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Burroughs, Hemingway, Wright

What do Frank Lloyd Wright, Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Rice Burroughs have in common?

They all lived in Oak Park, Il in the early 1900s. Burroughs from 1914 – 1919. Wright from 1889 – 1909. And Hemmingway from his birth (1899) – 1919.

I was trying to imagine the kind of place that could hold these three men at three very different times in their lives almost contemporaniously. What would the child, Ernie, think of his odd neighbor up the street, Mr Wright. Did he read the stories that Mr Burroughs was beginning to publish as his Trazan series?

I was trying to think of all that as we moved around the small town on yesterday in one of the hotter heatwaves to hit Illinois in a while. We visited the Wright house and studio and saw a number of his houses. We even took in the Gay Pride Day service at the Unity Temple (designed by Wright and considered one of his great works). The original prayer for the day which called us to be thankful for the warming days of summer was wisely dropped and another prayer about inclusiveness was added.

Later that night we had drinks back in Chicago in the John Hancock Building’s Signature Lounge (96th floor) with Adam Galinsky, the son of our neighbors.

Next we were up at 4 am (CDT) to go catch our flight back to the much cooler North Carolina.

1 Comment

  1. jr

    Having attend Oak Park River Forest High School for my Freshman year I recall the story that Hemmingway was actually expelled for being a member of something I think was called the Black Shirt Society or something close to that. Anyway there were several members all wearing black shirts. What other form of socially unacceptable activities is unclear.

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