As fall approaches and cooler weather is on the horizon, head to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West. The architecture hotspot was built back in 1937 when Wright began his school for future architects. He took on 23 apprentices and they relocated from Wisconsin to Arizona, where they began constructing Taliesin West. The house was built to mirror the natural beauty of the desert and was even created from mountain boulders and sand from the nearby creek. Wright believed that nature had to be considered before building, and visitors are able to see how the desert and Taliesin West come together through the natural lighting provided by the canvas ceilings and the desert shapes of the architecture.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which is in charge of conservation and public education, runs the daily tours that take visitors around the property and tells the story of the property’s history. While during the summer months Taliesin West was only open limited hours, beginning in September they will be offering a number of tours every day of the week.
Taliesin West’s “Signature Tour” is the 90-minute insights tour, which is offered daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting every hour. The tour takes guests around the grounds of Taliesin West and into the living quarters, offering visitors an intimate look at how Wright lived. Visitors can even sit on the original furniture and step inside Wright’s bedroom.
The Panorama tour is also offered daily at 10:15 and then again at 2:15; the hour long tour looks at how Wright worked to bring the outside in with his architecture. The tour partially focuses on the theater and music pavilion as well as Wright’s personal office.
They also offer two longer tours. The behind the scenes tour, which is offered Monday, Thursday and Saturday, features guest speakers and tours of the house and the grounds that run for three hours. Lastly visitors can take part in the night lights tour, which takes place Friday evenings and runs for two hours; the tour takes visitors around Taliesin West to look at Wright’s use of lighting and how striking the buildings look from the outside during the night.
For more information or to schedule a visit, click here.