Dana-Thomas House

Nice tour! We have seen a lot of Frank Lloyd Wright homes from the outside, like in Oak Park, Park forest, etc. 1st time in one however. Place was huge, 12,000 sq ft. Some weird rich chick who liked to blow thru money like a drunken sailor was the cheif inhabitant. And FLW was Nazi like in what he would "allow" in the home, like no personal pictures. Huh? If You buy the house, take a hike, FLW.
The tour was very informative, many changes in ceiling height, lots of period furniture, and dim lighting, which was what they had in 1904 when the house was completed. A very cool house, but I could never live there. I'm 6-2 and FLW felt if you were taller than 5-7, his height?, F U and watch out for hitting your head when you venture from one room to another.
1st electrified home either in the area or country, something like that...

Didn't know FLW designed furniture, well he did, and there are lots of it in this house. Former Gov Jim Thomson bought some original lamps to return to this place, way to go Jim. Something like $750k for an ugly FLW lamp, but hey, it's an original FLW that was in this house...

Cool tour, informative, free but donation suggested of $10/head, which is entirely worth it, and I'm a cheap guy at heart and we paid it.

Absolute perfection! This is one of the best Frank Lloyd Wright houses in the world. It is the biggest. it also has 95% of the original furnishings inside including a lamp that the state of Illinois had to pay $700,000 to reclaim. They also paid $1 million for the property. It's a bargain at any price.

FLW fans cannot miss this one! No pictures are allowed inside, but it is stunning! Look at the pictures on their social media and then go see this place. My wife and I have toured several Frank Lloyd Wright homes including Taliesen West. This one takes the cake. By far. Marcel was our guide and he was amazing.

Just go see this place. It's a national treasure!

Stunning home. Wonderful hosts for our gathering. Such a fun space to have an event. It was so fun to explore all over the house and see all the architectural elements and details.

What a great introduction to Frank Lloyd Wright architecture at the Dana Thomas House.

Imagine being able to give a blank check to a cutting edge new architect to build a new home for you and your family. This is what socialite, philanthropist Susan Lawrence Dana planned with architect Frank Lloyd Wright from 1902-1904. The Prairie School style home is infused with classic FLW organic architecture and elements throughout the 12,000 square foot home.

Susan Lawrence Dana was an heiress to a 3 million dollar fortune that she inherited when her father died. She rebuilt her family's Italianate mansion that was located in the state capital's "Aristocracy Hill" neighborhood. When the "renovation" was completed, only the entry parlor with its fireplace (with butterflies under the mantle) was left partially intact. The construction and furnishings were estimated at $60,000.

The tour was great. Started with a short movie that discussed the glass that not only infused light into the home, but serves as works of art incorporated into the construction. Wright designed approximately 450 art glass windows, scones, skylights, door panels and lamps for the home. Many have the iconic chevron pattern which mimics the local sumac plants or a butterfly pattern (which Mrs. Dana had loved since her childhood home). The painted panels in the formal dining room also have the sumac pattern.

So interesting to wander up and down as the tour guide led us to living spaces, bedrooms, the dining room with a table for forty guests and chairs with high and low backs. Even the furniture had the sumac pattern.

Especially loved the library. The bookcases which houses the 2,000 book collection are a work of art. Love how Mrs. Dana published her library hours and loaned out books to the community. She also rewarded children who came to her story hour with the promise of ice cream afterwards. The ice cream was kept cold with a built in freezer.

The party room had hidden radiators as well as the only free standing glass installation designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This piece reflected the love of Japanese design for FLW and Mrs. Dana. The bowling lane and billiards room were fun pastimes that were also installed.

Mrs. Dana lived in the house until 1928. Unfortunately due to her extravagant lifestyle, she had to sell the home and its contents when she ran through her inheritance.

The second owner, Charles Thomas, used the home as a business with the stipulation that the home be sold to the state of Illinois to serve as a museum. The price tag in 1981? One million dollars.

Today, it is nice to be able to tour and learn the history. Make a reservation as the free tours are timed and by appointment only. No photography allowed. Lots of parking available.

I've been to a few Frank Lloyd Wright houses and this one has the most amazing art glass. Our docent was excellent. We enjoyed hearing the history behind the house. Plenty of free parking across the street and the tour is also free. Thankful that the state saved this property!

what a gorgeous home. I usually am a little iffy on Lloyd Wright homes, they just don't feel livable. too stale to be comfortable. the Dana-Thomas house has elements of that but it's the first house I could actually imagine someone living in. my favorite room was the dinning room. the design of it feels so opulent, but subtle. the butterfly shaped chandeliers were to die for. I just wanted to open up my purse and bring them home with me. cherry on top of the cake was our tour guide. she had such a warm and welcoming presence. she also was able to project her voice without yelling so the entire group could hear her. so glad I stopped in Springfield

Five stars are easily deserved for this FREE attraction. It's hard to believe there's no cost to tour this significant Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie style house.

Our docent provided an engaging tour with interesting commentary that didn't sound canned for an hour. Her notes about different elements of the architecture and design of the house demonstrated just how well Wright considered himself an artist who allowed owners to live inside his art.

95+% original Frank Lloyd Wright house only blocks from the Illinois State capital building. The state-landmark house is a living museum of the socialite Mrs. Dana. She paid Wright a lot for the design a little over 100 years ago. The home is filled with original furniture design by Mr. Wright that takes you back to his original concept. Lots of art glass as well. You need to make reservations online because they only have a few guided tours a day - takes about an hour. Our tour guide was great!

Very interesting tour. The guide was very informative. The stained glass was beautiful.

Super cool house. Such creative architecture and the tour is worth it. The staff can be a bit pretentious sometimes but going around Christmas time is an annual tradition.

I've only seen a handful of Frank Lloyd Wright houses, solely along the FLW Trail, but this has been my favorite, by far.

The grounds are quite expansive. The library and bowling alley were probably my favorite rooms in this house.

It's amazing what giving FLW a blank check could do back in the day.

Your visit begins by watching a short video in the welcome center. Our tour guide was excellent. Laura if I remember correctly.

This house is dark inside and is not accessible. Those with mobility issues may be limited to only seeing a portion of the home, that being the main floor. The home is very chopped up and has many staircases. No elevator.

I liked that the tour was primarily about the families that occupied the home, rather than Wright himself. So many of the homeowner's of Wright homes had tragic personal lives. This is also true for the Dana-Thomas home.

The size of our group was huge. My only critique would be that they consider making the size of the tour groups smaller, but I think that's unlikely given the busyness of the summer season; particularly Saturday's and Sunday's.

You can find free parking across the street in front of the house. No admission fee, but there's a suggested donation of $10/per person. Absolutely no indoor photography.

Highly recommend.