If you like Frank Lloyd Wright, there are four places you absolutely must visit. He designed hundreds of buildings during his long career, but a few stand apart.
There are dozen of homes and buildings Wright built, which are open for tours, but these four are the places where he developed his signature style and built what his heart told him to.
His Oak Park Home and Studio in Illinois shows where Wright experimented with ideas that would become the Prairie style. Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin, was his lifelong home, studio, and architectural school – filled with horror stories. Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona, shows how he adapted his style to the Sonoran Desert. And then there is Fallingwater, the most famous example of Wright’s belief that a building should belong to its landscape. I’m swooning just thinking of them.
These aren’t just historic houses. They are places where you can see Wright’s ideas evolve from one period of his career to another, and develop fantasies of one day having a Frank Lloyd Wright house of your own (with lots of luck and money).
1. Taliesin: Where Frank Lloyd Wright Lived and Worked
Where is Taliesin?
Taliesin is in Spring Green, Wisconsin, about an hour west of Madison, on an 800-acre estate in Wisconsin’s beautiful Driftless Area. It’s a beautiful drive through lush green landscapes.
Why is Taliesin important?
Taliesin was Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, studio, farm, and architectural school for nearly 50 years. Unlike many Wright houses, he didn’t design this for a client. It was his family home and a place where he continually experimented with architectural ideas.
While this is my least favorite of Wright’s homes, the history of Taliesin is riveting. Wright used it as a work and study space for his apprentices, so the house was constantly evolving, with some experimental additions and spaces that feel a little odd or less polished than his other work. But the history? Riveting. Taliesin burned down twice and was the scene of a mass murder. Yep. Is it haunted? Likely, IMO.
Wright began building it in 1911 on what he considered one of his favorite childhood hills on family property. The house was rebuilt twice after fires, creating the three major sections known as Taliesin I, II, and III.
The name Taliesin comes from Welsh and means “shining brow.” Wright positioned the house along what he called the hill’s brow rather than placing it on top.
What makes Taliesin unique?
One of the most interesting things about any Wright home is how thoroughly he incorporated the surrounding landscape into the architecture.
Rather than treating the hill, gardens, courtyards, and house as separate elements, he designed them to work together. He used local limestone and Wisconsin River sand in the construction, while the overhanging roofs flow with the green prairie landscape.
The views are as important to the experience as the architecture itself. Inside the living room, exposed stone and wrap-around windows bring the outside in. A highlight feature is the Birdwalk — a long, extended balcony jutting out from the house.
But if you’re an architecture lover like me, the most fascinating detail is Wright’s drafting studio. This was where he and his apprentices worked on designs, including Fallingwater.
The Taliesin Tragedies
The house visitors see today is actually the third version of Wright’s Wisconsin home. The original Taliesin was built in 1911, but just three years later, in 1914, while Wright was away in Chicago, a house worker set a fire and attacked the people inside with a hatchet. Seven people were killed, including Wright’s mistress, her two children, and four other workers.
The fire destroyed the residential portion of Taliesin, but Wright immediately began rebuilding it.
Then again, in 1925, it was an electrical fire that destroyed the living quarters. Wright rebuilt again, creating Taliesin III, the version that forms the house visitors experience today.
A note for visitors: The murders are part of Taliesin’s documented history, but the property is not presented as a true-crime attraction. Tours focus primarily on Wright, the architecture, the landscape, and the estate’s history, barely mentioning the murders.
How do you tour Taliesin?
Tours begin at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, where visitors take a shuttle to the estate. Several tour options are available during the main season. The estate also hosts workshops, lectures, performances, and other special events. Aside from the main house, you’ll also see the school, a windmill he designed and another house on the property he built for his aunt.
Nature lover’s tip: If you have the time, plan to hike among the hills surrounding the home, like FLW used to do. There are several well-marked public trails.
One intriguing aspect of touring Frank Lloyd Wright’s homes is that many of his buildings incorporate sculptures and other objects specifically chosen or designed to complement the space.
Sculpture: Look for Flower-in-a-Crannied Wall — This stone sculpture features a nude female emerging from an unfinished building. Wright had it designed for the Susan Lawrence Dana House in 1902, where the original can still be found.
- Location: Spring Green, Wisconsin
- Details: Set across an 800-acre estate, Wright began building this sprawling property in 1911 on land belonging to his Welsh family. It served as his primary year-round residence, studio, and architectural school for nearly 50 years.
- Tours: House tours, highlight tours, and extended estate tours run April through December. Learn more at Taliesin Preservation.
2. Taliesin West: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Desert Laboratory
Where is Taliesin West?
Taliesin West is in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the foothills of the gorgeous McDowell Mountains.
Taliesin West was Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home, studio, and architectural laboratory. He established the desert complex in the late 1930s after beginning his winter migration between Wisconsin and Arizona.
The contrast between the two properties makes visiting both particularly rewarding. They’re entirely different homes with telltale Wright features. Taliesin has rolling green hills, prairie and limestone. Taliesin West has mountains, intense sunlight, desert stone, and cactus.
What makes Taliesin West unique?
For the Sonoran Desert, Wright made the house feel as though it emerged from the landscape using local desert rock and sand, with a technique known as “desert masonry.” Just like in Taliesin, Wright hosted an architecture school on the property. His many apprentices used redwood beams and translucent canvas roofs to create open spaces filled with filtered desert light.
Sculpture: Look for Aiming for the Mark, a bronze sculpture by former Taliesin Fellow Heloise Crista. The striking figure, framed by pink flowers, depicts a woman drawing back an arrow. Her bronze sculptures appear throughout Taliesin West, making them a fun detail to look for.
Can you tour Taliesin West?
Yes. Taliesin West is open to visitors with a ticket for a tour, program, or event.
The Self-Guided Audio Tour is good. It takes about 60 to 75 minutes and includes Wright’s living and working spaces, including the immaculate drafting studio.
The foundation also hosts special experiences, including desert hikes and photography-oriented programs.
Nature lovers tip: Stay a while and hike the McDowell Mountain Preserve. Its many miles of desert landscape feature numerous public trails worth your time.
- Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
- Details: Established in 1937, this desert compound served as Wright’s winter home, studio, and desert laboratory. Wright made it his base every winter after its construction.
- Tours: Audio tours, guided walks, and outdoor hikes by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
3. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio in Oak Park
Why should you visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio?
If Taliesin shows Wright as an established architect, Oak Park shows you where the ideas that made him famous began.
Wright built his Oak Park home in 1889, when he was still a young architect working for Louis Sullivan at Adler & Sullivan in Chicago. He lived there for nearly 20 years and repeatedly modified the house as his family grew and his architectural ideas developed.
What is special about the Oak Park Studio?
For architecture lovers, the studio is the star of the visit. The two-story drafting room includes an unusual octagonal balcony suspended from chains attached to the ceiling beams.
This is where Wright and his team developed the ideas behind the Prairie style. During the Oak Park Studio years, Wright designed major projects including the Larkin Building, Unity Temple, and Robie House. He also built dozens of homes in his Oak Park neighborhood.
The 1895 playroom, designed for Wright’s six children, is a highlight. Its barrel-vaulted ceiling and built-in seating make it one of the house’s most memorable rooms.
Sculpture: Look for “The Boulders,” the two unusual crouching figures flanking the Studio entrance. Designed by Richard Bock and Wright, the figures appear as if they’re being born from the stone.
Can you tour the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio?
Yes. By guided tour only. The standard Home and Studio tour takes about one hour.
What is Wright Plus?
If you’re a serious Frank Lloyd Wright fan—and who isn’t?—consider planning your trip around Wright Plus, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust’s annual architectural house walk.
Once a year, it’s a rare opportunity to go inside privately owned Wright-designed homes and other significant buildings in Oak Park. It’s held in late spring/early summer and tickets are ~ $130.
Architecture lover’s tip: Don’t visit the Home and Studio and immediately leave Oak Park. Instead, try the Wright Around Oak Park experience that includes an expanded Home and Studio tour and an audio walking tour featuring ten Wright-designed homes from the exterior.
- Location: Oak Park, Illinois
- Details: Wright built this home in 1889 at age 22 (!) and lived there with his family until 1909. It was his experimental workshop where he first developed the American Prairie style.
- Tours: Guided interior and neighborhood walking tours are available through the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.
4. Bonus: Fallingwater, Wright’s House Over a Waterfall
Is Fallingwater worth visiting?
Absolutely. If you visit no other FLW house, go to Fallingwater. I’ve been on house tours all over the world and this is one unlike any other. Fallingwater, more than any other architecture, represents the ideal integration of architecture and nature in its truest form.
Located in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, Fallingwater was designed in 1935 for Pittsburgh department-store owner Edgar Kaufmann and his family.
What makes Fallingwater so famous? The obvious answer is the waterfall.
But the remarkable part isn’t simply that Wright built a house beside a waterfall. He integrated this house directly over it.
The cantilevered concrete terraces extend over the waterfall, allowing visitors to experience the water’s sound and movement from inside the house.
No other home has a greater relationship between the interior and exterior. Fallingwater has almost as much outdoor terrace space as indoor living space, and Wright used glass, stone, concrete, and horizontal lines to blur the distinction between the house and the landscape.
One especially clever detail is the glass corner windows. By eliminating traditional vertical corner supports, Wright created uninterrupted views into the forest, making the corners of the house appear to dissolve into the landscape. (Guides will tell you this is one of many pains for preservation of a waterfall house. But WORTH IT, IMO). Be a doll and donate to the preservation while you’re there.
How do you tour Fallingwater?
Fallingwater offers several visitor experiences, with the main Guided Architectural Tour providing access to the house interior and grounds. There is also a Guided Grounds Walking Tour for visitors who want to focus on the relationship between Fallingwater and the surrounding Bear Run landscape.
Sculpture & Art: Fallingwater’s extensive art collection includes paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects owned by the Kaufmann family.
Travel tip: Make reservations in advance. While you’re in the area, spend a few days exploring the nearby Laurel Highlands, a beautiful region of forests, mountains, waterfalls, and outdoor adventures. Ohiopyle State Park, Bear Run Nature Reserve, and another Frank Lloyd Wright house, Kentuck Knob, are all close to Fallingwater.
Fallingwater is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Landmark.
- Location: Mill Run, Pennsylvania
- Details: Widely considered the greatest work of American architecture. It is a stunning residential home built directly over a 30-foot active waterfall using dramatic cantilevered concrete trays.
- Tours: Guided tour info and tickets are at: https://fallingwater.org/.
Which FLW homes or buildings have you visited?
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