Roman Brick Detail

All of Wright's Prairie homes used "Roman" brick - a type of brick that is thinner and longer than standard bricks. The common unifying theme of all Prairie homes is "horizontal", and these bricks emphasize that. Also the clay was sprinkled with powdered iron oxide that was subsequently baked in, giving the bricks a metallic sheen when the sun hits them. The historical term for these is "Iron-Spot Roman Bricks". If you look closely, you will notice that the horizontal mortar lines are light in color and raked back in from the surface of the brick, while the vertical mortar lines are brick-colored and flush with the face of the brick. The visual effect is to hide or downplay the vertical lines and again emphazise the horizontal rows of brick.