Romeo and Juliet Windmill, Act 3

A couple of fascinating video clips:

Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, a long-time senior apprentice (he was at Taliesin long before Wright died) tells the history of Romeo and Juliet Windmill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKo161waeiM


A short documentary of erecting the rebuilt tower.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peAF2_9siuA&feature=related

Romeo and Juliet, Act 2

...a couple of additional pictures of Romeo and Juliet.

This early Frank Lloyd Wright work almost didn't get built. Wright's aunts lobbied for it as his uncles incessantly threw out reasons why this particular design should not be erected.

The aunts stuck to their guns. In his autobiography, Wright recalls a letter written to him by the aunts relating the uncles' fears of the tower's inherent instability which would surely,they thought, soon lead to its demise.

Wright wrote back assuring them of the structure's integrity and instructed them to tell the uncles to "use more nails." He ended the letter by insisting that of course they would build it, and he would come (from to Chicago) to see it.

They did, and the young Frank Lloyd Wright did too - with cape, hat, and cane.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin - Spring Green, Wisconsin

Green design isn't new.

American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) illustrated a few of the basic tenants of building green in the construction of his home and studio just south of Spring Green, Wisconsin.

The house becomes one with the land; neither is master or slave but work together in visual and functional harmony.

Indigenous stone, Wisconsin River sand (plaster), and local wood make up most of the home's material palette and serves to blend house with nature simultaneously minimizing transportation costs.

Decoration is non-existent. Ornament is always integral to the building efficiently eliminating unnecessary superfluous materials.

Modern-day green enthusiasts can learn a great deal from Frank Lloyd Wright; he called it "Organic Architecture."

Frank Lloyd Wright's Riverview Terrace Restaurant

The 1950's, Frank Lloyd Wright's last decade on earth, was his most prolific - at least in terms of buildings constructed.

The River Terrace Restaurant, now the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor's center, is one of those buildings. Perched on the Wisconsin River, this 1953 gem frames magnificent interior views northward over the wide Wisconsin River.

An organic spire tops the building giving a nice accent to the horizontal geometry of the building.

You can see this structure, visit the gift shop, and book a tour of Taliesin and Hillside - Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio -just around the corner.

It's worth a visit.

http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/visitorsguide/index.htm