Utter the phrase “home and studio” in certain circles in Oak Park, and the assumption is you’re referring to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home & Studio, a National Landmark on Forest Avenue. A recent addition to the local real estate listings, however, offers a glimpse into another home and studio, home to one of Wright’s contemporaries, who also lived and worked in Oak Park. Like Wright, E.E. Roberts added his own style to an existing house. His former home at 1019 Superior offers a well-preserved window into his personal style.
E.E. Roberts
Born Eben Ezra Roberts in Boston in 1866, E.E. Roberts was educated in New England and moved to Chicago in 1888, where he worked as a site superintendent for architect S.S. Beman at the Pullman development on the South Side. In 1893, Roberts moved to Oak Park and established his own architecture practice, eventually maintaining two offices: one on Marion Street at North Boulevard and the other out of his Superior Street home.
Roberts and his wife Rossie purchased the home in 1898. It was built in 1894 in the Victorian Italianate style. In 1911, Roberts added to the house, doubling the floor space and over the years, the home took on a Prairie style that reflected Roberts’ own evolution as an architect.
The couple raised two children, Margaret and Elmer, in the home, and E.E. Roberts lived there until he died in 1943. Roberts is credited with designing over 200 homes in Oak Park. In 1912, he moved his architectural practice to Chicago, where he focused on more commercial designs.
Prairie-style stewards
When Ann Kelly and Rob Zwettler first saw the house in 1998, they knew it was their future home. Zwettler said their move to Oak Park followed a natural sequence of events.
“We lived in Chicago since the mid-’80s and started studying Oak Park when a lot of people do,” Zwettler recalled, “when we were expecting a kid. Of course we knew who Frank Lloyd Wright was, but we didn’t know of E.E. Roberts. We were really intent on finding a Prairie-style house.”
The real estate market was booming at the time of their home search, he said. When their realtor notified them a Prairie-style home had just hit the market, Ann was there within hours. They made an offer that day and started learning about the architect.
“The listing talked about E.E. Roberts, and the house had been on the Wright Plus walk in the 1990s, so the owner had a lot of material spread out on the dining room table for us to see. We started reading up on him, and it turns out the guy was disgustingly accomplished. He was president of the Historical Society, commodore of his yacht club in Michigan. He designed much of downtown Oak Park and built half of the houses in the village,” Zwettler noted, exaggerating a bit.
Kelly and Zwettler made a few changes to the home but took great care to stay true to Roberts’ vision for the house. Shortly after moving in, they tackled the upstairs and created a large master bathroom that stays true to the Prairie aesthetic of the home while incorporating modern amenities. Grey subway tile accents the walls, the soaking tub, and steam shower in an effort to replicate materials that would have been used in the early 1900s. A pedestal sink and recessed oak medicine cabinet also stay true to the era of the home.
Once they recovered from the bathroom project, the couple moved on to a complete kitchen renovation, taking the room down to the studs. Working with designer Jean Radford of Prairie Plus and general contractor Von Dreele/Freerksen, they took design cues from the original built-in cabinetry in the home.
Custom oak Roecker cabinets sport antique glass knobs and are topped with period-appropriate soapstone countertops. The butler’s pantry cabinets feature leaded glass inserts that replicate original windows in the home and are topped with limestone counters.
Much of the first floor is the same as when Roberts remodeled the home, and the original details reflect his personal style. In the dining room, leaded windows, beamed ceilings and a small storage nook in the dining room are quintessential Prairie style.
Zwettler’s favorite item might be the stunning 18-carat, gold-accented, stained-glass doors leading from the dining room to the adjacent family room.
“We have a copy of the 1911 Journal of Architecture which features these doors on the cover,” he said. “We hired a local Oak Park glass artist to reproduce that design in our upstairs bathroom.”
The solarium on the first floor has the original tiled floors and ornate radiator covers. Photos of E.E. Roberts painting in the solarium (he was an active member of the Oak Park Art League), show the room much as it exists today.
In the living room, the glazed, tiled fireplace and built-in cabinetry showcase Prairie influence, as does the unusual newel post on the stair case with a built-in grandfather clock and storage cabinet. On the third floor, Robert’s office still makes a great office space, or it could be used as another bedroom.
Time for a change
As empty-nesters, Kelly and Zwettler are ready to pass this Roberts legacy to another family who will appreciate the home as much as they did. They turned to Anne Ferri and Lynn Scheir of Baird and Warner, who are listing the home for $1,075,000.
Years after she first found them the home, Ferri said Kelly and Zwettler have been wonderful stewards of what they found.
“It is amazing how much has not changed over the year in terms of original details,” she observed. “They really tried to be pure to the style of the home with their renovations.”
Zwettler acknowledged there is much he will miss about the home.
“Even after almost 20 years,” he said, “when I walk through the house, I just feel privileged to live here. It’s not just the house but the location too. You can walk to downtown Oak Park, and our daughter walked to all three schools. There’s also the beauty of the neighborhood. It’s just special. You can see three Frank Lloyd Wright houses from our yard. We felt privileged to live here.”
