"... then I turned to the hill in the Valley as my Grandfather before me
had turned to America - as a hope and haven ..."
~ Frank Lloyd Wright, 1932
Taliesin was the home of Frank Lloyd Wright and his architecture school, which still operates there today during the summer. (Winters are taken at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona). We made a detour on our way out west to visit this beacon of American ingenuity and to indulge our amateur interest in architecture.
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| Hillside at Taliesin |
The Visitor's Center – which Wright designed – is a veritable shrine to the big man, who evidently had an ego to match his finest accomplishments. We had lunch there while we waited for our tour to commence (you can only view the various buildings on the site, a working farm, with a guided tour) and it was simply magnificent. Overlooking the scenic Wisconsin River, the Terrace Cafe is furnished in the mode of FL Wright (picture low tables and chairs on wheels) and has very clean horizontal lines, a low ceiling and defers greatly to the splendid view across the river.
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| Hillside, Architects' Studio |
We did the tour of the architecture school only, called “Hillside.” Hillside was commissioned in 1901 by Wright's Aunties when he was only 19 (and it was his first commission). It was to be a boarding school that was originally operated by Wright's Aunts. Apparently it was a type of Montessori school. After his Aunts retired, Wright bought the building and eventually used it as the center for his own architecture school. He and his students designed a massive, open drafting room which features a saw-toothed, mostly glass roof and very few wall windows to minimize distraction from work. The school accepts about 7 students a year today and is operated by the Frank Lloyd Wright Fellowship.
For more: http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/
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| Romeo and Juliet, windmill designed by FLW |
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