2026 Peony Party
Fans of Paul Schweikher's modernist home gathered in Schaumburg on May 30 at the house museum's 3rd annual Peony Party. A fundraiser to celebrate blooming of the peonies and irises, the flowers were in full regalia. Architects, gardeners, neighbors, friends—all lovers of this iconic 1937 wood glass and brick house enjoyed a perfect early summer day.
Schweikher designed his home on a boat ride back from Japan, where he stayed at Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial hotel. He loved the simplicity and craftsmanship of Japanese wood shrines. But he equally admired the sheltering overhangs and blending flow of exterior and interior spaces associated with Wright. Expanses of glass everywhere frame his home's garden views, including—a raked Japanese dry garden, an orchard allee designed by Franz Lipp and several brilliantly colored peony beds accented by Iris.
In 1953, Schweikher—who mentored architects Bertrand Goldberg, Ed Dart and Ralph Rapson, moved to become head of the architecture department at Yale—first renting and ultimately selling the house in 1956 to artist Martyl and her husband physicist Alex Langsdorf.
This year the Peony Party fell on Alex Langsdorf's 114th birthday. Alex was a distinguished American physicist who worked under Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago. Along with other prominent physicists, he signed a petition drafted by scientist Leo Szilard to President Truman against using the Atomic bomb. He became an outspoken critic against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. His wife Martyl designed the Doomsday Clock, often quoted today, for the Jume 1947 cover of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which Alex helped found.
The house has a fine collection of Martyl's paintings that attendees enjoyed. Some were inspired by the couple's world travels—including the sea of Japan and the pyramids of Egypt, others by science. Her work is collected by museums worldwide. My husband Wayne and I are lucky to have her painting of Japanese islands over our fireplace—a treasured gift from Martyl.
Regular guided tours are offered several days a week as well as weekend salon concerts during the winter months featuring string musicians. Other exciting events are planned, including the popular Trifecta house tour on September 26 in partnership with Bruce Goff's Ford House in Aurora and Mies' Edith Farnsworth House. Details of all events, including a lecture by Will Quam the creator of Brick of Chicago, can be found at Schweikherhouse.org.