YCGL - Minnesota - Day 6 - Friday, April 22 - Spring Green - 70 miles

 Taliesin

Taliesin is the home that Frank Lloyd Wright built on his family's property.  He started it in 1911 and continued to work on it until his death in 1959.  The house has three conceptual zones, the house proper, the office and the farm (he had some fancy name for it, but I haven't been able to find it).  The house is on 800 acres and Wright's concept was that it should be self sustaining.  

The tour begins in the farm section, in what was originally the horse stalls.  This is also a part of the area where the Wright Fellows would make their habitats.  They would each have to make their own space to live.

But this gives an impressive entrance into the house.  The entryway is at the end of view.

The main entryway.  The entry to the house is on the right, to the office is on the left, behind the person.

The original carriage entrance in 1911.

The courtyard in front of the office.

The Office

As you enter the office, the ceiling is low and you feel tight.  This is a theme of Wright's of Compression and Release.  You feel enclosed in an tight area and then you walk into a room with high ceilings and lots of light, compression and release.  

Compression                                                                                         Release

Drafting boards for the Fellows

Mr. Wright's table where he made many of his famous later designs.  He preferred working on a flat surface rather than a slanted drafting table.

The Living Room

A quartet music stand.

The face in the wall.

The Bird Walk

Notice the second story.  It was added on for his daughter.

The 1911 Entry

This space is where he met Mr. Guggenheim to design a museum.  

The Bedrooms

Details of the several bedrooms.

Mr. Wright's Bed

The courtyard and pool outside his bedroom.

As you look at the various pictures, you will note a lot of plywood.  It had been a "new material" in the early 1920s and he used it in his designs through the years, especially for chairs and tables.

It is quite an interesting environment.  The pictures hardly set the stage.  I recommend it highly.  (And I did on TripAdvisor!).  

The campground was fine.  However, the WiFi was totally non existent and the broadband was worse.  It was a real black hole in the whole community.  I couldn't get GPS signals anywhere in town.