a brief visit to frank lloyd wright's taliesin west over the memorial day weekend

on sunday afternoon of the memorial day weekend, i managed to make time to visit frank lloyd wright's winter home and school known as taliesin west, which is located on a southern slope of the mcdowell range overlooking paradise valley outside scottsdale, arizona. 

wright would spend his winters there, beginning in 1937, until the time of his death in 1959, at the age of 91 years of age.

i was pleased to closely examine and document two of the original cast concrete sprites designed by alfonso iannelli for midway gardens, constructed in 1914 on the south side of chicago.

sadly, the two full-figured sprites were painted over in a horrendous polychromatic color scheme either by students of the fellowship upon their arrival in the 1940's (the sprites escaped demolition in 1929 and were later discovered in a field in wisconsin), or quite possibly, the edelweiss (schoenhofen) brewery company, who took ownership of the concrete complex shortly after it went bankrupt.

wright, who generally exerted strong creative control over his completed projects, was disgusted by the aesthetic changes that the brewery made to the gardens, writing that edelweiss had added "obnoxious features" and that the whole effect of "the proud midway gardens" "was cheapened to suit a hearty bourgeois taste."

it was disappointing to see these remarkable artifacts painted over in a clownish color scheme, but at the very least, they survived the wrecking ball mostly intact for future study.

i included a few additional images of the well-curated and vibrantly colored "grounds" against the backdrop of mountains, along with a a sweeping view of the desert landscape that wright admired while having his tea; that is, until the utility poles went up...

the last image depicts the long corridor seen upon entrance to the subterranean cabaret theater. one of wright's most cherished artifacts - a cast iron buddha head - is displayed just to the left of the corridor (not shown).

wright would personally (he trusted no one other than himself) haul this object back and forth between wisconsin and scottsdale each and every year.

overall, it was a worthwhile experience... i certainly gained a better understanding and appreciation for wright, as he lived out the last years of his life in this unusual desert "campus."

wright died shortly after undergoing surgery in phoenix, to remove an intestinal obstruction. although originally interred at taliesin east (springreen, wisc.), his body was later exhumed by students of the fellowship, and brought back to scottsdale (a very sore subject that did not go over well when i asked the guide to expound upon that subject matter).

to this day, only a small number of people know exactly where his cremated remains were deposited. the guide did manage to say that "we passed them along the way" on the tour. i suspect, after doing a little research, that the ashes were mixed in the mortar used to build one of the walls of the memorial garden.

in the end, and despite my fixation on sprites and ashes, it doesn't really matter... let the man rest in peace.

i will explore, in greater depth, the tales behind the survival of the sprites and other remnants (including the textile block i was fortunate to have acquired for the bldg. 51 museum) of midway gardens at a later time.