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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Trio of Taliesin – A Third Post on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home

July 13, 2008 by 5 Comments

“Like any architect, Frank Lloyd Wright wanted to make his own house an epitome of everything he stood for emotionally, spiritually, technically. And so on the family property in Spring Green, Wisconsin on the brow of a hill he built this great, long, rambling, beautiful, hugging the ground house which he called Taliesin and it was going to be his statement to the world.

It was an immaculate invention that he pretended was close to nature and was a farm and of course it wasn’t a farm at all, it was an estate. It was a rich man’s estate. And he didn’t have any money but he made himself a rich man’s estate. And he kept losing it, mortgages unpaid, bank would take it, he’d get it back, he’d incorporate himself and found a new method of outwitting everybody around him and he hung on to that to his dying day.” —Brendan Gill, Writer

Front Entrance at Taliesin

Front Entrance at Taliesin © 2008 Bo Mackison

This is the main entrance to Taliesin, the author’s residence. Opening into a vary small vestibule, the ceiling is low and immediately “pushes” you into the main part of the home. Intentionally, Wright did not want his visitors to linger at the front door, but to move through the expansive spaces of delight he had created.

The Architect Recycles

The Architect Recycles © 2008 Bo Mackison

He was the ultimate “recycler”, even in the 1910s and 1920s, as evidenced by his use of barn stanchions to provide color, lines, and spaces in the interior garden.

Taliesin Entrance with Asian Jar

Taliesin Entrance with Asian Jar © 2008 Bo Mackison

This is the terrace leading the the main entrances of his studio, partially pictured in the photo, and his personal residence. An antique Asian jar rests in a place of prominence. Asian Art is placed throughout Taliesin, exterior and interior. One of FLM’s loves and inspirations was Asian Art, which he purchased with abandon, even when he hadn’t money for the necessities of life. For some insight into Wright’s passion, here is an interesting peek into his relationship with this style of art.

Frank Lloyd Wright Studio

Frank Lloyd Wright Studio © 2008 Bo Mackison

Taken from the interior garden, Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio is immediately centered – the expanse of windows where he had his studio and architectural work tables, and the massive fireplace which was used for heat, some cooking, and as a central gathering place. To the left are the string of once-barns, now re-modeled apartments for the architectural students who currently study at the School there.

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More Taliesin – Frank Lloyd Wright

July 12, 2008 by 7 Comments
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Taliesin Wing © 2008 Bo Mackison

South view of Taliesin overlooking the man-made Lake Wright designed for the entrance to his home. The far area is Wright’s wife’s bedroom, the closer window to the left is Wright’s bedroom addition, later expanded to include a study when he was approaching his nineties. FLW was an insomniac, and frequently worked or roamed the night. He didn’t make for a peaceful bed partner according to his wife who wanted her 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Plunge Pool

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Plunge Pool © 2008 Bo Mackison

This 8 foot deep plunge pool was immediately outside FLW’s bedroom, and reportedly he would jump in to refresh himself, often in the middle of the night. It is no longer that depth, now only about 3 feet.

Taliesin Viewed from the South Lawn

Taliesin Viewed from the South Lawn © 2008 Bo Mackison

View of the home from the south lawn. The extension to the right is the “bird-walk” Frank built at his wife’s request. At the time of its construction the area was lined with tall hardwoods, and the extension led high into tree branches.

Red Tile - FLW's Personal Mark of Approval

Red Tile – FLW’s Personal Mark of Approval © 2008 Bo Mackison

This signature tile is at the entrance to Frank Lloyd wright’s studio and home. FLW would present his famous mark, a red ceramic tile with his signature, to many of the designated buildings that met his requirements and approval – a visible sign he accepted the structure as “truly- totally-Wright”.

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Taliesin – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home

July 11, 2008 by 17 Comments
Taliesin Landscape

Taliesin Landscape © 2008 Bo Mackison

View of Taliesin in the distance and the surrounding countryside.

Red Taliesin Bus

Red Taliesin Bus © 2008 Bo Mackison

Jump on this bright red bus, Frank Lloyd Wright’s favorite color, BTW, and it takes you to Taliesin, Wright’s home in Spring Green, Wisconsin. This hillside was Wright’s favorite spot as a child when he lived and worked on his uncles’ farms – he would come here to hide and escape his chores. When he was an adult, his mother bought the property as a bribe to get her son to return to Wisconsin from a long stay in Europe. The bribe worked and FLW returned and built his home there.

Taliesin Apartments

Taliesin Apartments © 2008 Bo Mackison

These are the interior gardens; the main house in behind the camera. The long row structure to the right was originally a long string of barns for the family’s animals. They are now apartments for the architectural students studying Prairie Architecture at the school housed nearby.

Taliesin

Taliesin © 2008 Bo Mackison

Wright designed his buildings so that there was not a direct route to the entrance. He wanted you to “have an adventure” before you even stepped into the interior. In the case of Taliesin, one has to go through the garden, around the string of student apartments, and then past his studio, to find the front door. The windows to the left are in the main room of the house, one of the first “great rooms” – a combined living room, dining room, study.

Taliesin's Interior Gardens

Taliesin’s Interior Gardens © 2008 Bo Mackison

A view of the garden. Wright bought innumerable Asian artifacts to Taliesin, and decorated the interior and exterior with these treasures. No photos of the interior were allowed, though the home tour was in depth and included all of Wright’s living areas and studio. Filled with wonderful Wright designed furnishings, Oriental rugs and Asian art.

Spring Green is about 30 miles west of Madison and Taliesin is truly a national treasure, worth the visit if anywhere in the area.

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