Frank Lloyd Wright was born on June 8, 1867 in Richard Center, Wisconsin, and died on April 9, 1959 in Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of 91. He was the sun of William Cary Wriight and Anna Lloyd Jones. A preacher and teacher respectively. He had two younger sisters Jane and Maginel to whom I could find no further referance. His early life was nomadic, He lived in Rhode Island, Iowa, and Massachusetts, in addition to Wisconsin. His familly finally settled in Madison, Wisconsin in 1878 where he lived until' he was 20. In 1885, his parents divorced and he never saw his father again. To help support his familly, Wright worked for Allan Conover, a Dean of the University of Wisconsin's Dept. Of Engineering. He also spent two semesters studying civil engineering at U.W. And assisted Josepu Lyman Silsbee draft and supervise the construction of the Unity Chapel.
In 1887, Wright left Madison and moved to Chicago, Illinois where he took a drafting job with the firm of Alder and Sullivan.
Photo c by Jeff Dean.
Kevin and I with Paul Wright at Sonfest 2005
The Ringroad and Joseph Wright CentreLouis Sullivan was one of the few influences that Wright ever acknowledged. They both believed in American architecture based on American themes not on traditional or European styles. Wright and Sullivan suddenly broke their partnership in 1893 when Sullivan found out that Wright had been accepting commisions for "bootleg" house designs on his own, which violated a previous agreement made by both men. After parting wats with Sullivan he formed his own firm. They later renewed their friendship. In 1889, at the age of 22 he maried Catherine Tobin who he had six children with Lloyd, John, Catherine, David, Frances, and Llewellyn.
Wright's first master piece from his own firm was the Winslow House built in 1893 in River Forest, Illinois. The Winslow House portrayed Wright's concept of...