Frank Lloyd Wright: 150 years of Organic Style “I believe in God,” Wright liked to say, “Only I spell it Nature.” This year is the 150th anniversary of the birth of the prolific American architect
interview (available online), Wright describes his lack of interest in religious
and designer Frank Lloyd Wright. Born on June 8, 1867, Wright designed more
architecture and says he considers Nature to be his one and only true god.
than a thousand structures during a career that shaped the country’s architectural and cultural identity. His notoriety and genius inspired countless biographies and
• When Wright completed the Ennis House in 1924, he immediately named it his
several novels. During a life marked by scandal, debt and lies, Frank Lloyd Wright
favorite. It was the last and largest of the four concrete block homes he built in
designed the most innovative buildings of 20th century America. Blending each
Los Angeles. Learn more at EnnisHouse.org.
structure with its surroundings, his west coast career started with a design for George C. Stewart’s Montecito house in 1909 and ended with the Redding Pilgrim
• The Mrs. Clinton Walker House in Carmel, California, was completed in 1951.
Congregational Church in 1957. Nearly 60 years after the architect’s death, 400 of his
Walker told Wright she wanted a house “as durable as the rocks and as transparent
works still stand. Some of his oldest commissions, such as the Mrs. Clinton Walker
as the waves.” Built on granite boulders with a triangular foundation, every room
House and the “Romanza style” Hollyhock House, stand majestically to this day.
has ocean views.
Wright designed 26 buildings in California and only two have been lost: Residence B at Hollyhock House and Wright’s Harper Avenue Studio in Los Angeles. Of the 17 structures designated by the American Institute of Architects as most representative
• When someone complained about one of Wright’s buildings leaking onto his desk, the unsympathetic Wright simply told him to move the desk.
of Wright’s contribution to American culture, three are located in California. Wright’s signature elements – open kitchens, central hearths, homes built over waterfalls – all
• Hanna House, designed in 1936, was a turning point in Wright’s career. Interested
flowed from his ability to dream in 3-D. To commemorate this 150-year milestone,
in promoting a harmonious society through modern and affordable homes for
here are some facts about the man and his amazing body of work.
the American middle class, Wright designed Hanna House with no right angles, an experiment he later explored further in the Guggenheim Museum.
• The American Institute of Architects designated three California structures as Wright’s most important contribution to American culture: Hollyhock House in
• The Alfred Newman Estate, once owned by Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton,
Los Angeles, the V.C. Morris Gift Shop in San Francisco and the Hanna House
is a 2.6-acre property that slopes down from Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific
in Palo Alto.
Palisades and includes a natural spring, riding arena, and a small barn and stables as well as an area for outdoor concerts and a signature hexagonal swimming
• In 1957 Frank Lloyd Wright was interviewed by a young Mike Wallace. In the
8
|
C B I N S I D E O U T . C O M
07_22_GLA_Ed1_CA-Style_FLW150.indd 1
7/13/17 3:29 PM
NOTED CALIFORNIA WORKS OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
pool. Perched at the top of the slope, the house has breathtaking views over Rustic Canyon. • Though Wright declared himself “the world’s greatest living architect,” his personal life was chaotic. Ever the ladies’ man, he left his young wife and six kids for a client’s wife, later marrying several more times, once to a woman 32 years his junior. • Several of Wright’s buildings are public places; there are no tours, but you can look around: Anderton
1909
Court Shops in Beverly Hills, Kundert Medical
GEORGE C. STEWART HOUSE 196 Hot Springs Road, Montecito
Clinic in San Luis Obispo and Redding’s Pilgrim
1923
Congregational Church.
MABEL & CHARLES ENNIS HOUSE 2655 Glendower Avenue, Los Angeles
• Hollyhock House, designed in 1921 as a home for Aline Barnsdall, a Pennsylvania oil heiress and founding member of the Hollywood Bowl, is a 36acre Mayan temple-like structure at the top of Olive
SAMUEL FREEMAN HOUSE 1962 Glencoe Way, Los Angeles JOHN STORER HOUSE 1962 Glencoe Way, Los Angeles ALICE MILLARD HOUSE 645 Prospect Crescent, Pasadena
Hill in Hollywood. Learn more at barnsdall.org. • The Museum of Modern Art is currently showing
1939
“Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archives.”
GEORGE STURGES HOUSE 449 Skyeway Road, Los Angeles
Curator Barry Gergdoll says, “Here’s someone who
1948
was inventing whole new systems of architecture
V.C. MORRIS GIFT STORE 140 Maiden Lane, San Francisco
in his 80s, who holds a press conference at 88 to propose [building] a mile-high skyscraper.” Wright never made his tower in the sky, nor did he see the Guggenheim completed: he died three months before it opened, shortly before his 92nd birthday.
MAYNARD BUEHLER HOUSE 6 Great Oak Circle, Orinda ALFRED NEWMAN ESTATE 14148 West Sunset Boulevard, Pacific Palisades
1951 DELLA WALKER HOUSE Scenic Road at Martin Street, Carmel-by-the-Sea
1955 KARL KUNDERT MEDICAL CLINIC 1106 Pacific Street, San Luis Obispo RANDALL FAWCETT HOUSE 21200 South Center Avenue, Los Banos
1958 PILGRIM CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 2850 Foothill Boulevard, Redding
1921 ALINE BARNSDALL “HOLLYHOCK” HOUSE 4808 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles
1936 HANNA HOUSE 737 Frenchman’s Road, Stanford
1938 SIDNEY BAZETT HOUSE 101 Reservoir Road, Hillsborough
1940 ARCH OBOLER GATEHOUSE 32436 West Mullholland Highway, Malibu
1950 ROBERT BERGER HOUSE 259 Redwood Road, San Anselmo ARTHUR MATHEWS HOUSE 83 Wisteria Way, Atherton WILBUR PEARCE HOUSE 5 Bradbury Hills Road, Bradbury
1952 ANDERTON COURT SHOPS 332 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills
1957 MARIN COUNTY CIVIC CENTER North San Pedro Road, San Rafael ROBERT WALTON HOUSE 417 Hogue Road, Modesto
1974 FELDMAN HOUSE
DR. GEORGE ABLIN HOUSE 4260 Country Club Road, Bakersfield
WRITTEN BY
Maggy Siegel
A Los Angeles-based lifestyle designer, Vintage Finds buyer for One Kings Lane and a veteran apparel industry leader who pioneered several popular children’s brands. She is a mother, an art and nature lover, and collector of all things chic for the home. Contact information: maggysiegelcastyle@gmail.com.
C B I N S I D E O U T . C O M
07_22_GLA_Ed1_CA-Style_FLW150.indd 2
|
9
7/13/17 3:30 PM