Frank Lloyd Wright’s Gateway to Taliesin

May 17, 2011 by 2 Comments
Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center in Spring Green Wisconsin

Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center © 2010 Bo Mackison

Frank Lloyd Wright designed this building, now the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, in 1953. Wright designed the building, located next to Taliesin, Wright’s summer home, to be the “Gateway to Taliesin.” With a restaurant and meeting rooms, Wright planned to use the center when entertaining his potential clients.

Wright began construction in late 1953, but the building was not completed before his death in 1959. Eventually a former apprentice finished construction and operated a restaurant, the Spring Green, on the premises for over 25 years.

In Red, Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center Sign in Spring Green Wisconsin

In Red, the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center Sign © 2011 Bo Mackison

The Wright Foundation purchased the building in 1993 and converted it into a visitor center and bookstore/gift store. A restaurant, the Riverside Terrace Cafe,  also operates in the building.

It is also the hub for the Wright building tours in the Spring Green area. All visits to the Wright buildings — Taliesin, the Hillside School that Wright designed for his aunts, the Unity Chapel used by the maternal side of Wright’s family, the Romeo and Juliet Windmill Tower, and Tan-yi-deri, the home Wright built for his sister — leave on bright red buses from the reception area.

Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, Wisconsin River View, in Spring Green Wisconsin

Wisconsin River View of Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center © 2011 Bo Mackison

The building commands a lovely view, perched on a bluff overlooking the Wisconsin River. The visitor center is open daily to the public from late April through the end of October, and on weekends in November and April. It is located on Wisconsin County Highway C, only a minute’s drive across the Wisconsin River from Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Taliesin, and Wisconsin, are celebrating the centennial of the Taliesin Estate this year with museum offerings and special tours throughout the state. I plan to take photographs of all the Wright buildings in Wisconsin that are open to the public during 2011 in honor of the Centennial. This is the second building in the Wright Centennial series. The Seth Petersen Cottage was the first in the series.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She will be visiting and taking photographs of all the Wright designed buildings in Wisconsin that are open to the public in 2011.

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Exploring Kitt Peak

April 15, 2011 by 2 Comments
Kitt Peak

Roadside View of Kitt Peak © 2011 Bo Mackison

My younger daughter flew in for a weekend visit just before it was time for me to leave Tucson. She loves science, any kind of science, and so we drove to Kitt Peak to see the National Observatories.

The white domed observatories on top of the 6,875 foot summit aren’t the only an amazing sight on the 50 mile trip west of Tucson. There is also plenty of breath taking desert and mountain scenery on the drive. We drove the  first 45 miles  on paved roads through the Tohono O’odham Reservation and the Sonoran Desert. The last 12 miles were on a maintained mountain road with patches of snow — from a mid-April storm a few days before we visited — and spectacular views of the desert floor and snow spattered, adjacent mountain ranges. (Next post!)

Kitt Peak Welcome Sign

Kitt Peak Welcome Sign © 2011 Bo Mackison

Kitt Peak National Observatory is operated by an association of universities throughout the country (including the University of Wisconsin at Madison) in cooperation with the National Science Foundation. We even saw a Bucky Badger decal on one of the scientists lab stands. My daughter is an alum of UW, so she was pleased to see the Wisconsin mascot on duty at one of the observatories.

Observatories on Kitt Peak

Observatories on Kitt Peak © 2011 Bo Mackison

This is the largest collection of optical telescopes in the world. It’s a rather amazing display of scientific buildings, all clustered on the very top of a desert mountain.

The tallest telescope in the photo is the Mayall 4 meter (158 inch), one of the world’s largest telescopes. It resides in an 18-story building. There is an elevator that provides access to the 10th-floor observation deck and panoramic views of southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico, but this particular telescope was closed the day we were there.

Just one more reason for me to return to Kitt Peak at a later date. I’d also love to stay for the night show and see the stars using one of the observatory’s telescopes.

McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope © 2011 Bo Mackison

This is one of the more unusual buildings on the peak. It is the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope which produces a 30-inch image of the sun by using mirrors in a slanted 500-foot corridor. Only 200 feet of the tunnel are visible, the other 300 feet are below ground level. You can go inside the building and check out the long chamber and view the mirrors. Not only is this telescope a scientific wonder, it is also an architectural wonder. It even won an architectural award in 1962, rather an unusual accomplishment for an observatory.

1.3 Meter Telescope on Kitt Peak

1.3 Meter Telescope on Kitt Peak

This is one of the smaller telescopes, and one used by visitors during the nightly viewing tours. The larger telescopes are reserved for professional and student astronomers, though even they have to play a form of astronomy-roulette. They sign up for a viewing time months or years in advance and if their chosen evening’s view is obstructed by clouds, they have to sign up on the list again. Luckily there are only a few cloudy evenings  each year in this part of the Sonoran Desert.

Open 2.1 m Telescope

Open 2.1 m Telescope © 2011 Bo Mackison

The 2.1-meter (84 inch) telescope was the first large instrument on Kitt Peak for night-time observing. We were able to go inside for a close-up view of the inner workings, plus view an educational exhibit on the telescope. Astronomers use this scope to observe distant stars and galaxies in both the visible and infrared spectra.

On the day we were there, we watched as the telescope opened and closed several times.

Observatory Complex, Kitt Peak Arizona

Observatory Complex, Kitt Peak Arizona © 2011 Bo Mackison

One last photograph, proving that, yes, it does snow on the peaks of desert mountains. I thought I had escaped winter’s snow by coming to Tucson, but my daughter was delighted to see the snow, and stomp in it, and make a few snowballs to throw at me.

Seems she thinks the desert is too hot and prefers Wisconsin winters to Tucson winters. Amazing!

Reminder: I am having a drawing for one of my photographs or a set of photo art note cards in appreciation of all the support my blog readers gave me while I was on my Tucson adventure.  To enter the drawing, leave a comment on the April 13 post — check out the drawing information and directions on how to enter.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She has been living in Tucson for the last ten weeks, exploring Arizona and living life “solo.” she is now on her way back to Wisconsin, but will be posting photographs from a few more Arizona destinations.

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Last Visit to Tumacacori

April 12, 2011 by 12 Comments
Tumacacori Garden

Tumacacori Garden © 2012 Bo Mackison

Can you look past the electric wires, telephone poles,
the matching but separate doors labeled MEN and WOMEN,
the coiled rubber hose, the 19th century stone wall cracked open for a water spigot?

Don’t heed the red stop sign hovering above the mission wall
or listen to the rumbling cars speeding from Nogales to the Border Patrol checkpoint.

Cover your ears with your determination for a sacred silence in this sacred space.
Block the sounds of horns blaring, ignore the heated words of the couple standing near the rose bush.

Shhh.

Can you hear rustling leaves, whistling wind? Can you see the shimmer of the cotttonwoods?

These winds were in this garden. The trees now camouflaging the sparrows’ nests, they were here.
The fountain — the garden’s heart — it was here with its rippling waters.
The dust blowing from the Tumacácori Mountain Range – that dust was here.

Those mountains? They stood in silence and watched.
Arched doorways sheltered the walkway, courtyard sheltered a painted statue of the Virgin with her Babe. They watched.

The yucca were here, the tepary beans trailed along the earth.
The nut tree saplings, freshly planted, they swayed in rhythm with the winds. They witnessed.

The che-che-chee of the sparrows joined the voices raised in song —  of protest and praise, with humiliation and elation, in mourning and in gratitude.

Tumacacori Church Entrance

Tumacacori Church © 2011 Bo Mackison

I hear their voices, I hear the choir lift their voices in song.
Harmonizing
Chanting
The rising alleluias, the longing amens.

Their voices. Do you hear them?
Che-che-cheee-ing alleluias.
Siss-siss-siss, leaves dancing, twirling along the dusty path.

Tumacacori Interior Bricks

Interior © 2011 Bo Mackison

Hearts dancing, hold your gaze on the star hunter, poised, aiming his arrow at the full moon.
Hidden voices in the whistling winds.
Hidden eyes, watching from Tumacacori.

Listen. Watch.

Hush.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She will be returning to Wisconsin later this week after living in Tucson for the last two months. She’s been exploring Arizona and living life “solo.” Occasionally she is moved to write poetry, as happened when she took a last visit to Tumacacori National Historic Site.

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Empire Ranch

March 19, 2011 by 7 Comments
Grasslands

Sacaton Grasslands © 2011 Bo Mackison

I went on an “explore” yesterday. I headed east, and ended up on a narrow and dusty road, wiggled my car through a mountain pass near Madera Canyon, and crossed the Santa Rita Mountains. After an hour of driving, I ended up on the eastern side of the “Ritas”, near the town of Sonoita.

Then I saw a sign. It read “Historic Empire Ranch”. That was good enough for me. I turned and followed the road for a mile or so, eventually coming to another sign which informed me I was traveling in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. I don’t think too many people explore this part of Arizona, but I found it rather fascinating. Even more so when I started researching the ranch on the internet. I came across all kinds of interesting tidbits.

Mesquite Bosque

Mesquite Bosque © 2011 Bo Mackison

Las Cienegas NCA includes five of the rarest habitat types in the American Southwest: cienegas (marshlands), cottonwood-willow riparian forests, sacaton grasslands, mesquite bosques, and semi-desert grasslands. These habitats are home to a great diversity of plant and animal life, including several threatened or endangered species.

Bosque, the Spanish word for woodland, is used in the Desert Southwest to describe a woodland that develops near desert streams and rivers. It is a riparian habitat — the desert gives way to a ribbon of green where water flows and provides enough water to sustain trees and plants not commonly found in desert habitats. The most common trees are mesquites, usually Velvet Mesquite,  slow-growing trees that rarely exceed 25 feet height. The mesquite bosque is great habitat for mammals, birds, insects and reptiles.

There are a few cottonwoods and willows growing nearer the water source–the pale green trees which grow taller than the mesquite. And the Whetstone Mountains are in the distance.

Dry Creek Bed

Dry Creek Bed © 2011 Bo Mackison

Not sure if this is the Las Ciengas creek bed or not. The Las Ciengas was described in my research as a perennial water source, but this has been an extremely dry year, so perhaps the water table is below the surface. This is one of the few areas that had something beside grasses and mesquite growing, so there was certainly water near the surface.

Empire Ranch

Empire Ranch Historic Buildings © 2011 Bo Mackison

After driving across miles and miles of grasslands, I came across this spread. The Empire Ranch is both a historic place  and a working cattle ranch. Located 45 miles southeast of Tucson near Sonoita, Arizona,  the Ranch began as a modest 160-acre spread in the 1870s. It was purchased by Walter Vail and his partners, and after many land purchases, the ranch ended up being almost one million acres in size. The 22 room Empire Ranch House is listed on National Register of Historic Places.

But the most interesting information I found was the extensive (and impressive) list of movies and television shows that had been filmed at the ranch or in the nearby area.

A partial list includes:

  • Red River, John Wayne, Montgomery Clift (1948, Howard Hawks)
  • Oklahoma!, Gordon McRae, Shirley Jones (1955, Fred Zinneman)
  • The Big Country, Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston (1958, William Wyler)
  • 3:10 to Yuma, Glenn Ford, Van Heflin (1957, Delmar Daves)
  • Hombre, Paul Newman (1967, Martin Ritt)
  • The Last Hard Men, Charlton Heston, James Coburn (1976, Andrew V. McLaglen)
  • Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming (1957, John Sturges)
  • Bonanza, Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, several shows (1959-73 TV series, various directors)
  • Gunsmoke, James Arness, Dennis Weaver, Amanda Blake, several shows (1955-75 TV series, various directors)
  • The Cowboys, John Wayne (1972, Mark Rydell)
  • The Furies, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Huston (1950, Anthony Mann)
  • The Wild Rovers, William Holden, Ryan O’Neal (1971, Blake Edwards)
  • Pocket Money, Paul Newman, Lee Marvin (1972, Stuart Rosenberg)
  • A Star Is Born, Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson (1976, Frank Pierson)
  • Posse, Kirk Douglas, Bruce Dern (1975, Kirk Douglas)
  • Desperado, Alex McArthur, Yaphet Kotto (1987 TV, Virgil W. Vogel)

So…now does this region look more familiar? So this is where the wild, wild west was…I’ve probably seen this wild country in quite a few old cowboy movies and television shows. Maybe you have too.

Amazing what can be discovered when you turn off the main road to see what there is to see.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.” She crossed the mountain to see what she could see, and discovered a “bonanza” of history.

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Mission San Xavier del Bac

March 3, 2011 by 6 Comments
"White Dove of the Desert"

"White Dove of the Desert" © 2011 Bo Mackison

Mission San Xavier del Bac is located only a few minutes south of Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O’Odham Indian Reservation. The mission was founded by Father Eusebio Kino, a Franciscan missionary, in 1692. Father Kino also founded the mission at Tumacacori, located 20 miles south of San Xavier, and several other missions in southern Arizona and in Sonora, Mexico.

The church, which is a National Historic Landmark, was built in 1783-1797. It is the oldest European structure in the state of Arizona.

Sacristy, Mission San Xavier del Bac

Sacristy, Mission San Xavier del Bac © 2011 Bo Mackison

San Xavier’s interior is filled with many pieces of original statues and mural paintings, all dating from the 18th Century. The Baroque architecture has many dramatic features including painted faux doors, wood sculptures painted to resemble marble, and many niches that hold statues in curtained surroundings. It is all quite intricate and full of ingenious detailing.

Mission San Xavier del Bac, Interior

Interior, Mission San Xavier del Bac © 2011 Bo Mackison

Once inside the church, one barely knows where to look first. There are more than 300 angels an over one hundred saints represented in paintings, sculptures or bas reliefs. Many of them are highlighted in gold leaf.

It is hard not to look in amazement at the decorative features that cover nearly every inch of this masterpiece. The church has undergone several restoration projects, and some of the nations’ most talented art conservators gave new life to much of the art a decade ago. It’s an amazing collection of church art, considering it was conceived and constructed over 200 years ago.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.”  There are many gifts to find, here in the desert.

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