Last week I had the pleasure to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in Spring Green, WI. He named it Taliesin which is Welsh for "shining brow", a reference to the glistening limestone outcroppings topping the hills in the area. I must admit, my admiration for Frank Lloyd Wright has come and gone over the years but visiting Taliesin was an unexpectedly inspiring journey.

VIew of the private courtyard. Studio is on the left, residence is on the right.

Taliesin is actually comprised of several buildings sitting on 600 acres in western Wisconsin. The first building FLW designed was a commission for a co-ed school by his aunts who were educators. Co-ed schools were very rare in those days and reflect the shared progressive nature of Lloyd Wright's family. The school has the only dining and kitchen facilities on the property (there is no kitchen in the home) and it still opperates as an accredited school of architecture.

Entrance facade for the school. Two-story great room is on the left and drafting studio is on the right.

Frank Lloyd Wright completed the current version of his home and office later in 1937. Previous versions were destroyed by fire and are tragic stories of themselves. By that time Wright was in the middle of his long career and spent summers in Taliesin East (Spring Green, WI) and Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ.

The visitor center at Taliesin, originally designed by FLW as a client "receiving" area overlooking the Wisconsin River (out the windows to the left).

Did I go all the way to Wisconsin just to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's house? Actually, it may not be well known but 95% of the window manufacturing in the US is based in the region of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. I was sent to visit the Anderson Window manufacturing facility in nearby Dubuque, Iowa, which was fascinating in it's own right.