The day after Christmas, I took my daughter to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Arizona home and work place called Taliesin West. This was my third visit to the magical place.
The photo above was on a bright sunny day when I visited Taliesin West with my son and daughter-in-law two years ago. Unfortunately, they had to leave early this Christmas vacation because we had unhealthy air quality alerts and my son couldn’t breathe. I was so sad to have them leave us, but the bright spot was spending one-on-one time with my daughter.
“The mission of an architect is to help people understand how to make life more beautiful, the world a better one for living in, and to give reason, rhyme, and meaning to life.”
– Frank Lloyd Wright, 1957
Each visit to Taliesin West, I feel like I am in the presence of genius — which of course I am. I love the use of space, materials, and the different feel from one building, room to outdoor spaces. This visit, I noticed so many more details than I had before.
“Taliesin West is a look over the rim of the world.”– FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, 1943
https://franklloydwright.org/taliesin-west/
We did an hour-long self-guided tour with our own phones and earbuds. I appreciated the detail of information including snippets of Frank Lloyd Wright speaking. I could picture the people living and working there.
The tour took us from outside to inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s office, around the property to various pools and patios to inside a gathering room, dining room, cabaret where they watched movies, inside the drafting room and inside a Kiva. The Kiva is a round dark room, that feels like it’s underground with phenomenal lighting in the ceiling and floor. They watched movies there and used it for storage when they returned to Wisconsin for the summer.
Here are some photos I took with my iphone during my trip with my daughter:
A view of Bougainvillea through the window in Wright’s office.
An outdoor space between buildings.
Wright was a collector of Asian Art. This eight-paneled screen featured ceramic faces.
The two mosaics, inspired by the moon and sun, were a gift from Clare Boothe Luce. She turned to mosaics as therapy in her grief of losing her daughter in a car accident. The Luces were friends with the Wrights. The mosaics are in the beautiful Garden Room.
Below: A Chinese statue which is one of around a dozen markers placed throughout Taliesin West. They are located when a theme or concept changes.
From the Taliesin website:
Wright’s beloved winter home and desert laboratory was established in 1937 and diligently handcrafted over many years into a world unto itself. Deeply connected to the desert from which it was forged, Taliesin West possesses an almost prehistoric grandeur. It was built and maintained almost entirely by Wright and his apprentices, making it among the most personal of the architect’s creations.
https://franklloydwright.org/taliesin-west/
Where have you visited that the experience was greater than your expectations?
Looking out from Frank Lloyd Wright’s office.
This is an amazing place Elizabeth. Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome. It has an other worldly feel. I love how Wright incorporated nature and natural materials in his structures.
Yes it looks so beautiful and natural
It is amazing!
🥰😍
😊
So beautiful! We are surrounded by many FLW structures here in Illinois (and Wisconsin).
It is! I picked up a list of all his projects and plan to explore them online.
How fabulous! And that door…
👍
It’s gorgeous and an experience!
Beautiful! I especially like the view from the office. Thank you for sharing.
The office was incredible. The ceiling was canvas that let in light.
I really liked his Asian art.
Me too. There were so many more that are amazing. I’m going to add a photo of a statue that was one of a dozen places around the property to introduce a new concept. I just added it, if you want to take a look. 😊
Ok, let me go and look.
I just went over and looked at it. What a very beautiful piece. Glad you shared it. I like how the people are in front of the building. It is amazing. Thank you.
Truly a magical place and most definitely one of genius. I’ve always loved his style and philosophy. I hope to see it in person some day.
It is. I’ve found new things to discover during each visit. But the overall feeling of peace and wonder are always there.
I’ve toured several of FLW’s homes and have seen Taliesin West from the outside (I think we got there too late to take a tour). Now I will make sure to book a tour of Taliesin West the next time I’m in the Phoenix area. Thanks for sharing!
This is the only FLW home I toured. It’s such a treasure. I was given a list of others across the country and will look for them when we travel.
I traveled to the Midwest a lot for business and, if there was a FLW house in the area, I tried to schedule time to see it. Btw, have you read Loving Frank by Nancy Horan? It’s a good historical fiction novel about him and his love affair with Mamah Borthwick.
Thank you for the book suggestion! I’ll look for it.
I guess I didn’t really spend enough time soaking in the atmosphere of the place. It didn’t really capture my senses. Your pictures are great, though!
The first time I went I would have agreed with you. I really have seen more details and appreciation over the next visits.
Lakeland, Florida Southern College Home To World’s Largest Collection Of Frank Lloyd Wright Designs. We have been through Lakeland but not specifically there. The next visit is in the Dry Tortugas-a fort we want to visit.
That sounds interesting. I had to look it up to see more details. At Taliesin West in the Drafting Room, they had a number of Wright’s designs out on the drafting tables.
Yes, the Dry Tortugas are off of Key West. We are thinking of going to visit this. It involves planning as you must book a ferry and space can be limited.
Sounds fascinating.
It will entail a bit of planning around things.
It sounds like fun. I grew up in Washington where we took ferries to get to the San Juan Islands. We often had to wait hours.
I’d love to tour this place! Love all the angles and artwork. For me, it’s Buckingham Palace. It was grander then I could have even imagined. It felt like stepping back in time.
Buckingham Palace! How exciting. As a little girl I always dreamed of visiting there.
Me too! I felt like a child while I walked the halls. I kept imagining the Queen was going to burst through one of the doors any minute and tell me I’m her long-lost daughter and I can move in right away. One can always have dreams.
That great! Yes, always have your dreams 💕