Taliesin West

Photographs © 2000 Darien Sides

These are some photographs that my brother, Darien, sent me from a recent trip he made to Taliesin West in January of 2001. Among some of the tidbits he picked up: the roof was originally made of canvas; there were no windows until Mrs. Wright got tired of that situation; when an apprentice first joins the Taliesin Fellowship s/he often builds and then lives in a tent of his/her own making for several months.

Taliesin West is well covered in a number of books including Frank Lloyd Wright The Masterworks. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Archives are located at Taliesin West, so it's definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. I look forward to visiting there myself!

You can visit the official site for Taliesin West at: www.franklloydwright.org.

Taliesin West is built with materials native to the area including rocks embedded in concrete.

The structure is designed to resemble the surrounding mountains. You get a sense of that in this profile shot below.

Part of the Music Pavilion....

Arizona Biltmore Hotel

Photographs and text © 2000 Tom Horton

The hotel is constructed of Wright's tile blocks and has a Southwestern theme, but with exotic and almost oriental touches, such as the cutouts in the eves. It was abandoned for a time, then extensively renovated, and is now a world-class golf resort.

The Pool House (below), a riot of terraces, is separated
from the main hotel by a long formal garden.

You can visit the website for the Biltmore Hotel.