The Dana Thomas House built by Frank Lloyd Wright, decorated for the Holidays

Nothing brings in the feeling of the holidays like touring the Dana-Thomas House all decorated for Christmas. This house was built for socialite Susan Lawrence Dana in 1902 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  Famous for his Prairie the home is an amazing display of Wright’s design and is filled with furniture he created for the house.  The story of Susan Lawrence Dana could be a novel and as many already know Frank Lloyd Wrights life and the women he loved have been the topics of many novels.  Author Melinda McDonald, a Springfield native also wrote a book, Water and Fire (http://www.amazon.com/Water-And-Fire-Melinda-McDonald/dp/1434843270) that takes place with the house as a back ground in the Springfield race riot.  Her book is worth picking up if you having never read it before.

The Dana Thomas website http://www.dana-thomas.org shares, “The home, the 72nd building designed by Wright, contains the largest collection of site-specific, original Wright art glass and furniture. Wright’s first “blank check” commission, the home has 35 rooms in the 12,000 square feet of living space which includes 3 main levels and 16 varying levels in all.”

Stand where the sun filters in through the stained glass windows, look on the clean lines of the wood and house and it is easy to see why Wright is still lauded today. The website share tour information, “The Dana-Thomas House is open for tours 9 AM – 4 PM, Wednesday through Sunday each week, closed every Monday and Tuesday. Tours are given approximately every twenty minutes and last about an hour. We suggest that you allow 1.5 hours time for your total site visit. When traveling from long distances we also suggest arriving prior to 3 PM to be certain that tours are not filled for the day. The suggested donation is Adults/$10, Children/$5 and Families/$15. For any additional inquiries regarding tours, please call the site at (217)782-6776.