TheE-Z Polish Factory (built 1905), the only factory building designed byFrank Lloyd Wright, is located at 3005 West Carroll Avenue inChicago,Illinois, United States. The E-Z Polish Company made polish for shoes and stoves. The building now serves as practice space for local bands and artists.
The factory was at one point forgotten as a Wright design. In 1939, architectural historianGrant Carpenter Manson was writing his Harvard doctoral dissertation and followed a clue that the factory was located somewhere along the Galena division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. Manson rode back and forth on the line until he located the factory.[1]
The structure was an exercise in concrete construction technique. It is one of the least decorative designs of Wright's career.[2]
Wright's original design for the factory included an elaborate scheme for an open court between side wings at the rear. The plans for the court were found atTaliesin but were never executed.[1]
^Heinz, Thomas A. (2005).Frank Lloyd Wright Field Guide : Includes All United States and International Sites. Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867–1959. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press.ISBN0810122448.OCLC61130881.
Brewer, Gregory M., "Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin & Martin Building: A Forgotten Landmark Rediscovered,"OA+D, the Journal of Organic Architecture and Design 12, no. 2 (Summer 2024).
