Frank Lloyd Wright

Finance Dave

Finance Dave

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As a hobbyist woodworker, I love to see his homes. We've visited/toured two of them, one in Pennsylvania (I think it was called Fallingwater?) and the other in Springfield IL.

Have you been through any? Where? Was it worth a look?

I think we'll try to visit more but not make special trips...only if they will be near a place we are going.
 
I've been to the one in WI and one in AZ. Definately worth it if you are in the area. Probably not a special trip just to see them. My two cents.
 
Florida Southern College in Lakeland was designed in large part by Wright. They offer architectural tours ... or did before covid. The college is near I-4, between Orlando and Tampa.

The tour was well done but I was not wowed by the architecture. I'm not usually interested in that type of stuff, and we took the tour as a way to fill a few hours between other events. Architecture fans may find it more interesting than we did.
 
We live near the Fallingwater home, built for the Kaufmann family, a high end department store that is no longer in existence. As an engineer, I marveled at the design and beauty of it, sitting over the flowing stream. As a rental property owner, it is a nightmare, as it requires constant upkeep, as the water attacks the concrete and steel.

There is another FLW property in nearby Dunbar, PA, called Kentuck Knob, but I have never visited it.
 
We toured Fallingwater a couple of years ago. You are correct in that it is beautiful but the upkeep is a huge problem. The stucco is constantly needing repair and the main living area smells moldy because it has a stream going through it. The flooring in the inside of the house is uneven flagstone that is slippery. You could break your neck living there.
There are a lot of Wright houses in Oak Park, IL. They have house walks but the tours have probably been postponed due to COVID.
 
I've been to Falling Water (and it's nearby lesser known friend, Kentuck Knob) in Southwest PA. I've also been to the Robie House in Chicago and visited his home/studio in Oak Park, IL. This summer, Covid permitting, I hope to get up to Buffalo, NY to visit The Martin House.

I enjoy his work a great deal.
 
I have visited 3 FLW homes in SW PA (Falling Water (twice), Kentuck Knob, and the Duncan House), plus one of his earlier works, the Meyer May House located in Grand Rapids, MI (restored and owned by Steelcase Corp.)

As I toured these homes, it was interesting to see the architecture and design aspects and learn about FLW, who was quite a character.

Thanks for the 'heads up' on Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Lewis Clark. As I'm not far away, I'll check it out some day.

omni
 
I've been to Fallingwater, Kentuck Knob and the Martin House.

Honestly, I liked Kentuck Knob the best in that I could actually see owning it and enjoying it. The setting was superb.
 
Gumby said:
Wikipedia has a sortable list of all Frank Lloyd Wright works, so you can see which ones are near you or places you might travel to. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Frank_Lloyd_Wright_works

I only know this because I wanted to look up the house in "A Summer Place", which we watched last week.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reminder. I am about to walk to w*rk; I think I will choose the route that takes me past one of these FLW homes. :)
 
Ken Burns did an interesting bio of Wright as part of his “American Lives” series. PBS Passport has it.
 
When I was a kid, we studied U.S. government in 5th grade and a standard field trip was a tour of the Marin County Civic Center, which was designed by Wright. It was one of his last designs and was constructed after his death. I remember learning about how the arches echo the shapes of the surrounding hills, and the roof is the color of the sky in summer. There are a lot of open atria and skylights so it's light and airy inside -- very different from other civic center type buildings I've seen.

It's worth a visit if you're in the area, and since it's a public building, it's pretty accessible in non-Covid times.
 
An interesting feature of the FLW Community Christian Church in KC is it’s light spire. Technology didn’t support the idea in the forties when it was designed but it was finally implemented in the mid 90’s. It shines something like 3 miles high. Always a highlight of the holiday lighting ceremony on the nearby CC Plaza.
 
Come spend the night in FLW's only skyscraper! We did a few years ago. It was kind of cool. Not much else in Bartlesville, Oklahoma - so you might want to do it on your way somewhere else.

https://www.pricetower.org/
 
"Falling Water" is an ironic name, since a lot of Wright's buildings were known for leaky roofs. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/roofing/21015353/wright-house-wrong-roof

The Johnson family of Johnson Wax fame hired Wright to build the company's corporate headquarters and the Johnson mansion, known as Wingspread, at Racine, Wis. I believe both are open for tours. Of course there's also Wright's home/studio at Spring Green, Wis., Taliesin.

The Spring Green estate was the site of a notorious mass ax murder in 1914 -- among the seven victims was Wright's mistress.

At Mirror Lake State Park near Wisconsin Dells, you can rent a cabin designed by Wright. It's called the Seth Peterson cottage. The waiting list is lengthy.
 
Mr._Graybeard said:
"Falling Water" is an ironic name, since a lot of Wright's buildings were known for leaky roofs. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/roofing/21015353/wright-house-wrong-roof

The Johnson family of Johnson Wax fame hired Wright to build the company's corporate headquarters and the Johnson mansion, known as Wingspread, at Racine, Wis. I believe both are open for tours. Of course there's also Wright's home/studio at Spring Green, Wis., Taliesin.

The Spring Green estate was the site of a notorious mass ax murder in 1914 -- among the seven victims was Wright's mistress.

At Mirror Lake State Park near Wisconsin Dells, you can rent a cabin designed by Wright. It's called the Seth Peterson cottage. The waiting list is lengthy.
Click to expand...

I worked at the Johnson headquarters when they were still using the 3 legged chairs, designed by Wright to keep people in a 'working' position. You become unsteady and might fall if your legs are crossed.

I am not sure what they explain during the tour. I had an uncle who taught architecture and was a big fan of FLW. He provided an amazing private tour of the building telling me the finer points. As with any architecture tour, I would suggest you read up on FLW goals for his design. It will make the tour more meaningful.
 
savory said:
I worked at the Johnson headquarters when they were still using the 3 legged chairs, designed by Wright to keep people in a 'working' position. You become unsteady and might fall if your legs are crossed.

I am not sure what they explain during the tour. I had an uncle who taught architecture and was a big fan of FLW. He provided an amazing private tour of the building telling me the finer points. As with any architecture tour, I would suggest you read up on FLW goals for his design. It will make the tour more meaningful.
Click to expand...

That must have been Wright's way of keeping the workforce alert. The Old House article I linked to said Hib Johnson called Wright to complain that water leaking through the roof was dripping on him as he sat. Wright told him to move his chair.
 
Finance Dave said:
As a hobbyist woodworker, I love to see his homes. We've visited/toured two of them, one in Pennsylvania (I think it was called Fallingwater?) and the other in Springfield IL.

Have you been through any? Where? Was it worth a look?
Click to expand...

Wright travelled in Japan and was influenced by Japanese
aesthetics, but only built one building there: the second version
(1923-1967) of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. It was demolished
in 1967 but the front part was preserved and moved to "Meiji World",
a kind of theme park near Gifu, Japan. Meiji World was created to
preserve western style buildings that were built post-1868 in
Japan but slated to demolished in the 1960's. Meiji World is
definitely worth seeing and Wright's Imperial Hotel is the
the most famous and architecturally significant building there.

Here is a lecture on the subject of Wright and Japan

https://thinktechhawaii.com/frank-lloyd-wrights-japanese-debt-community-matters/
 
We went to Taliesin in Scottsdale when it was still an architecture school - maybe 18 years ago. I can't remember the details, but the Architecture professor gave us the tour.

FLW was inspired by nature. His houses never occupied the highest point on the property - the house must appear subservient to the land. And his students lived in tents in the desert for a period of time to become one with nature.

He wanted rooms to look grand when entering the room. Taliesin's interior doors are not very tall. Wright planned it that way to make the room height appear to be higher than it actually was.

And I remember a breeze in the breezeway - even on a calm day. He was able to design the building such that a breeze went through even if there was no wind.

Amazing guy. I'd like to visit some of his other houses.
 
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