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Wright's first contact with the desert southwest came sometime between December of 1923 and summer of 1924 in Death Valley, CA. Wright was called upon to enlarge and improve the existing architecture of Albert Mussey Johnson's desert compound. Johnson was president of National Life Insurance Company of Chicago, and Wright would also end up designing a skyscraper for his company in that city. Wright immediately fell in love with the stark desert landscape of Death Valley, and this love would help shape many of his future works in the desert of Arizona. The fact that Wright was to include the existing structures in his plan was a rare phenomenon that Wright was forced to accept since he was so interested in the site and short of work. (Levine, pp. 174-82).
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Frank Lloyd Wright's move from the cool wooded hills of Wisconsin to the barren desert heat of the southwest came following a bout of personal issues that would nearly end Wright's career. Legal issues with his wife, ex-wife and her children brought Wright to the brink of bankruptcy. After hiding for some time with his new wife Olgivanna Lazovich and her two children, Wright was finally able to pay off his debts and return to a better life. Just at this time, the Bank of Wisconsin denied him any further access to his Taliesin home and studio because "the premises were being used for immoral purposes"(p.196). Frustrated and angry, Wright received a break that would help him resume a career in the field he loved most. He received a request from Albert Chase McArthur in January of 1928 to employ a textile block system in his design for the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, AZ.(Levine, pp. 195-6).
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by W. Derek Weems
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Last Updated on August 22, 2004 01:25:40 PM