BATAVIA – When people think of Frank Lloyd Wright, they tend to think of homes in Oak Park or Chicago. His Prairie-style homes set him apart as an innovative and prolific architect.

Most people don’t expect to find any of his work in the far west suburbs.

Yet, the Tri-Cities managed to amass several of his treasures. The Gridley House is in Batavia; Geneva has the Hoyt House; and Wright redesigned a farmhouse now known as The Villa on the Fabyan Estate bought by the Kane County Forest Preserve.

Wright’s P.D. Hoyt House was built in 1906 by brothers August and Oscar Wilson. The Wilson brothers built many homes and buildings in the Geneva historic district and studied under Wright. The Hoyt House in Geneva exemplifies the Prairie-style construction. The home features the low-pitched roof, central broad chimney, and overhanging eves popular with the Prairie style.

Wright worked for several prestigious architecture firms in Chicago. After leaving Adler and Sullivan in 1893, he began his own company. As Wright went out on his own to develop his own practice, he grew his business by commissions of large homes throughout the Chicago area.

One of those commissions would come after Hoyt introduced Wright to the Gridley family in Batavia. The Mrs. A.W. Gridley House was built in 1906 near the banks of the Fox River in Batavia. The original site was on 15 acres near a wildflower ravine.

“Frank Lloyd Wright homes were always named for the family that hired him,” said Mary Kane, owner of the Gridley House. “The family that was here and had the property wanted a home built. After they commissioned him and he designed the home, it was named the Gridley Home.”

With such a setting, it was a perfect fit for Wright’s style of bringing the outdoors in. The Prairie-style home was designed to bend into the prairie landscapes.

“His style was to design buildings that blended into the landscape,” Kane said. “You look like you are in nature when you’re in the home. Out of every window, you can see beautiful scenery and the light from nature in through the house.”

Wright used many horizontal design elements in his architecture. The Prairie style typically featured a cantilever roof, such as on the Gridley House.

Wright designed homes with open interior spaces. There were fewer rooms in the Prairie style than in previous styles.

“You have the best of both worlds in a house like this,” Kane said.

“His whole idea was wide hallways and open doorways from room to room. You can stand in the center of the house and see every room. It’s a really unique design.”

The fireplaces in the Prairie style were large, centrally located and focal points of the home. There are three fireplaces in the Gridley House.