Taliesin (studio) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Taliesin |
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Taliesin III's drafting studio (left) and living quarters (right) as seen from the crown of its hill
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| Location | 5607 County Road C Spring Green, 53588 in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States |
| Built | 1911–1959 |
| Visitors | 25,000 (in 2009) |
| Governing body | Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation |
| Criteria | Cultural: (ii) |
| Designated | 2019 (43rd session) |
| Part of | The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Reference no. | 1496-003 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Designated | March 14, 1973 |
| Reference no. | 73000081 |
| Designated | January 7, 1976 |
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Taliesin (pronounced TAL-ee-ESS-in) is a famous historic property. It is located about 2.5 miles south of Spring Green, Wisconsin. This estate was the home of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It is a great example of the Prairie School of architecture. Wright started building the large house and studio in 1911. The 600-acre property was built on land that belonged to Wright's family.
In 2019, Taliesin became a World Heritage Site. This means it is a place of special importance to the whole world. It is part of a group called "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright".
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What is Taliesin?
Wright designed the main Taliesin home and studio in 1911. He had left his first home in Oak Park, Illinois. The building's design followed the Prairie School style. This style copied the flat look of the plains. It also used natural limestone rocks found in Wisconsin. The first building included areas for farming and a studio.
The name Taliesin means 'shining-brow' in Welsh. It was first used for the building itself. Later, the name referred to the whole estate. Wright built the house right into the side of a hill.
Over time, two big fires changed the house a lot. Because of this, the different versions are called Taliesin I, II, and III. Wright rebuilt the living area in 1914 after a terrible event. A worker set fire to the living quarters and harmed several people. This second version was not used much by Wright. He was often working on projects in other countries.
Wright returned to the house in 1922. He came back after finishing the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. In April 1925, another fire destroyed the living quarters. This fire was caused by electrical problems. Wright built the third version of the living quarters by late 1925.
In 1927, Wright faced money problems. The Bank of Wisconsin took over the building. But friends helped Wright get the building back. He moved back in by November 1928. In 1932, he started a program for architecture students there. Taliesin III was Wright's home for the rest of his life. However, he started spending winters at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona. This was after Taliesin West was finished in 1937.
Many of Wright's famous buildings were designed here. These include Fallingwater, the Johnson Wax Headquarters, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Wright also loved collecting Asian art. He used Taliesin as a place to store and show his collection.
Wright passed away in 1959. He left Taliesin and its 600 acres to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. This foundation was started by him and his third wife in 1940. The foundation managed repairs until 1992. Then, Taliesin Preservation, Inc. was created. This group works to protect the building and estate in Wisconsin. Both groups offer public tours and programs. The farm on the property is still used by farmers today.
Taliesin was named a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The main Taliesin building became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2019.
There are four other Wright-designed buildings on the estate. They are also National Historic Landmarks. But they are not part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. These include:
- The Romeo and Juliet Windmill, designed in 1896.
- Tan-y-Deri, a home designed for his sister and brother-in-law in 1907.
- The Hillside Home School, designed in 1901 for his aunts' school.
- Midway Barn, a farming building started around 1920.
Where is Taliesin Located?
Taliesin is in Jones Valley, part of the Wisconsin River valley. This area was shaped by ancient glaciers. It is known as the Driftless Area. This means it was surrounded by ice during the Ice Age, but the ice did not cover it. This created a unique landscape with many hills and deep river valleys.
The valley is about 2.5 miles south of Spring Green, Wisconsin. Frank Lloyd Wright's grandfather, Richard Lloyd Jones, first settled here. His family came from Wales. They moved to this part of Wisconsin in 1858 to start a farm. By the 1870s, Richard's sons ran the farm. They invited Wright to work there during summers as a farmhand.
Wright's aunts, Jane and Ellen C. Lloyd Jones, started a school in the valley. It was called the Hillside Home School. They asked Wright to design the building in 1887. This was Wright's first independent project. In 1896, his aunts asked him to build a windmill. The Romeo and Juliet Windmill was unusual but strong.
In 1901, Wright designed another building for his aunts. He was not happy with his first school design. So, he designed the Hillside Home School in the Prairie Style. Wright later sent some of his own children to this school. Wright's last project on the farm was a house for his sister Jane Porter in 1907. This house, Tan-Y-Deri, means "Under the Oaks" in Welsh. It was based on a design he published in a magazine.
The ideas and beliefs of his family greatly influenced young Wright. He even changed his middle name from Lincoln to Lloyd. This was to honor his mother's family.
What Does "Taliesin" Mean?
When Wright decided to build his home in this valley, he chose the name of a Welsh poet. This poet was named Taliesin. His name means "shining brow" or "radiant brow." Wright learned about the poet from a story about an artist's journey.
The Welsh name also fit Wright's family roots. The Lloyd Jones family often gave Welsh names to their properties. The hill where Taliesin was built was Wright's favorite from his childhood. He saw the house as a "shining brow" on the hill. He hoped it would be a safe place.
At first, the name only referred to the house. But Wright later used it for the entire property. Wright and others used Roman numerals (I, II, III) to tell the three versions of the house apart.
Building Taliesin I
Wright wanted to live in harmony with nature at Taliesin. He used only building materials found nearby. The house was designed to fit snugly against the hill. This is an example of Wright's "organic architecture". His signature bands of windows let nature into the house. The way inside and outside areas flowed together was very new at the time. Wright once said, "I attend the greatest of churches. I spell nature with a capital N. That is my church."
The Taliesin house had three parts:
- A long section on the east for living quarters.
- A long section on the west for farming.
- A section connecting them for offices and a studio.
The office area held the drafting studio and workroom. It also had an apartment for the main draftsman. This apartment might have been for Wright's mother. Like most Prairie School designs, the house was "low, wide, and snug." Wright also designed all the furniture. A road led up the hill to the back of the building. The main entrance was on County Road C. Iron gates with stone pillars marked the entrance.
Wright chose yellow limestone for the house. It came from a quarry on a nearby hill. Local farmers helped him move the stone. The stones were laid in long, thin layers. This copied how they looked in nature. Plaster for the inside walls was mixed with a golden color. This made it look like the sand by the Wisconsin River.
The outside plaster walls were similar but grayer. Windows were placed so sunlight could enter every room all day. Wright chose not to install gutters. This allowed icicles to form in winter. The roof shingles were designed to turn silver-grey. This matched the nearby tree branches. A covered entrance, called a porte-cochère, was built. It protected cars arriving at the living quarters. The finished house was about 12,000 square feet inside.
Life at Taliesin I
After moving in, Wright started his architectural work again. But it was hard to get new projects. This was because of negative public attention. However, Wright designed some of his most famous works during this time. These included the Midway Gardens in Chicago. He also enjoyed collecting Japanese art. He quickly became an expert in this field.
Wright designed the gardens with help from a landscape architect. They planted over a thousand fruit trees and bushes in 1912. This included many apple, gooseberry, blackberry, and raspberry plants. The property also grew pears, asparagus, rhubarb, and plums. Some of the orchard was destroyed during a railroad strike.
The plants were placed along the curves of the land. This might have copied farms Wright saw in Italy. Wright also built a dam on a creek. This created an artificial lake. The lake was filled with fish and water birds. This water garden was likely inspired by gardens he saw in Japan. It created a natural entrance to the property.
In 1912, Wright designed a "tea circle" in the courtyard. It was next to the top of the hill. This circle was inspired by other landscape designs. It was made of rough-cut limestone and had a pool in the center. The circle had a curved stone bench. It also had two oak trees. One of the oak trees fell in a storm in 1998. The tea garden also had a large plaster copy of a statue. The statue's name came from a poem written on its back.
The 1914 Attack and Fire
Julian Carlton worked as a chef and servant at Taliesin. He was from the West Indian island of Barbados. He was recommended to Wright by a caterer. Carlton and his wife had worked for the caterer's parents before. At first, Carlton was friendly. But he became increasingly worried. Wright and his partner noticed his behavior. They looked for a new cook. Carlton was told August 15, 1914, would be his last day.
Before leaving, Carlton planned to harm the people at Taliesin. His main target was a draftsman named Emil Brodelle. Brodelle had insulted Carlton a few days earlier. They also had a small physical fight.
Only two people survived the attack and fire on August 15. William Weston helped save the studio. Many of Wright's drawings and writings were kept there. He also saved the farming part of the building. Neighbors arrived to help put out the fire. They also helped the survivors and looked for the attacker. Carlton's wife, Gertrude, was found nearby. She seemed unaware of her husband's plans. She was dressed for travel, expecting to go to Chicago with Julian for a new job.
Later that day, Sheriff John Williams found Carlton and arrested him. Forty-seven days after the fire, Carlton died in his cell. Gertrude was released and sent to Chicago. She was never heard from again.
Wright was very sad after this event. He also had health problems. After a few months, he moved to an apartment in Chicago. This attack deeply affected Wright's design ideas. Some say his Prairie School period ended after this loss.
Taliesin II: Rebuilding and New Challenges
Within a few months, Wright began rebuilding Taliesin. He called the new building "Taliesin II." He wrote about how rebuilding helped him heal. "There is release from anguish in action," he said. "Anguish would not leave Taliesin until action for renewal began." He rebuilt it stone by stone, board by board.
The new building was mostly the same as the first. The dam, which broke after the attack, was rebuilt. Wright added a viewing platform. He also tried to build a hydroelectric generator. This was to make Taliesin self-sufficient. But it didn't work well and was removed in the 1940s.
Around Christmas 1914, Wright received a letter from Miriam Noel. She had read about the fire. Wright and Noel started a relationship. By spring 1915, Taliesin II was finished, and Noel moved in with Wright.
Wright's first wife finally divorced him in 1922. This meant Wright could marry Noel a year later. At first, Wright liked Noel's lively personality. But her behavior, which was later thought to be schizophrenia, made their life together difficult. Noel left Wright by spring 1924.
In the new Taliesin, Wright worked to improve his reputation. In 1916, he got a job to design the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. The hotel survived a big earthquake in 1923. This helped restore Wright's good name. Wright spent little time at Taliesin II. He often lived near his building sites abroad. Instead of a full-time home, Wright used Taliesin like an art museum for his Asian collection. He only truly lived there starting in 1922.
On April 20, 1925, Wright returned from dinner. He saw smoke coming from his bedroom. Most employees had gone home. Only a driver and one apprentice were left. Unlike the first fire, Wright got help right away. But the fire spread fast because of strong winds. Despite their efforts, the living quarters were destroyed. However, the workrooms with Wright's architectural drawings were saved. Wright wrote that the fire seemed to start near a telephone in his bedroom. He also mentioned a lightning storm. Some experts think the storm caused an electrical surge, starting the fire.
Taliesin III: A New Beginning
Once again, Wright started rebuilding the living quarters. He wrote about this in his autobiography, calling it "Taliesin III." He described how he found broken art pieces in the ashes. He planned to use these fragments in the new building. "And I put these fragments aside to weave them into the masonry—the fabric of Taliesin III," he wrote.
Wright was deeply in debt after the second fire. He had to sell much of his farm equipment and animals. He also had to sell his valuable Japanese art prints for half price to pay debts. In 1927, the Bank of Wisconsin took over Taliesin. Wright had to move to La Jolla, California.
Before the bank could sell the property, a former client helped. He created a company to sell stock based on Wright's future earnings. Many of Wright's old clients and students bought stock. They raised $70,000. The company bought Taliesin for $40,000, giving it back to Wright.
Wright returned to Taliesin by October 1928. He lived and worked there for the rest of his life. He bought more land around it, creating a 593-acre estate.
Some of Wright's most famous buildings were designed during the Taliesin III period. These include Fallingwater, the headquarters for S.C. Johnson, and the first Usonian house for Herbert and Katherine Jacobs.
After World War II, Wright moved his studio work to the Hillside Home School. He then used the Taliesin studio to meet with students and clients.
In its final form, the Taliesin III building was about 37,000 square feet. All of Wright's buildings on the property together cover about 75,000 square feet. This is on a 600-acre piece of land.
The Taliesin Fellowship
Wright took over the nearby Hillside Home School in 1915. His aunts had run the school, and he had designed the building. In 1932, Wright started the private Taliesin Fellowship. About fifty to sixty students could come to Taliesin to study with him.
The students helped him develop the estate. This was a time when Wright did not have many building projects. They renovated the old school gym into a theater. Students also built a drafting studio and dorms. In 1937, Wright designed a winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Students helped build this, and it became Taliesin West. After this, Wright and the fellowship traveled between the two homes each year. Famous students included Paolo Soleri and Edgar Tafel.
Wright did not see the fellowship as a formal school. He saw it as a helpful educational group. He also worked to make it eligible for the G.I. Bill. This helped veterans returning from World War II.
The town of Wyoming, Wisconsin, and Wright had a legal fight. The town said Wright's property should pay taxes. Wright said it should be tax-free because it was an educational group. A judge agreed with the town. He said that since students did much of Wright's work, it was not just a charity. Wright fought the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He lost in 1954. He threatened to leave the estate. But friends raised money to cover the back taxes, and he stayed.
The Taliesin Fellowship later became The School of Architecture.
Protecting Taliesin for the Future
In 1940, Frank Lloyd Wright, his third wife Olgivanna, and his son-in-law formed the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. When Wright died in 1959, the Taliesin estate in Spring Green, and Taliesin West, went to the foundation. The Taliesin Fellowship continued to use the Hillside School. They allowed tours of the school. But they did not let people visit the house or other grounds at first.
When the group spent two summers in Switzerland, rumors started. People thought they might sell the house. Instead, the fellowship sold some land to a developer. This land was used to build a tourist area. It included a golf course, restaurant, and visitor's center.
Recognizing Taliesin's Importance
In 1973, Taliesin and its estate were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On January 7, 1976, it became a National Historic Landmark (NHL) District. An NHL is a place that is very important to the nation. The important parts of the district include the landscape, Taliesin III, the courtyard pool and gardens, the Hillside Home School (with its studio and theater), the dam, the Romeo and Juliet Windmill, Midway Barn, and Tan-Y-Deri.
In the late 1980s, Taliesin and Taliesin West were nominated as a World Heritage Site. This is a special UNESCO title for places important worldwide. The first nomination was rejected. UNESCO wanted a larger nomination with more of Wright's properties. In 2008, the National Park Service added Taliesin and nine other Wright properties to a list. This was a step toward World Heritage Status. After new proposals, Taliesin and seven other properties were added to the World Heritage List in July 2019. The title is "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright".
In 1987, the National Park Service checked 1,811 NHLs. They looked at how well they were preserved and if they were in danger. Taliesin was called a "Priority 1" NHL. This means it was "seriously damaged or imminently with such damage." Also, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed it as one of America's Most Endangered Places in 1994. They noted "water damage, erosion, foundation settlement and wood decay." Taliesin Preservation, Inc. (TPI) was started in 1991 to restore Taliesin.
Restoring Taliesin
On June 18, 1998, a big storm damaged the estate. A large oak tree in the tea circle fell onto the house. Ten days later, heavy rains caused a mudslide north of the building. The next year, another storm caused a tunnel under the studio to collapse. A grant in 1999 helped pay for a new roof for Taliesin III. It also helped make its foundation stronger. And it connected the building to a local sewage treatment plant.
Over $11 million has been spent to restore Taliesin since 1998. But its preservation is "fraught with epic difficulties." This is because Wright never thought of it as a building for a very long future. It was built by students who were still learning. It also did not have very strong foundations. Finding money for repairs has been hard. This is because fewer people visit Taliesin than expected.
TPI offers tours from May 1 to October 31. Other tours are available during the rest of the year. But these can change, so visitors should check the organization's website. About 25,000 people visit Taliesin each year.
Why Taliesin is Important
Architectural historian James F. O'Gorman compared Taliesin to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. He called it "not a mere building but an entire environment." He said that people, architecture, and nature form a perfect whole there. He also said the building shows the influence of Romanticism in architecture. William Barillas agreed. He called Taliesin "the ultimate prairie house." Pulitzer Prize winning architecture critic Robert Campbell wrote that Taliesin is "my candidate for the title of the greatest single building in America."
In a book about the first house, the authors said Taliesin was "Wright's architectural self-portrait." Naomi Uechi noted that Taliesin's design is similar to the idea of simplicity. This idea was promoted by philosopher Henry David Thoreau. Architectural historian Neil Levine pointed out the abstract nature of the complex. He compared it to the works of Pablo Picasso.
Images for kids
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Wright designed the second Hillside Home School in 1901, alongside an earlier school he designed in 1887.
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Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in Oak Park, Illinois. Wright first lived here in 1889 and used it as a studio starting in 1898.
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An early photograph of Taliesin, taken during its first winter, 1911–12
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The courtyard of the completed complex as seen from the tea circle in the summer of 1912. The studio is to the left and the living quarters are to the right; the loggia is in between.
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The hatchet used in the Taliesin attacks
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It is believed the man on the left is Frank Lloyd Wright, surveying the damage after the fire.
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The courtyard of Taliesin II
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An aerial view of Taliesin
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Starting in 1937, Wright wintered at Taliesin West in Arizona.
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Taliesin in winter
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Wright's Riverview Terrace Restaurant (1953), used as a visitor's center by TPI since 1993
See also
In Spanish: Casa Taliesin para niños
- List of Frank Lloyd Wright works
- Taliesin West
