Frank Lloyd Wright 150th Birthday Tribute

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that today is the 150th birthday of architect supreme Frank Lloyd Wright. His design aesthetic shaped my tastes and his innovative creations continue to inspire. Today's post features a brief glimpse of the FLW structures I have been able to see over the years, starting with his Studio in Oak Park, Illinois.

Taliesen West in Arizona:



Woodside in Marion, Indiana:



The Robie House in Chicago:



The Millard House in Los Angeles:



The Guggenheim Museum in New York City:



The Samuel Freeman House in Hollywood:



The Ennis House in Hollywood:



The Hollyhock House in East Hollywood:



Wow...and that's only a small portion of this man's genius.

More Frank Lloyd Wright at my main website.

The Wright Tour Pt. 7: Hollyhock House

The last time I had visited Barnsdall Park and the 1921 Hollyhock House in Hollywood, I was only able to tour the grounds since the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Mayan Revival home was under renovation.



Thanks to the Wright Tour that I participated in, I not only got to go inside, but I was able to take photos. This warms my heart to no end.



Never has anyone done so much with concrete.

















A touch of Italy with this Dancing Faun statue that is a reproduction of one from Pompeii:





How about these ornate dining room chairs?





The views from Barnsdall Park are amazing, too. The Hollywood Sign:



Griffith Observatory:



And another Wright gem, The Ennis House:





More photos of the master architect's work at my main website.

The Rocketeer Abroad, Pt. 2

A few more international photos of "The Rocketeer" as he promoted the 1991 across the globe. First up is Big Ben in London, getting the thumbs up from The Rocketeer.

Australia, aka The Land Down Under:



Sweden:



2 from Spain:





And the last one from this set shows The Rocketeer in Germany:



As a bonus, here are a few shots of the amazing sets from the film.



This interior was inspired by the Ennis House in Hollywood, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.



It's where our lovely heroine, played by Jennifer Connelly, was being held against her will:



The set used for the nightclub:





The final one for today shows the Howard Hughes airline hanger set:



Hughes was played by Terry O'Quinn:



See more Daveland Rocketeer photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Frank Lloyd Wright

Back in 2002, I took a trip to Chicago and my first introduction to Frank Lloyd Wright occurred when I visited his studio in Oak Park. My sense of design was never the same. I immediately fell for his designs, theories, and practical sense of style.

Unfortunately, these photos were shot many cameras ago, so there were only a few shots and they are not the greatest. I really need to get back there.

In Oak Park, there are quite a few Frank Lloyd Wright homes. I would be happy to have any one of them!





One even bears my last name; must be a distant relative. Hope he remembers me in his will:





Nearby in Los Angeles is the Ennis House, built in 1924. Sitting high up on a hill in Los Feliz near Griffith Park, it has been used for a number of Film and TV productions (including Harrison Ford’s “Blade Runner”):







The textile blocks used throughout the façade are amazing; I really love the Mayan influences that Wright incorporated into the design. It is like nothing else I have ever seen.



For only $15 million, this house could be yours. It has been for sale since last June, and is in need of some TLC as you can see from these photos. Unable to make it as a nonprofit, a private owner seems to be the best solution to keep this historic landmark from demolition.



In Arizona, you can find Taliesin West. Built in 1937, it served as the winter home for FLW and as the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. On the tour that I took back in 1997, I was told that the final project for each student is to build a temporary home/tent structure that would be torn down once the project was graded.









See more Frank Lloyd Wright photos at my main website.