA feels that when a property is designed by a notable architect it has a historical edge and it is good to know a little something about that architect.
Eben Erza Roberts, an American architect, designed houses in many different popular styles, from Queen Anne to Classical, but may be best known for his work in the early modern Prairie style. Roberts made a point of always adding his own unique decorative features to every home he designed.
Roberts was born in Boston and attended Tilton Seminary, now known as the Tilton School in New Hampshire, where he studied architecture.
He began his career working
for the architect S. S. Beman at Chicago’s Pullman Palace Car Company, where railroad luxury sleeper cars were manufactured, but as a site supervisor not an architect.
After moving to Chicago he eventually established his own practice in – well Oak Park, of course!
In Oak Park alone, Roberts designed over 200 homes. Along with private homes, E.E. Roberts designed and owned the courtyard apartment building Park Grove Manor, a present day OakParkApartments.com owned property, located at 173-181 North Grove Avenue.
The Park Grove Manor was built in 1927 and is certainly rich with Robert’s unique signature architectural details – check out those heads!
E.E. Robert’s Oak Park architecture business eventually grew to become the largest architecture firm in Oak Park, rivaling Oak Park’s most notable of architects, Frank Lloyd Wright – wonder how that sat with FLW?!
To check out some of the amazing E.E. Roberts designs go to: http://www.prairiestyles.com/eeroberts_comm.htm
