Our main and really only reason for heading south from Sedona to Phoenix (actually, Scottsdale) was to visit Taliesin West (pronounced tal ee 'eh sen). This may be the start of planning a road trip with a Frank Lloyd Wright theme. "Falling Waters" here we come.
Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home and school in the desert from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Today it is the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and houses the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
Our entrance ticket. Better looking than a movie stub.
This is the entrance to the drive up to the compound. Suddenly the congestion, smog and general helter-skelter of Phoenix and Scottsdale peel away.
The houses in the area blend into the landscape - from a distance they appear as 21st Century pueblos. ($$$$)
The entrance to the parking lot. Wright bought 640 acres for between $2 - $3.50 an acre in the '30s when the nearest anything was a ranch 20 miles away. No utilities, nothing. He and his students built everything they needed.
Pam is excitedly pointing to the "tours this way" sign.
The gift shop where we checked in for the tour
One of the many sculptures around the compound
Fountain at the entrance to the gift shop. The blue color of the fountain was chosen by Wright's wife. She wanted to match the color of the sky. Otherwise, earth tones prevail. The water comes from a high pressure acquifer 540 feet down. It is the only water available and some attribute Wright's 91 years of longevity, as well as long lives of some of his students, to this water.
Beginning of the tour. Last year over 100,000 visitors made the pilgrimmage.
Our 25 year old docent. He lived on the compound until he was six years old, when his father was an architect student. He talked fast and talked well, a fount of knowledge.
One of the many Asian artifacts that Wright collected. There are about six of this style around the outside. Wright picked them up cheap - they had all been broken to pieces during shipping. Wright had the students piece them back together and they were so well done that we couldn't find any seams.
Photo of Frank Lloyd Wright at his drafting table, at 91.
This boulder has a lot of petroglyphs on it - it was found on the property. It is safer here than out there.
Another fountain
Another of the pieced together Asian artifacts. Wright spent 6 years in Japan designing commercial buildings and thereafter his work was significantly influenced by Japanese themes.
This grass was installed years later. The children of students needed a suitable surface to play on.
Very harmonious. Wright liked to use triangles.
The arid landscape seen from the pool. Not a kid's playground, if only because of the unpleasant critters lurking about.
The temperature was low '80s and the refreshing breezes were a function of the compounds hill top location.
Too colorful to pass up.
Wright didn't like to hang pictures on the walls but this mosaic, which hangs in the living room, was a gift from Claire Booth Luce - she actually made it. Husband Henry published "Life" and "Time " magazine when those magazines really meant something. Wright was energetic about cultivating those who might provide commissions for him and his students. Invitations were continually going to celebrities, movers and shakers and the like, inviting attendance at one of the regular Saturday get togethers at the compound.
A panoramic shot of the living room. This is where Wright had those dinner parties every Saturday night. He and his students always dressed formally on these occasions as they mingled with the rich and famous.
Wright gave each student a sheet of plywood and instructed them to make the sheets into chairs that wasted none of the wood. They came up with the "oragami" chair. Wright never patented any of his concepts or designs, keeping the rights only to designs of specific buildings which he did for clients in order to protect the clients' interests.
By his own, often expressed opinion, "The greatest architect in the world".
Guest bedroom
Wright used to get his inspirations quite often at 3am. Because of this, his wife frequently slept in the guest room with all the folding doors open in order to view the yard
Another fountain. This one has a large boulder in it with petroglyphs.
This dragon actually shoots flames - must be quite a sight at night. Out of sight behind the wall are two propane tanks personally seen by Norm.
No mention of flames from this guy.
Not visible through the glass is the dining facility. Meals are prepared by students, taking turns. Further down is the design studio where students work - we could look in but not take photos.
Termed a kiva by the docent, this room was used as a movie theater not a sweat lodge. Wright disliked direct lighting and developed cove lighting for ceilings and decorative wall sconces for diffused wall lighting. This room has photographs taken contemporaneously with the first structures going up at Taliesen West.
Photos and drawings of some of the living quarters which students designed and then built for their own use.
Still looking for Waldo.
Our last stop on the tour to visit the music room. Wright's wife was a singer & dancer and they held performances in this room. Wright loved pianos and had a number Steinways at the compound. The acoustics are so good that our docent could stand facing the wall in the front of the room and speak in not more than a whisper only to be clearly heard by us in the back of the room.
This cactus is so large and heavy that they were afraid it might topple into one of the buildings and cause damage.
A constant, refreshing breeze continues.
Th-th-that's all, folks. Two hours later, end of the tour.
Drove 317 miles today to Henderson, Nevada where we'll spend the next 2 nights.
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