Taliesin West

I decided to have a little bit of fun during Winter Break, one of them is something that has been on my bucket list.  And oh boy, did this ever make my bucket list.

Years ago when I was earning my bachelors degree, I took an architecture class for humanities credit (VERY interesting overview of architecture styles and learning about city and neighborhood design.  One of the architects we spent a lot of time on was Frank Lloyd Wright.  I had heard about him with learning about the design of Grady Gammage Theater in Tempe on the ASU campus.  I’ve been there a few times to see programs, so I had been familiar with it, the design of the building, and a brief mention of Frank Lloyd Wright.  

Today (December 28th) I visited Taliesin West, which was not only his home during the final years of his life, it was also a school of architecture and design, where the students created little “cabins” in the desert around the campus.

The tour this morning was made extra special with the docent, a woman who is a former art teacher to pre-school children.  She was awesome and made everything fun.  Even more fun, in one of the rooms was a Steinway grand piano, that I was invited by the docent to play.  Very cool!

Here are a few pictures (I tried to get some without other people from the tour group in the shot):

The View

The water flowing in this pool is pumped from an underground spring!

Having views of nature brought indoors is the hallmark of Frank Lloyd Wright designs.

The Steinway, the keys flowed like butter even though it hasn’t been tuned in decades.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s bedroom.  The nearest bed was for short naps, the further bed was where he slept.  A window (to the left of the picture) that shows the further bed was the “Do Not Disturb” window so the students (apprentices) would know he was sleeping if they were trying to speak with him.

Another pool from the springs in between buildings.

This room is a lighting room.  Lights were put in different places to teach apprentices how light affects a room.

The view of McDowell Mountains from the dining room area.

The studio and dining rooms.  The rooms were changed from the front rooms due to the build up of power lines obstructing the view in the front.

The entrances of each of his buildings have Asian inspired sculptures at the entrance, a nod from him after his travels to Japan.

The theater

The Cabaret from next to the stage.

The Cabaret from the back.  Yes, they did have movies shown, due to Frank Lloyd Wright’s connections with Hollywood.

Their logo is this orange design, symbolizing to hands clasped together in a working relationship and friendship.