Tuesday, April 5, 2016

A Wright Adventure

Before Hubby Tony and I wrapped up our latest Phoenix adventure we fit in one last activity.  Along with Son Tony, we visited Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and school from 1937 until he died in 1959.  Today the compound houses the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.



I've only been to a handful of Wright houses, but this one was much larger and extra impressive.

Our 90 minute tour took us into the living quarters, including the the bedrooms of Wright and his wife, the living room, office and theater, as well as the walkways, terraces,and gardens connecting all the buildings.  In many of the rooms we got a chance to sit on the surprisingly comfortable furniture while our tour guide talked about the history of the property.  The structure were built over a period of twenty years of local rocks and sand (by Wright's apprentices, which he called "boys" no matter what sex they were), and really blended into the natural surroundings.  Rooms were build with lots of windows to let in natural light, and the roof was designed to hang past the walls to keep direct sun rays out.

When the tour was over we got a chance to browse through the gift shop, where I selected a silver Christmas ornament as a memento of our visit.  After the tour Son Tony took us to the airport.  We grabbed our suitcases out of the trunk, gave him one last hug, and walked into the terminal as he drove away to go to work.  It was time for all of us to started going back to reality.

Five years ago today: One Day Without Shoes

6 comments:

  1. Taliesin West is on my "to see" list. We've been to Taliesin in Spring Green, WI on one of our trip north.

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    1. Now I want to go to Wisconsin and see the original house.

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  2. I would've loved that tour sounds interesting! What a great time in Phoenix.

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    1. You should add this to your list of things to see when you finally make it to Phoenix.

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  3. What a gorgeous house and it does really fit into the surroundings well.

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  4. We learned about Frank Lloyd Wright in my art class. I'm beginning to really appreciate architecture these days, so I think I would have really enjoyed that tour.

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