An Architect for the Ages: Frank Lloyd Wright
American architecture varies widely, absorbing influences from around the globe. However, one man left an undisputed mark on the field, with distinctive features and stylistic flairs found all over the United States: Frank Lloyd Wright. In celebration of Wright’s birthday on June 8, we dive into some of the history-making landmarks that define his impressive architectural feats.
You might be surprised to learn that the National Archives contains a wealth of resources related to architectural achievements through the records of the National Parks Service. Applications for the National Register of Historic Places, which often contain photos, drawings, and other related materials, are rich with historic and aesthetic information. Of Wright’s thousands of designs, hundreds of built sites are part of the register, many of which are pictured throughout this article.
His Life’s “Drawing”
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, in 1867. His Midwestern roots are reflected throughout his career, with many of his most iconic structures being located in the region, including in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana.
Wright attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study civil engineering in 1886. But before he completed his studies, he crossed paths with a Chicago-based architectural firm that his uncle commissioned to design the family’s Unitarian chapel in Wyoming, Wisconsin. While Wright was not formally employed by Joseph Lyman Silsbee’s firm, he reviewed draft drawings for the structure. This is often credited as Wright’s earliest work, and soon after, Silsbee offered him employment in his Chicago office.
This experience with Silsbee’s firm proved formative to young Wright. Silsbee was a practitioner of a school of architecture known as “Shingle Style,” characterized by irregular yet continuous forms, wood shingle surfaces, and harmony with the surrounding landscape. Wright was influenced by this style, but he also refined it in his subsequent works.Â
Apprentice and Acolyte
Wright stayed with Silsbee for about a year before moving on to a full-time apprenticeship with the firm Adler & Sullivan. In his five-year tenure at the firm, he began one of his most popular projects: the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio.
Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio, Illinois
After moving to the house in 1887, Wright transformed the modest rural property into both a residence and a design hub. The Oak Park home evolved through numerous additions to accommodate his family and growing practice. It was also where Wright secretly designed his early independent projects, known as the “bootleg houses,” which led to his separation from his mentor and employer, Louis Sullivan.
Prairie Style
Defined by low, horizontal lines, integration with the landscape, and warm, subtle color palettes, the Prairie Style of architecture was Wright’s foremost achievement as his practice matured in the early 20th century.
With horizontal rooflines instead of triangular gables, the A. P. Johnson House exemplifies the structures that became common in many Prairie Style homes.
Designed much later in Lloyd’s illustrious career, the Alvin Miller House shows both continuity and iteration in his style. The horizontal lines and incorporation of natural materials like stone and glass are consistent with earlier designs. The floor-to-ceiling windows, which help blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, are a hallmark of Wright’s later style.
The Prairie Style is most fully expressed in what is arguably Wright’s most famous creation: Fallingwater.
Built in 1935, Fallingwater is Wright’s masterful fusion of architecture and nature. A commission, the home was famously designed to sit atop a waterfall rather than face it. Its layered terraces, organic details, and horizontality make it a quintessential Wright and, to many, his chef d’œuvre.
Spaceship or Art Museum?
One of Wright’s most iconic structures, perhaps the most unique in his catalog, was not even completed within his lifetime. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, situated in New York City’s Upper East Side just across the street from Central Park, features a bold spiraling form that defied traditional museum design at the time.
The space, which opened in 1959, invites visitors to experience art along a continuous ramp rather than in segmented rooms. Its innovative layout was initially controversial, but it has since become a beloved architectural landmark and a testament to Wright’s visionary approach. (And at one stage in the drafting process, Wright made the exterior pink!)
Wright designed over a thousand structures in his lifetime, dozens of which are designated National Historic Landmarks and hundreds more of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. His commitment to seamlessly transitioning the natural environment into the built one continues to inspire future generations of architects and designers.
