Frank Lloyd Wright was born June 8, 1867, in rural and agriculturally affluent Richland Center, Wisconsin. The land and beauty of this area would become so much of the inspiration for his designs and art. But this love of nature and incorporating it into his designs did not stop in Wisconsin. If you have lived in the Phoenix area for any period, you know his name and have at least heard of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard. In addition to having a road named after him, you can see his buildings and those inspired by him including monuments, schools, and more. There are eleven Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the Phoenix area, designed between 1929 – 1972, ranging from hotels, churches, houses, and more.
In case you aren’t familiar with Frank Lloyd Wright, he first came to be known through his architectural contributions in Chicago. Wright developed a style that would eventually become synonymous with American architecture known as “prairie style”. The style is known for its low-pitched roofs, overhangs, long rows of windows and a lack of an attic or basement. While his career would take many paths, his influence on architecture and community planning is undeniable. So how did this enigmatic influencer end up in Arizona?
Wright’s work took him all over the world, with headquarters in Chicago and Los Angeles. However, the story of his permanent arrival in Arizona started in 1932, with the establishment of his Taliesin Fellowship. The fellowship was Wrights way of teaching the next generation of architects by having them be involved in his projects. At this point in his career, he was not receiving as many architectural commissions, and had begun lecturing and writing more about his design process than designing spaces that would come to fruition. Between 1932 and 1934 the fellowship would rent spaces in Arizona to find some reprieve from the cold Wisconsin winters. The idea for Taliesin West took hold and Wright acquired land in Scottsdale at the base of the McDowell Mountains in the winter of 1937 when he settled permanently in Arizona.
Taliesin West
Taliesin West was a new challenge for the fellowship and allowed them the opportunity to test new ideas, innovations, and ways to incorporate the desert into the building. Wright acquired six hundred acres that was completely untouched, full of native plants, granite, and even petroglyphs and other remnants of the Hohokam that had lived there. The wild untouched land is what captured Wright, but there was one problem, water. The first order of business was bringing water to Taliesin, with the drilling of a well 486 feet beneath the surface. This was not the only challenge though, they had to overcome wildlife, flash floods, caliche, and quartzite, all of which Wright saw as nature behaving as it should and something to be learned from. Nature was after all the muse of his designs, something to be revered: A building was just an extension of that.
Taliesin lends itself to the desert and literally used it for its foundation, the caliche proved to be so hard that it still has a strong foundation all these years later. Quartzite from the area was used to create the infrastructure for the columns framing out the home. This need to incorporate the land and the landscape is what has set Frank Lloyd Wright apart from other architects. Looking at Taliesin West, it resembles the mountains that it is nestled in. Other well-known designs in the Arizona mountains have become destinations for Wright aficionados, fans, and the public to see, they provide bragging rights that you have been in one. There are a handful of homes nestled in the mountains of Paradise Valley, that stand proudly within the mountains they are built into.
State Captial
Wright was such an icon in his field that at one point he could have had an even greater impact on Arizona. At one point in his life Wright was working on a design for a sprawling State Capital building. While his plans never came to be, the spire that now sits prominently at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard is a direct reference to one that would have sat atop the building. But it has also raised some questions, does this tribute in fact pay tribute to Wright? He was all about the land and living within in, and loathed cities above all. Would he have wanted a tribute to him at a busy intersection in a sprawling city?
First Christian Church
One of the buildings that is probably most recognized besides Taliesin West is the First Christian Church located at 6750 N 7th Avenue. With its towering spires it stands out amongst the low ranch style homes original to the area and is a statement piece. Outwardly it resembles the idea of a building resembling the area mimicking the Arizona mountains, but inside is where you see the typical Wright design. The space is full of windows, color, and natural elements.
Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium
Another iconic building designed by Wright is the Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium, located in the heart of the Arizona State University (ASU) Campus. The building itself was intended to be an opera house in Baghdad, but when the King was assassinated a year later the project fell through. ASU then picked up the commission for the auditorium, when Wright was in his nineties. The Gammage building was named after the President of ASU at the time and is in stark contrast to Wrights other designs. With its cake like opulence, sweeping ramps, and curtain like architecture it is very different from many of Wrights other buildings. But once inside the attention to detail and intention behind each space speaks to the genius that he was often credited with. There is not a bad seat in the house, and it lends itself to the audience experience with near perfect acoustics.
Life’s Work
Wright was always mindful of using the land he worked in, sometimes as inspiration, other times as literal building materials. This is part of why his buildings are so special, and why the ones in Arizona are so different than buildings in other places. In every location his intent was to see the land as an ally, something to be appreciated and savored. In Arizona, he used the inspiration from the sprawling landscape to make each building look like it was Arizona, and it belonged there all along. Wright defined American Architecture and created a standard for building that is stilled used in the country today. While this sometimes has created some controversy, he has gained a following and an otherworldly reputation. No matter what though, Wright’s influence on architecture and how we view its presence in nature is undebatable. Specifically in Arizona his influence on buildings can be seen throughout the valley, his legacy through the Taliesin Fellowship and eventually the Taliesin Institute and School of Architecture. His other sites are celebrated and a point of pride in our wonderful state. Happy birthday, Mr. Wright!
References
University of Arizona, Bureau of Geology and Mineral Technology, Caliche, McDowell Mountains area, Maricopa County, Arizona, [GMT 1.8G 35.1.D.1.jpg|GMT 1.8G 35.1.D.2.jpg]. Arizona Memory Project, accessed 02/05/2024, https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/290339
First Christian Church, First Christian Church, [First Christian Church front.jpg|First Christian Church back.jpg]. Arizona Memory Project, accessed 02/05/2024, https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/250979
Arizona State University, Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium, [Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium front.jpg|Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium back.jpg]. Arizona Memory Project, accessed 03/05/2024, https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/249824
Cheek, Lawrence W., Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona. Tuscon, Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2006
Additional Resources
Frank Lloyd Wright | Arizona Memory Project (azlibrary.gov)
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation | Arizona Memory Project (azlibrary.gov)
Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona 1929-1959 | Arizona Memory Project (azlibrary.gov)
The Shining S.T.A.R.L. 