Loyola Opens Frank Lloyd Wright Bach House for Open House Weekend

Open House Chicago, held Oct. 18-19, allowed the community a rare look inside the 1915 Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Emil Bach house. The small geometric structure was a popular spot, with a line to get in the home extending down the block.

The building, one of two historic houses recently acquired by Loyola, according to Collins, took part in the free public architecture festival for the first time this year. The university also recently acquired the neighboring Lang House on North Sheridan Road, 1.2 miles north of Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus, The Phoenix previously reported.

While other Wright houses — which are numerous across Chicagoland, many located in Oak Park, Ill.  — have been part of Open House weekend before, the Bach House is the only one participating this year. Other Wright houses in the area, like the Robie House at University of Chicago and Wright’s Home and Studio are normally open but require paid admission.

“They don’t participate in the festival, so being able to have it be a part of the festival experience we know is a treasure,” Adam Rubin, senior director of the Chicago Architectural Center (CAC), said.

Rubin said some CAC employees live near Loyola’s campus — their close proximity allowing for immersion within the architecturally-rich area.

“Knowing that this is a campus of a lot of really diverse architecture, both on the formal campus and in the neighborhood immediately around it, that’s no secret to anybody in the Architecture Center,” Rubin said.

Rubin said Open House weekend builds community as people explore their own neighborhoods more, but also branch out into other areas of the city.

“I think that idea of plurality and diversity and community building and wonder is what makes Open House a really special kind of a festival,” Rubin said.

About 200 locations are featured every year during the festive weekend. Rubin said his goal was to add 10 new locations this year — they added about 30.

Leading the festival into its 15th year, Rubin expressed excitement about the opportunity to recruit new sites and said he wanted to be as inclusive as possible in doing so.

The Bach house was the only Wright design in the lineup this year. The ability to include such an illustrious home in a local festival is exactly the kind of reason people choose to live in Chicago, according to Rubin.

“It’s to be able to walk past historic pieces of architecture like this and know that it’s a part of your life, and a part of your community fabric,” Rubin said. “With something like Open House, giving you a chance to walk inside, it makes you feel closer to your city and to the other people who live in your city.”

Helping run the Open House was Loyola’s Assistant Vice President of Campus Support, Conferences and Auxiliary Services Dawn Collins, who also gave an introductory speech to arriving guests.

There were QR codes with information in various rooms.

Collins said about 3,000 visitors toured the house over the weekend.

“We want to make sure that not only we do a service to our own Loyola community, but also to everyone else who have really wanted the opportunity to share in the experience,” Collins said.
“So why not share?”

The first floor of Mundelein was also open for Open House this year. Piper Hall has participated in the past, most recently 2024, but wasn’t open this year.

“This year, we wanted to shift the focus to other beautiful spaces within Loyola and both spaces (Mundelein & Emil Bach House), rich in history, were showcased as part of OHC,” Collins said in an email. “We feel this year’s selections were well worth the visit.”

Second-year and Guest Liaisons employee Serena Perriere worked the house Sunday. She said it was her first time in a Wright house.

“It makes you feel almost proud to be part of Loyola and giving this opportunity to everyone,” Perriere said.

Located next door, the Lang House participated in Open House in 2020 and 2021. The American Foursquare style home was built in 1919 and designed by Edgar M. Newman in the American Foursquare style, according to the Chicago Architecture Center website. 

Collins said both the Bach House and Lang House will be open to the public Dec. 13-14, decorated to celebrate Christmas. Crèches from the Loyola University Museum of Art’s James and Emilia Govan Crèche Collection will also be on display. 

“We are going to do our best to try to open it up on a regular basis for, if not on this level, every month,” Collins said. “We at least will try to open it up so that we give guests an opportunity to go inside both homes.”

This opportunity was appreciated by Miguel Abaitua, a graduate student studying business administration who said he waited 30 minutes to see the house, a place he often runs by.

“I wanted to see how they looked in the inside,” Abaitua said. “It was actually cool to see in person.”

Less-local DePaul University fourth-year Kate Ji traveled north for extra credit and personal interest. She said she visited many other locations for Open House Chicago weekend, with the Bach House being her last stop.

“I don’t usually come up here to Loyola because it’s far,” Ji said. “I’m glad sometimes I can come up here, and I’m obviously really happy to see one of his works.”

Third-year public health major Sarah Dasilva, who works for the Department of Conference Services spent her Sunday working at the house, talking with visitors about Wright.

“Going into this, I had no clue who he was or anything,” Dasilva said. “Because people are so knowledgeable, they love it so much, they’ve talked to me about it and now I’m walking away with so much information.” 

The event had a line out the door and queue almost the entire time it was open, according to Collins.

“It’s really nice to see all the people that really take the time out of their day to come and do what they love,” Dasilva said.