Child of the Sun Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Florida Southern College Architectural District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District

Pfeiffer Chapel, 2009
Location in Florida Show map of Florida Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Lakeland, Florida, United States
Area	100 acres (0.40 km²)
Built	1941–1958
Architect	Frank Lloyd Wright
NRHP reference No.	75000568
Added to NRHP	11 June 1975
Designated NHLD	2 March 2012

Child of the Sun is a special group of buildings at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. These unique buildings were designed by a very famous architect named Frank Lloyd Wright.

The first twelve buildings were constructed between 1941 and 1958. Later, in 2013, another building designed by Wright was finished. It was meant to be a house for teachers. Today, this collection of buildings is known as a National Historic Landmark. It's the largest group of buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright anywhere!

Designing a College Campus
- Inspired by Orange Groves
- Special Building Blocks
Visit the Sharp Family Tourism Center
Buildings to Explore
Gallery
See also

Designing a College Campus

Frank Lloyd Wright started planning the college campus in 1938. The college president, Ludd M. Spivey, hired him. Wright wanted to make the buildings fit naturally with the environment. He had many ideas about how buildings should connect with nature.

Inspired by Orange Groves

Wright got his main idea for the campus design from orange groves. Imagine rows of evenly spaced orange trees. He used this grid idea to plan where each building would go. This helped make the campus feel organized and connected.

Special Building Blocks

For building materials, Wright used special concrete blocks. He had used these "textile blocks" in other projects before. These blocks were all the same size, which made building easier. What's even cooler is that some of the college students helped make these concrete blocks themselves! They used materials found right there in Florida.

Visit the Sharp Family Tourism Center

The Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center opened in 2013. Here, you can see a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It also has a gift shop.

You can take different tours of these amazing buildings. Wright himself thought this collection was one of his best works! The center is usually open from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

Buildings to Explore

The "Child of the Sun" district includes many interesting buildings:

Annie Pfeiffer Chapel – This was the first building by Frank Lloyd Wright finished on campus, in 1941.
Seminars (now the Financial Aid and Business Office) – Completed in 1941.
Buckner Building (original Roux Library) – Finished in 1946.
Watson/Fine Building (Administration Building) – Completed in 1949.
Water Dome – This cool water feature was partly done in 1949. It was fully finished and fixed up in 2007, just as Wright had planned.
Danforth Chapel – Completed in 1955.
Ordway Building (originally the Industrial Arts Building) – Finished in 1952.
Polk County Science Building (called Polk Science by students) – Completed in 1958.
The Esplanades – These are walkways that connect the buildings. They were built at different times and are being fixed up.