World Heritage Site new “Tentative List”: Places to Love: Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings (part 1)

by Jamie Rhein on

For the Gadling series “World Heritage Site new “Tentative List”: Places to Love” we are covering the 14 sites that have been submitted for possible inclusion as an official World Heritage Site in the United States. The sites will not be posted in order of importance or in the order they appear on the list.

Number 4

Name of site: Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings (Part 1- There are ten buildings on this list, each deserving of mention. Therefore, we are presenting the ten buildings in two separate posts. Here are the first five.)

Location: Various locations in Arizona, California, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin

Reason for importance (in a nutshell): Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most prolific, important American architects designed more than 400 buildings over 60 years. His designs embodied the idea that buildings should incorporate nature and form including the spacial elements of the environment they inhabit. Wright’s buildings were created for a wide array of purposes from individual houses to museums to cathedrals. The 10 that were selected for the World Heritage Site Tentative List “represent the fullest and most compelling achievements of Wright as an architect as well as some of the greatest works of the art of architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

Jamie’s Take: It’s Frank Lloyd Wright! He lived to be 91 and look what he created. Sheer magnificence. Looking at his buildings is like looking through a mega kaleidoscope for adults. See for yourself.

Unity Temple (1905-08) Considering this building was built more than 100 years ago, its cubist-style architecture is astonishing. The geometric lines and patterns and poured concrete walls were unprecedented for the time according to the temple’s Website. Although is still serves as a Unitarian Universalist church in Oak Park, Illinois with regular services on Sunday, there are public tours. For more details of the inside, click here.

Fallingwater: (1936-38) Years ago a friend of mine came back from a trip to Pennsylvania where a tour of Fallingwater was on the itinerary. She described in great detail its magnificence. Ever since, I’ve been interested in heading here. This once private home, now owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, is a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece. Built over a waterfall, the house uses materials from the area. The floors are native sandstone. Even the furniture incorporates elements of the surrounding environment. Each detail from the chimney to the glass casement windows are Wright designed.

Robie House (1908-10), Also a once private house, the Robie House on the University of Chicago campus is considered one of the most important buildings of modern architecture. Wright designed the house to contrast to the flat landscape of the prairie on which it was built. Geometrically patterned glass windows are part of Wright’s Prairie style features, as are the tiers of balconies.

This building can be toured daily, although it’s closed in February on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Hollyhock House (1919-21) This once private home was Wright’s first project in Los Angeles. The design elements reflect the southern California location. Stucco and terracotta were used as building materials, and Wright also designed the furniture. Several doors and windows have elaborate, geometric patterned glass, a trademark of Wright’s work. After an extensive renovation, Hollyhock House has reopened for tours.

Taliesin (1911 and later) In Spring Green, Wisconsin, this was Wright’s home and studio. Along with the main house are several others. Wright used local limestone for expanses of the buildings’ exteriors. Today, this 600-acre estate is a tribute to Wright’s sensibilities.

Every detail from the roads to the dam to the pond to the covered passageways that connect the building are according to how Wright saw the interplay between buildings and environment. Tours of the estate start up again in April and continue until November, although more extensive tours happen beginning in May through the summer.

The first picture in this post is one of the windows of Robie House.

National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2008 Dozen Distinctive Destinations

by Anna Brones on

We’ve recently been covering the World Heritage Site “Tentative List” of places in the US under consideration for inclusion as official World Heritage Sites, which has helped to shed a little light on historically and culturally important places to visit. To add some more destinations to your travel list that offer a little more than flashy bars and hotels, and instead some good ole educational value, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has come out with its 2008 Dozen Distinctive Destinations.

The annual list features 12 American cities that stand out for their cultural and recreational experiences different from standard vacation destinations.

And this year’s winners are: Aiken, SC, Apalachicola, FL, Columbus, MS, Crested Butte, CO, Fort Davis, TX, Friday Harbor, WA, Portland, OR, Portsmouth, NH, Red Wing, MN, Ste. Genevieve, MO, San Juan Bautista, CA, and Wilmington, NC.

Coming up with a list every year since 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has a total of 108 distinctive destinations, you can check them all out here, or browse through our photo essay below:

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WHS new “Tentative List”: Places to Love–Petrified Forest National Park

by Jamie Rhein on

For the Gadling series “World Heritage Site new “Tentative List”: Places to Love” we are covering the 14 sites that have been submitted for possible inclusion as an official World Heritage Site in the United States. The sites will not be posted in order of importance or in the order they appear on the list.

Number 13

Name of Site: Petrified Forest National Park

Location: In Arizona almost halfway between Albuquerque, New Mexico (204 miles) and Phoenix, Arizona (259 miles)

Reason for importance in a nutshell: 10,000 years of human history + deposits of petrified wood that date to the Late Triassic paleo-ecosystem (205-225 million years ago) + dinosaur fossils and more + “one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric pottery fragments in the Southwest.”

Jamie’s Take: I’ve been here at least three times and can vouch that the beauty of the Petrified Forest is not just the petrified wood or the fossils. The Painted Desert is part of the Petrified Forest National Park. Here, the landscape is the kind you could look at every day for a year and never get bored. Depending on the angle of the sun, colors change from burnt orange to purpley blue. The mix of human existance with the natural world is the calling card, but this a physically facinating part of the United States. For anyone who grew up living around forests and grass covered scenery, here’s a place to see what all those layers of earth look like.

While you’re visiting, check out the Painted Desert Inn which is a National Historic Landmark. The dining room and lunchroom are decorated with murals depicting Hopi culture. Also in the park is a section of original Route 66 highway. Another worthwhile stop is the Rainbow Forest Museum. Interpretive displays and a film explain the significance of the area. If you can’t make it any time soon, here’s a virtual tour.

San Francisco’s Chinatown

by Jamie Rhein on

Willy’s photo from San Francisco’s Chinatown, enticed me to head to Chinatown’s Web site. It’s Chinese New Year after all and I’m feeling nostalgic for things Chinese. The attractions page of the Web site has photos of the various historic buildings of significance. One, Sing Chong Building was one of the first ones built after the California earthquake of 1908 1906.

Another link leads to street signs and another to descriptions of Chinatown’s various alleys. Ross Alley, the oldest in San Francisco used to be where to go to find prostitutes and try your luck at gambling. Now you can tour the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory and see murals of every day life in Chinatown.

The thing I like about this Web site is that it presents an overview of Chinatown’s history and cultural significance in a way that seems as if when you go there, you’ll know what your are looking at. The events page lists a healthy dose of things to do through March. In case you’re thinking that the best of Chinese New Year passed this last weekend, think again. The Chinese New Year Parade is February 23. The Chinese Culture Spring Fair also happens on the same day and the day after. There’s also a Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt and a Chinese New Year Cruise. How great to have a holiday that lasts for days.

100 years ago today: The Great Race

by Jerry Guo on

One hundred years ago on this date, a half dozen or so teams set out from New York on the longest automobile race in history. Six months later, the first team pulled into Paris.

Here’s a colorful account of their epic journey. If you’re thinking, “Boy I wish I could do something that awesome,” well, you can!

This May 30th, 40 teams will retrace the Great Race, except this time they’ll only take 2 months. I just checked on the logistics and details–you travel through a dozen or so countries from New York to Paris, having what I’m sure will be the trip of your lifetime. The only downside?

The entry fee is something like $100,000.