Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was one of the most prominent architects of the first half of the 20th century. To this day he is easily America's most famous architect (topping Philip Johnson, Paul Laszlo, Richard Neutra, Louis Kahn, and Frank Gehry) and still extremely well-known in the common public's eye.

Taliesin and Beyond

He designed his own home-studio complex, called Taliesin (after the 6th-century Welsh poet, whose name means literally "shining brow"), which was begun near Spring Green, Wisconsin, in 1911 and modified and expanded many times over. The complex was a distinctive, low one-story, U-shaped structure with views over a pond on one side and Wright's studio on the opposite side. Taliesin was twice destroyed by fire; the current building there is called Taliesin III. The first time it burned, seven people were killed, including Wright's mistress, Mamah Borthwick, and her two children (by her husband Edwin Cheney).

Related Topics:
Taliesin - 6th-century - Welsh - Poet - Spring Green, Wisconsin - 1911 - Mamah Borthwick

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He visited Japan, first in 1905, and Europe (1909–10), opening a Tokyo office in 1916.

Related Topics:
Japan - 1905 - Europe - 1909 - 10 - Tokyo - 1916

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In 1938 Wright designed his winter retreat in Arizona, called Taliesin West; the retreat, like much of Wright's architecture, blends organically with the surrounding landscape. In Tokyo, Wright designed his famous Imperial Hotel, completed in 1922 after beginning construction in 1916. On September 1, 1923, one of the worst earthquakes in modern times hit Tokyo and its surrounding area. The Great Kanto Earthquake completely leveled Tokyo, and effects from the earthquake caused a large tsunami, destructive tornados, and fires in the city. A legend grew out of this disaster that Wright's Imperial Hotel was the only large structure to survive the destruction, but in fact this was far from true.

Related Topics:
1938 - Arizona - Taliesin West - Imperial Hotel - 1922 - 1916 - September 1 - 1923 - Great Kanto Earthquake - Tsunami

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