By Sandra Scott
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator who designed more than 1000 structures, of which 532 were completed.
He is touted at America’s greatest architect and “The Man Who Built America.” His architectural style was a reaction to the stuffy, ornate, and crowded look of the Victorian era. He felt buildings should be inspired by the land and that there should be fewer rooms and that they should flow from one to another.
1. Fallingwater: One of his most famous buildings is Fallingwater, near Pittsburgh. Built in the mid-1930s it was the summer home of the owners of Kaufmann’s Department Store. The house is built over the waterfalls and only two colors were used: the light ochre similar to the concrete and Cherokee red for the steel.
2. The Darwin D. Martin House: The Martin House is actually a complex of six interconnected buildings designed to look unified. The main house has a pergola that connects to the conservatory, the carriage house with the chauffer’s quarters, and a gardener’s cottage. The Martin House is considered an excellent example of Wright’s Prairie House style with horizontal lines, overhanging eaves, and central hearth.
3. Graycliff: Just south of Buffalo, on Lake Erie in Derby, is the summer home that was built for Martin’s wife. It was nearly torn down to build condominiums but the Graycliff Conservancy was formed to save and restore it. Martin’s wife, Isabelle, took an active part in designing the building with Wright, which was unusual for the time when males dominated society.
4. Blue Sky Mausoleum: Don’t miss this unique Wright creation in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo. He “broke the box” of memorial architecture tradition. The commercial cemetery project is integrated into the landscape and overlooks a peaceful pond.
5. Guggenheim Museum: It is impossible to miss the unique spiral design of Wright’s most famous public building. Wright was not thrilled with Guggenheim’s choice of NYC for his museum: “I can think of several more desirable places in the world to build his great museum, but we will have to try New York.” He thought NYC was overbuilt, overpopulated, and lacked architectural merit.
6. Taliesin East: Located in southwestern Wisconsin was the F. L. Wright’s lifetime home and studio. Wright designed the 1911-building but made several changes over the years and now visitors can tour the final 1937 version. The 800-acre estate was built on his favorite boyhood hill in the Wisconsin River Valley.
7. Taliesin West: The National Historic Landmark is in the desert foothills near Scottsdale. It was Wright’s winter home and since it was built and maintained almost entirely by Wright and his apprentices it is considered one of his most personal creations. It is the site of the School of Architecture at Taliesin.
8. Usonia District: Usonia in the town of Mount Pleasant, NY, has been called by Agricultural Digest, “The Best-Designed Small Town in America. Wright designed the area deciding where each house should be built and personally designed three homes and approved the plans of 44 others.
9. The Robie House: Locate in Chicago, the open floor plan, low roofs, and horizontal lines of the Robie House embody the spirit of the new, totally American architecture independent of European influence. It is currently being restored.
10. And: There are many of Wright’s creations open to visitors and people can stay at the Biltmore Hotel, one of his creations, in Phoenix. He designed buildings for many purposes including the California’s Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael and Florida Southern College in Lakeland.
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