This virtual cache is meant to highlight Frank Lloyd Wright's home and likely most know piece of work. Several sources have described Taliesin as an embodiment of Wright and his architectural philosophy. In Taliesin 1911-1914, a collection of essays, the authors and editor conclude that Taliesin was "Wright's architectural self-portrait."
Why Here?
Wright previously lived in Oak Park, Illinois. While designing a home for Edwin Cheney he developed feelings for his wife and had an affair and later separated from their spouses in 1909. They then traveled to Europe together so Wright could pursue some work. In 1910 they desired to return to the US but knew they couldn't go back to Oak Park after thier affair.
Wright was born in Richland Center, WI in 1867 and his family later settled in Madison, WI in 1877 after living in multiple locations growing up. His maternal grandfather had settled into the land just south of the village of Spring Green, WI after emigrating with his family from Wales.
Wright saw his ancestral land near Spring Green would be a great place to escape their scandal and a nice location to build a home. Initially he was able to avoid drawing attention to the affair by having his mother purchase the deed for the property but it wasn't until later that fall that the Chicago Examiner reporter had discovered the property and making headlines about the affair in the Chicago Tribune on Christmas Eve.
Multiple Revisions
The Taliesin house has actually experianced 2 major fires leading to significant alterations after each fire. The three stages are referred to as Taliesin I, II, and III.
The house was designed to nestle agains the hill, as an example of Wrights "organic architecture". The bands of windows, one of his trademarks, allow nature to enter the house, and the fluid transitions from interior to exterior were radical at the time. This kept with his belief that architecture should be "of" the hill, and not "on" it.
In 1914 an employee of Wrights, Julian Carlton a chef, had grown increasingly paranoid and odd behaviours which Wright and Borthwick had noticed. After seeking for a replacement chef and providing him notice he plotted to kill Taliesins workers and residents. Using a hatchet he began an attack on multiple individuals, then using gasoline started multiple fires including near living quarters causing others to flee while he continued his attacks.
The fire destroyed the living areas, but the agriculture wing and the drafting studio survived mostly intact. Wright struggled heavy with the loss of Borthwick and eventually moved to an apartment in Chicago. This attack had a profound effect on his design principals and biographer Robert Twombly writes that his Prairie School architectural period ended after the loss of Borthwick
Taliesin II
After the Taliesin massacre, Wright declared his intention to rebuild the complex. By sprint of 1915 Taliesin II was completed. He spent little time at Taliesin II as he often lived near his construction site abroad. He didn't start "living" at Taliesin II until about 1922. In 1925 Wright returned to Taliesin II and noticed smoke billowing from his bedroom and was able to get help immediately. Sadly the fire quickly spread due to winds and by the time they got it under control the living quarters of the second Taliesin were quickly destroyed. The fire appeared to have begun near a telephone in his bedroom, there was also mention of a lightning storm approaching the area right before noticing the fire.
Taliesin II
Once again he began rebuilding the living quarters of Taliesin for a 3rd time.
Other structures
Other structures can be seen with Wrights influence on the property. The Hillside Homeschool i the southernmost building in the complex and is designed in the Prairie Style. The Hillside Home School also contains a theater. The modern Taliesin comples also includes the Midway Farm though is no longer used as a farm.Nearby is the Unity Chapel which as a child Wright helped design the interior and was later buried.
To claim your find:
- At the posted coordinates and pull off, take and post a photo of either yourself (face not required), gps, or some other personal item (trackable, paper with your caching name, etc) that includes the main home in the background.
- Opt. Include in your log any observations you feel about the design and location of his home.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.