Taliesin East

This hill on which Taliesin now stands as "brow" was one of my favorite places when as a boy looking for pasque flowers I went there in March sun while snow still streaked the hillsides.

Frank Lloyd Wright, An Autobiography

I had the pleasure of visiting Taliesin with my father on our "Frank Lloyd Wright tour" of Madison, Wisconsin and the surrounding area. This was a birthday present for both of us and it was an excellent trip with Taliesin being the high point (well, excluding the dinner at Denny's....) 

Frank Lloyd Wright's eastern estate is located about an hour's drive Northwest of Madison. There is a western estate located in Scottsdale, Arizona so this Taliesin is referred to as Taliesin East. The estate is maintained by the Taliesin Preservation Commission and I would like to thank the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation for permission to post photographs of the buildings. Alas, photographs of the interior are not permitted so you have an excuse to tour the estate for yourself. See below for some official wording required by the FLW Foundation. 

We started early on Tuesday morning arriving with enough time to drive through Spring Green before the estate tour started at 8:30 at the Visitor's Center. There were about 15 of us on the four-hour tour. A shuttle bus ride started the adventure at the Unity Chapel and the Hillside Home School. We then hiked to see Romeo and Juliet Windmill, Tan-y-deri House, Midway Farm, and then finally on to Taliesin.

The Welsh word Taliesin translated means "shining brow." This refers to the house being built into the brow of the hillside instead of on top of the hill. Wright is of course known for his "organic architecture" although both my father and I felt that his definition seemed somewhat fluid and open to his own interpretation. Taliesin is an architectural lab where he experimented over the years. In fact, it continues to change as it is still an active school for about 30 apprentices. Taliesin has a long and infamous history that goes beyond this simple journal entry. I don't have a recommendation on a book about Taliesin although there are several available. If you know of a good one please send me your recommendation. Taliesin is well covered in a biography of Frank Lloyd Wright by Meryl Secrest that I enjoyed. 

Although you can see the main house from much of the estate, you don't get the full view until you hike past the Midway Farm on the entry road. The "birdwalk" can be seen on the right side of the house. The living room is on the right side and the guest room and master bedroom are located on the left side of this view. We hiked up the hill on the left side and refreshments on the terrace outside the master bedroom. You can see several more photographs of the house exterior.

The countryside around Taliesin is beautiful and a visit is required to do it justice.

Some more pictures including the "Flower in the Crannied Wall" can be found here

The refreshments after the walk around the estate were welcome.
Ah, this is the life at a country estate!

The Tea Circle Oak page.

A great father/son visit to a wonderful gift from the great American architect. 

Taliesin Exterior

This is the tower located behind the main house. I believe our tour guide (Bryan) said these were now guestrooms although part of this complex used to house chickens. Remember, Taliesin was a working farm.

As we hiked up the hill I took this shot looking towards the "birdwalk" that juts out over the hill.

This photograph was taken from the center of the complex looking over the roofs of the main house. The garden where we had refreshments is located to the right near the master bedroom.

The birdwalk (below) is quite long and standing at the end provides a nice view of the house. The living room is to the right and the guestroom is to the left. Notice that the window to the immediate right of the birdwalk looking towards the house is a normal clear glass window.

Many photographs show this as an artglass window saved from the Heath House (S.105). According to our guide, the Taliesin Preservation Commission has been returning the house to its state when Wright was living so these windows have been removed to the interior of the house. As explained to us, the purpose of the artglass was to shield the interior from the exterior. That would not have been consistent with Wright's wishes at Taliesin.

The guestroom is to the immediate left of the birdwalk, and the master bedroom is further down towards the left end of the house.

Taliesin Countryside

The estate is located in rolling, wooded hills with a stream that feeds into the Wisconsin River. The river has been dammed creating a small waterfall, but the small hydroelectric plant no longer exists. This picture was taken from the birdwalk looking down the hill.

I believe this picture was taken looking out from the garden by the master bedroom,
or it might have been taken when we were walking up the hill.

Here we are walking down the road from Tan-y-deri to the Midway Farm.
It was a warm summer day (about 90 degrees and humid).

Taliesin Exterior Items

We first saw this splash pool after hiking up the hill. It looked very refreshing....

Sherpa is the cat at Taliesin....

Some of the oriental artifacts collected by Frank Lloyd Wright.
There was a good story behind these if you happen to know it, please drop me a note.

Bryan, our tour guide quoted the poem below by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) that is inscribed on the back of the sculpture. She has seen better days. There is a good picture of the complete statue in 50 Favorite Furnishings by Frank Llloyd Wright.

"The Flower in the Crannied Wall"
Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower—but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

– Tennyson

The Garden and the Tea Circle Oak

 

This is the trellised garden that we entered upon reaching the house.
We sat and had refreshments just to the left of this garden entrance.

Unfortunately, the "Tea Circle Oak" fell on the house in June of 1998 (the house has
been repaired). The picture below is of the only remaining large oak tree near the house.

The Tea Circle remains, but it certainly not the same without the oak tree.
The Taliesin gift shop may still have pen and pencil sets (#920, #921, #923) made
from the wood of the fallen Tea Circle Oak tree.

This is the bell that used to hang from the Tea Circle Oak.....

 

Taliesin Visitor's Center

 

The Talisin East Visitor's Center was designed by Wright in 1953 and although construction was started in the 1950's, it was not completed until after his death in 1960. The center has an extensive gift shop and a small casual restaurant with a wonderful view overlooking the Wisconsin River.

The tour of the estate started at the entrance to the gift shop and restaurant. The roof cantelievered over the entrance has a opening to let sunlight and rain reach the plants.

The Visitor's Center is an official Frank Lloyd Wright building.

 

Permissions Information

 

All of the models, drawings, designs and works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Taliesin Architects seen at Taliesin are the exclusive property of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Taliesin Architects and may not be photographed, reproduced, copied or duplicated without the express written consent of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Use with permission from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, AZ.

Andrew T. Porter Residence — Tan-y-deri

After hiking up the hill to see Romeo and Juliet, we walked a short distance to see the house that Wright built for his sister Jane and her husband Andrew Porter. The house was based on the design in a Fireproof House for $5000, an article published in the 1907 Ladies Home Journal. There is an excellent view of Taliesin from this hilltop. 

Tan-y-deri is Welsh for "under the oaks."

The house is in the process of being restored. We saw work being done on the flat roof (porch?) and our tour guide told us that the wiring in the house was unsafe now and would be replaced. Although Frank Lloyd Wright is noted for his wonderful custom art glass windows, he did make use of more common leaded glass in some of his earlier houses. You can see typical examples in the upper floor windows here.

Romeo and Juliet Windmill

"Romeo, as you will see, will do all the work and Juliet cuddle along-side to support and exalt him. Romeo takes the side of the blast and Juliet will entertain the school children. Let's let it go at that. No symbol should be taken too far."

Frank Lloyd Wright, An Autobiography

This is one of my favorite Wright structures. I didn't understand the reference to the name until seeing that the windmill consists of a diamond (Romeo) wrapped with a octagon (Juliet). This diagram is not to scale, but it conveys the idea behind the design of the windmill. 

According to Storrer, the windmill was torn down in 1990 and rebuilt on the original foundation and with the original roof. May it last another 100 years! 

These photographs are from the visit that my father and I made to Taliesin East this past summer. 

The following is the view of the windmill from the Hillside School. You can see it was quite colorful with the flowers in bloom. It was a warm day, so we worked up a sweat climbing the hill for a closer look.

Although somewhat dark, you get a better view of Romeo in the following photograph.

Here is a closeup of the top of the windmill. Notice the red Taliesin square.

Unity Chapel

Unity Chapel was the first stop on our tour at Taliesin East. This was probably the first building that Frank Lloyd Wright designed (at least the interior), so it is only fitting that he was originally buried in the cemetery here in 1959. Many of his ancestors are buried around him including his mother, Anna Lloyd Jones.

Although Silsbee, Wright's employer at the time, is credited with the design of Unity Chapel, Wright was probably the draftsman and he is credited with designing the interior.

Frank Lloyd Wright was originally buried in the family cemetery in 1959, but in 1985 he was exhumed, cremated, and placed with his third wife, Oligivanna Wright, at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona. This dying request of Oligivanna was very controversial and the events involved are described by Meryle Secrest in her biography of Wright. Our tour guide did not mention that Wright was no longer buried here.

In case you had thoughts of making your last resting place in "The Valley"....

Unitarian Meeting House

Exterior Photographs

 

This is an excellent Wright building to visit if you are touring Madison, Wisconsin. The tour is well done, and the access to the building is excellent. There are many Wright originals in the building including furniture and other artifacts. There are three pages of photographs at this website including this page of exterior photos, a page of interior photos and a page with photos of the auditorium. There is an official website for the First Unitarian Society. 

The construction site was more secluded when the building was conceived, but it is now surrounded by development and looks out on to a hospital. When it was constructed, there was a veteran's hospital being constructed, but it appears much closer so I think it is a newer hospital. Actually, "looks out" is not exactly accurate. You can see from the auditorium interior that you can't actually see out of the "prow" of the building — my father and I both thought this was strange and somewhat disappointing. I suppose that the glass prow serves to provide the light source for indirect lighting in the auditorium.

As with most Wright buildings, the entry way (below) is understated.

It's not an optical illusion — the roof of the building is bending down.
I doubt this was planned, but it's not uncommon with Wright buildings.
We didn't hear anything about the roof leaking on the tour,
but that would not be too surprising either....
My father is six feet tall so you can see that a certain amount of
"compression" of space was intended here.

This is the window off the "living room" that is used for social gatherings.
It is located at the back of the building.

Here is some of the detail on the outside of the glass prow.
You can see the reinforcing blocks used to hold the glass in place.
You can also see the mitered glass with no visible seam —
another common feature in Wright buildings.

This education center was added later by Taliesin Architects.

 

Interior Photographs

 

This is the "loggia-gallery" with several original plywood tables designed by Wright. A new word for me — a "loggia" is a "roofed but open gallery or arcade along the front or side of a building." 

I thought this was a nice use of indirect natural lighting in the building.
The interior view first followed by an exterior view.

This is the bell that used to hang at the top of the prow on the outside.
I believe the tour guide said that the wind blew it down,
so they decided to keep it inside.
I can imagine the concern if that bell went through the glass prow....

And of course there is a fireplace.
The Hearth Room is located directly behind the auditorium.

 

Auditorium

 

This is the auditorium. A wonderful space — very serene and light. The organ pipes are located in the prow and you can see the vertical rectangular windows that open on the right side of the glass here. 

This is the view looking out from the podium. Although I did not
plan the photography well, you can see a wider angle view
created by combining three photos to get a better feel for the space.

I thought these "wings" out over the podium were interesting. This is looking up.