UNESCO chose eight Frank Lloyd Wright sites for World Heritage status, and I visited them all this year by EV. An exhaustive tour of Wright’s designs could visit 100 sites, but the Heritage 8 are sufficient for me. My cross country trip went from Hollywood, to Arizona, Wisconsin, Chicago, Pennsylvania and finally to New York, but it’s easier to understand his life’s work below chronologically. [Links go to my non-commercial, ad-free Wordpress blog, which has a photo of each site].
Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio in Oak Park Illinois showcases his various styles, influences and experiments, including his first design: his own home. While this is the one site I visited that is not on the World Heritage list, just walking the neighborhood is worth the trip.
Unity Temple in Oak Park in 1905 is a church built for Wright’s mother.
Robie House at University of Chicago in 1910 is my favorite, built for a wealthy client who only lived in it briefly.
Taliesin in Spring Green Wisconsin in 1911, later rebuilt after a dramatic tragedy, used funds from Robie to build a family country home with a school for his acolytes.
Hollyhock House in Hollywood California in 1921, was built for a theatrical oil heiress who fired him for going over budget.
Fallingwater in Mill Run Pennsylvania in 1937, is his most iconic private residence, built for a wealthy department store owner whose son gave it to the park service.
(Continue below photo).
Taliesin West in Scottsdale Arizona in 1937, used funds from Fallingwater to build a winter home with another school for his acolytes.
Jacobs House in Madison Wisconsin in 1937, was built to demonstrate that Wright could design something affordable on a budget.
The Guggenheim in New York City in 1959, was built to display art and to be art, for the future.
I hope you enjoyed this brief tour of 50+ years of the most widely recognized designs from America’s greatest architect.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio in Oak Park Illinois showcases his various styles, influences and experiments, including his first design: his own home. While this is the one site I visited that is not on the World Heritage list, just walking the neighborhood is worth the trip.
Unity Temple in Oak Park in 1905 is a church built for Wright’s mother.
Robie House at University of Chicago in 1910 is my favorite, built for a wealthy client who only lived in it briefly.
Taliesin in Spring Green Wisconsin in 1911, later rebuilt after a dramatic tragedy, used funds from Robie to build a family country home with a school for his acolytes.
Hollyhock House in Hollywood California in 1921, was built for a theatrical oil heiress who fired him for going over budget.
Fallingwater in Mill Run Pennsylvania in 1937, is his most iconic private residence, built for a wealthy department store owner whose son gave it to the park service.
(Continue below photo).
Taliesin West in Scottsdale Arizona in 1937, used funds from Fallingwater to build a winter home with another school for his acolytes.
Jacobs House in Madison Wisconsin in 1937, was built to demonstrate that Wright could design something affordable on a budget.
The Guggenheim in New York City in 1959, was built to display art and to be art, for the future.
I hope you enjoyed this brief tour of 50+ years of the most widely recognized designs from America’s greatest architect.
