Taliesin West and Old Scottsdale

Taliesin West

"Then standing on the site, look about you so that you might see what has charm.  What is the reason you want to build there? Find out.  Then build your house so that you may still look from where you stood upon all that charmed you and lose nothing of what you saw before the house was built, but see more."

Frank Lloyd Wright

In 1937, Wright decided he wanted a permanent winter retreat from the harsh Wisconsin winters and purchased 620 acres of raw, rugged desert near the "town" of Scottsdale for $3.50 an acre. He was 70 years old at the time, and he loved challenges.

He set out to build what was one of his greatest masterpieces, Taliesin West.  It started out as a rough camp, a retreat, a architect's studio and raw materials workshop.  Just the challenge of living there under primitive conditions shows his stamina--  no water, plumbing, heat or light except kerosene and candles.  The first dwellings were made of stone, concrete and canvas.  And so the fascinating story goes from there.

It took a real effort to reach the remote Taliesin in the early days, and it still does.  I wonder if this might be deliberate on the part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.  A world famous monument to architecture, and they don't post "how to find us" directions on their website?

For the frustrated driver, few hints except for "Frank Lloyd Wright Avenue" and a tiny "Taliesin Avenue" sign that was easy to miss.  Sure, we had Siri,  but she was no use at all in that maze of gated communities.  We found out later that 95% of the visitors were from out of state, so most people in the neighborhood have never even been there. Small wonder.

And now I can finally say I've seen a Frank Lloyd Wright "house." Despite our blundering around, we managed to get there early and had a great (small)  tour with an excellent tour guide.  Interiors, exteriors, desert views. It was an outstanding experience. You can see Wright architecture all over the country, but not the narrow bed and the stone room where he actually laid his head in old age. 

There are scholarly volumes about Frank Lloyd Wright's genius, but if you enjoy fiction, check out "The Women" by T.C. Boyle for the juicy personal details.

And after that? A big Mexican lunch and an afternoon of more pedestrian attractions in "Old Town Scottsdale." I never imagined that Native Americans had time to make so much jewelery.