A rare example of Frank Lloyd Wright's American System Built houses is celebrating its 90th birthday on the 37th annual Beverly Hills/Morgan Park Home Tour.

The Beverly Area Planning Association's 37th annual Beverly Hills/Morgan Park Home Tour is set to showcase five private residences - including a rare Frank Lloyd Wright American System Built house - and a church that are among the Village in the City's best in variety, design and style May 20.

Designated a Chicago Landmark in 1994, the Wright house was his concept for affordable and beautiful pre-fabricated housing.

American System Built houses were designed as a resource for "city dwellers seeking to follow the American Dream" according to the marketing materials. The idea was to reduce the cost of building a quality house by standardizing construction elements and precutting lumber.

This example, built in 1917 as a model house, was one of just a few completed before limited construction resources during World War I forced building to stop. After the war, America's taste in architecture reverted to more traditional styles and the project was not resumed.

Current and past owners of the house have done extensive work to return the house to Wright's original plan. Outside, the cypress trim has been stripped, restained and repaired, and the stucco has been reapplied to match the original style and color. Inside, birch trim has been replaced and repaired (much of it custom-milled), and the house has been furnished with high-quality reproductions of Wright-designed furniture, light fixtures and accessories, as well as period antiques.

Also on the tour is a Tudor Revival-style house designed by noted Chicago architect John Todd Hetherington and built in 1926. Hetherington, who designed many Chicago buildings including the Driscoll House (headquarters for the Ridge Historical Society) and the Ridge Park Fieldhouse, both in Beverlty/Morgan Park, was the first of three generations of Hetheringtons whose architectural designs helped form the character of the historical Beverly Hills/Morgan Park neighborhood.

Throughout the house leaded glass windows, hardwood floors, handsome trim and ornate plaster moldings call back to a time when craftsmanship was king. The house is beautifully appointed with faux painting in natural colors, and original details such as the outstanding crystal chandelier and matching wall sconces in the dining room, and stone mantle fireplace with the original screen and andirons.

Also on the Home Tour are: