We received information that led us to investigate the works of globally renown American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He had toured Europe with copies of his Wasmuth Portfolio in 1910, later receiving a Gold Medal from the Royal Institution for British Architects in 1941.

We believe that Gilbert D Wiles, as a young man with an interest in architecture (following in his fathers footsteps) may well have been influenced by the drawings in the Wasmuth Portfolio. The portfolio contains some of the earliest drawings from Frank Lloyd Wrights 'Prairie School' concepts. 

The Prairie School era came to prominence in the 1930s, the same decade that Grove Park School was being designed and built. Buildings of this type were typically solidly constructed, featuring hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves. Windows appear in horizontal bands, and there is extensive use of decorative features from the Arts and Crafts period. One of the best examples of a Frank Lloyd Wright design from this era is the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, New York. It is considered to be the most important project from the Prairie School era.

This building also features a cloistered walkway between the front and rear buildings.

Another drawing in the Wasmuth Portfolio showed Frank Lloyd Wrights design for Lexington Terraces in Chicago. Here the building is arranged in a square configuration around a centre courtyard, bearing close resemblance to Grove Park School.