Issue 222 October 7th 2020

The Headlines

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Announces Reopening Of Taliesin West

Frank Lloyd Wright fans and architecture lovers of all ages will once again experience one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most personal creations, Taliesin West, when his desert laboratory and famed winter home reopens to the public on Oct. 15 in Scottsdale. With the reopening comes the debut of a new self-guided audio tour that allows visitors a safe and interactive experience at Arizona’s only cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site, which can be easily and safely accessed through their personal smartphone device.

Since closing the site in March due to the pandemic, the Foundation has been hard at work implementing new measures and experiences to make sure all are safe while on property, the press release stated. All visitors are required to properly wear a face covering over their nose and mouth while on property, whether indoors or outdoors. No visitor will be allowed to enter, tour, or remain at Taliesin West without a properly worn face mask covering at all times. Additional safety and cleanliness measures and visitor guidelines can be found on the Foundation’s website. Recent ADA upgrades and restoration of the historic property include new handrails, ramps and a wheelchair accessible restroom to help guests with mobility challenges access and enjoy Taliesin West with ease.

Tickets for tours starting Oct. 15 are now available to book online. Taliesin West will be open for tours Thursday through Sunday with hours on Thursday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. The insights tour is $40 for adults, $30 for students (ages 13-25 with valid student ID) and $19 for youth (ages 6-12). Access to the self-guided audio tour and Taliesin West is $20 per guest with advanced online ticket reservations required, as capacity is limited for safe social distancing. More here.

Experience The New Self-Guided Audio Tours At Taliesin West

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation announces that Taliesin West is launching a new self-guided audio tour this Fall to coincide with its reopening efforts to deliver safe, new, and authentic experiences of Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio in Arizona. This audio option provides an interactive experience that allows visitors more peace of mind for health & safety, social distancing, and self-paced freedom during a tour.

By simply downloading an easy, free app on a personal smartphone device and using a set of headphones, this new audio tour informs and inspires while visitors immerse themselves in the distinctive landscape and architecture at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Sonoran desert laboratory.

One of the highlights of this multi-sensory experience will be how guests can listen to Frank Lloyd Wright’s own voice and words firsthand through original audio recordings. Wright’s audio clips discuss his connection to nature, poetry and art, and other ideas that inspired his work. As guests traverse both interior and exterior spaces at Taliesin West safely at their own pace, the connection to the architecture and the landscape is more intimate than ever, and provides endless inspiration for living a more beautiful life.

The new audio tour is $20 per guest. A personal smartphone device is required. Please bring headphones if you have them. Otherwise, headphones will be available for purchase at Taliesin West. The tours are offered Thursday through Sunday, leaving at 10:00, 10:10, 10:20 a.m. There is limited capacity, and advance ticket reservations are required. Audio tours are approximately 60 minutes.

Properly worn face masks are required on site for the audio tour in order to provide everyone with safe, healthy, and mindful social distancing practices. Hear a sample sound clip of Frank Lloyd Wright speaking on the tour here.

Price Tower Remains Bartlesville's Beautiful "Tree"

Rick Loyd, the executive director of the Price Tower Arts Center, asks, "Did you know Frank Lloyd Wright identified Price Tower as 'The Tree That Escaped the Crowded Forest'”?

The unique form of Price Tower was originally designed by Wright in 1929 as a cluster of apartment towers intended for downtown New York City. But due to the effects of the Great Depression, his vision went unrealized. Mr. Wright was delighted to later have the opportunity to build his tower on the plains of the Oklahoma prairie. He gave it this nickname because it had escaped the crowded “forest” of Manhattan skyscrapers and was now able “to cast its own shadow upon its own piece of land.” At the time of its construction — which took place from 1953 to 1956 — the Price Tower was the tallest building in Bartlesville.

The “tree” nickname also reflects the structural design of the tower. The “trunk” of Price Tower is comprised of four elevator shafts and their structural walls. The trunk extends deep underground like a “tap root” and provides the strong support for the upper floors, whose tapering cantilevered concrete floor slabs are like “branches.” The outer walls are not needed to support the building, which allows for large expanses of window glass. The exterior of the Tower is clad in copper panels and sun louvers creating the “leaves” of the tree, whose color was aided by chemical applications rather than the effects of nature upon the material. The building also tapers upward like a tree with the top three floors progressively becoming narrower and the penthouse floor only a single suite of rooms.

Wright also wished to visually connect the inside of his building with the outside landscape by using similar materials on both the interior and exterior, such as the copper panels, concrete, and aluminum trim. Large windows draw the eye outside toward the view of the scenic Oklahoma prairie, with Wright preferring not to have draperies or artwork on the walls to distract one’s eye from experiencing the beauty. More here.

Wright's Armstrong House For Sale

According to Zillow, Frank Lloyd Wright's Armstrong House, built in 1939 in Portage, IN (with later additions by Wright apprentice, Jack Howe) has come to the market for the asking price of $1.195 million. The home is set on multiple landscaped, wooded lots, and offers 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, a large inviting living room, open dining/kitchen area, spacious rec room for entertaining, 2 fireplaces (for those cozy winter nights), master bedroom suite, sauna, large screen porch, roomy detached garage with 4-car capacity, and carport. This special home has been meticulously maintained, and is therefore being sold as is, as disclosed. To see more photos and details, follow the link.

Time-Lapse Hollyhock Window Restoration

Judson Studios, Los Angeles's storied glass studio, recently posted a time-lapse video of their efforts restoring one of the many art glass windows at Wright's Hollyhock House. Check it out [here.]

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