NARRATOR: I'VE BEEN AN ARCHITECTURE CRITIC IN LOS ANGELES FOR NEARLY 15 YEARS, AND IN ALL THAT TIME I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER COME ACROSS A BUILDING QUITE AS INSCRUTABLE,
AS STRIKINGLY MYSTERIOUS AS THIS ONE. IT'S THE ALICE MILLARD HOUSE BY FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, IN PASADENA. ONE OF 5 REMARKABLE HOUSES WRIGHT DESIGNED AND BUILT IN
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN THE EARLY 1920S. MY CURIOSITY ABOUT THE HOUSE DEEPENED WHEN ITS OWNER ASKED ME A FEW YEARS AGO IF I WANTED TO SEE THE INSIDE.
IT WAS JUST SITTING THERE EMPTY, SAID THE OWNER, A MAN WHO COLLECTED FAMOUS HOUSES THE WAY OTHER PEOPLE COLLECT PICASSOS OR DIEBENKORNS. I COULD EVEN SPEND THE NIGHT, IF I WANTED; HE'D JUST LEND ME THE KEY. IT WAS THRILLING, AND A BIT EERIE, TO SPEND 24 HOURS ALONE IN THAT HOUSE.
WHAT I REMEMBER MORE THAN ANYTHING IS HOW MUCH OF A
TEMPLE IT SEEMED INSIDE AND OUT, WITH ITS ROWS OF PRE-COLUMBIAN ORNAMENT, EVEN HOW CRYPT-LIKE. I MEAN, LOOK AT THE PLACE.
IT'S NOT EXACTLY WARM, WELCOMING, OR ESPECIALLY DOMESTIC IN ANY TYPICAL SENSE OF THAT WORD. IT'S SOMETHING ELSE: OPAQUE AND TOUGH TO READ, TIGHT-LIPPED. I STARTED TO WONDER: WHY DOES THE HOUSE LOOK THIS WAY? WHY DID L.A. ELICIT THIS KIND
OF WORK FROM WRIGHT? I REMEMBERED A LINE BY BRENDAN GILL, ONE OF THE ARCHITECT'S
MOST PERCEPTIVE BIOGRAPHERS, WHO WROTE THAT WRIGHT'S L.A. HOUSES ARE "BETTER SUITED TO SHELTERING A MAYAN GOD THAN AN
AMERICAN FAMILY." WAS HE RIGHT ABOUT THAT?
AND WHY A MAYAN GOD? WHAT WAS IT ABOUT PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHITECTURE SPECIFICALLY THAT
MADE IT SO ATTRACTIVE TO WRIGHT IN THOSE YEARS? WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE IS THE STORY OF MY ATTEMPT TO FIND
ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS. AS IT TURNS OUT, THE ANSWERS MAKE UP A STORY MORE FASCINATING, AND MORE COMPLICATED, THAN I EVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED. A STORY THAT EVEN A NOVELIST
MIGHT COMPLAIN WAS MELODRAMATIC AND OVERSTUFFED; ONE INVOLVING A MID-LIFE CRISIS OF EPIC
PROPORTION, A LOVE AFFAIR, AND A BRUTAL MASS MURDER. A STORY STARRING AN ARCHITECT
WHO TRIED TO REINVENT HIMSELF AS SO MANY OTHER AMERICANS HAVE DONE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, A PLACE WRIGHT WOULD LATER DESCRIBE AS "THAT FAR CORNER OF THE UNITED STATES." THE FIRST THING TO DO, IN LEARNING EXACTLY HOW FRANK
LLOYD WRIGHT WOUND UP IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, SEEMED OBVIOUS: I HAD TO GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING, TO OAK PARK, THE
SUBURB JUST WEST OF CHICAGO WHERE WRIGHT OPENED AN OFFICE
IN 1893, AFTER WORKING WITH THE ACCLAIMED ARCHITECT LOUIS SULLIVAN. WRIGHT AND HIS WIFE CATHERINE, KNOWN AS KITTY, WOULD SOON HAVE
6 CHILDREN. I ALSO HOPED TO SIT DOWN WITH SOME EXPERTS ON WRIGHT'S WORK FROM THAT PERIOD.
I BEGAN WITH A FELLOW ARCHITECTURE CRITIC. BLAIR KAMIN: IT'S FASCINATING
TO WATCH HIS TRAJECTORY. I MEAN, HE BEGINS WITH A SHINGLE STYLE HOUSE, THE HOME AND STUDIO IN
OAK PARK, AND USES THAT AS A KIND OF LABORATORY, A WAY TO
BREAK OUT OF THE VICTORIAN BOX. HAWTHORNE: WRIGHT'S HOME AND STUDIO, FEATURING A PLAYROOM
WITH VAULTED CEILING FOR HIS GROWING FAMILY, WAS REALLY A DECLARATION OF WAR ON TRADITIONAL, HIDEBOUND
VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE. IN THE DESIGNS THAT FOLLOWED, WRIGHT PRODUCED A MARKEDLY NEW KIND OF HOUSE--THE PRAIRIE
HOUSE--THAT HUGGED THE GROUND, WITH A HORIZONTAL MOMENTUM PERFECTLY SUITED TO
THE MIDWEST. IN A SERIES OF HOUSES JUST AFTER 1900, WRIGHT BROUGHT THIS
TYPE NEARER AND NEARER TO PERFECTION. KAMIN: YOU SEE THAT CULMINATE,
REALLY, IN THE ROBIE HOUSE. THIS KIND OF GREAT STATEMENT WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, SEEMINGLY
BOTH GROUNDED IN THE EARTH OF THE MIDWEST AND FLYING FORWARD, LIKE A SHIP, WITH ITS CANTILEVERED ROOFS.
IT'S A TREMENDOUS STATEMENT OF A HOUSE THAT SEEMS BOTH ROOTED AND STATIC BUT ALSO INCREDIBLY
DYNAMIC. HAWTHORNE: MY NEXT STOP WAS TO TALK WITH A FORMER ARCHITECTURE
CRITIC, LEE BEY, WHO NOW WORKS AT CHICAGO'S DUSABLE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY.
BEY: SO, IN 1909, IT PROVIDES AN INTERESTING BREAK IN HIS CAREER
BECAUSE UP UNTIL THEN, PARTICULARLY THE LAST FEW YEARS, HE'S REALLY HAD AN
INCREDIBLE CREATIVE OUTBURST. HAWTHORNE: IN THESE YEARS, WRIGHT WAS BEGINNING TO MOVE BEYOND RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE
TO LARGER PROJECTS. BEY: IF HIS CAREER WERE TO STOP THERE, HE'D BE A LEGEND, BUT AS WE KNOW, IT GOES ON BEYOND THAT. HAWTHORNE: DESPITE THIS PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS, WRIGHT BEGAN TO FEEL STIFLED IN OAK
PARK. HE WAS REACHING MIDDLE AGE.
AND HE HAD PUSHED THE PRAIRIE STYLE JUST ABOUT AS FAR AS IT WOULD GO.
ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING OF THE PRAIRIE HOUSES, JUST A HALF-MILE FROM HIS OWN, WAS DESIGNED FOR A COUPLE NAMED EDWIN AND MAMAH CHENEY.
MAMAH BORTHWICK CHENEY WAS AN INTELLECTUAL, A TRANSLATOR, AND A FEMINIST. A WOMAN WHO COULD MORE THAN HOLD HER OWN IN DEBATES WITH WRIGHT.
THE ARCHITECT AND HIS WIFE BEGAN SOCIALIZING WITH THE CHENEYS, AND BEFORE LONG, ACCORDING TO TIM SAMUELSON, CHICAGO'S CULTURAL HISTORIAN, PEOPLE
BEGAN TO TALK. SAMUELSON: THERE WERE CERTAINLY WHISPERS ABOUT THE IDEA OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT AND MAMAH
BORTHWICK CHENEY. IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR THINGS
LIKE THAT TO GO ON, BUT WRIGHT WAS A PRETTY UNCONVENTIONAL FIGURE.
HE LOOKED DIFFERENT, HE ACTED DIFFERENTLY, AND SO, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD CATCH PEOPLE'S CURIOSITY. HAWTHORNE: WRIGHT'S RELATIONSHIP WITH MAMAH CHENEY SEEMED TO GIVE HIM A NEW TASTE FOR
ADVENTURE. SAMUELSON: THIS IS SOMEBODY WHO CHALLENGED WRIGHT, WHO COULD BE
ON EQUAL WITH HIM. WHO I THINK YOU CAN SAY, IN ALL CONFIDENCE, WAS THE LOVE OF
HIS LIFE. HAWTHORNE: IN THE FALL OF 1909, WRIGHT ABRUPTLY SHUTTERED HIS OFFICE, LEFT HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN BEHIND, AND SAILED TO
EUROPE WITH MAMAH. SAMUELSON: ONCE HE LEAVES, THEN THE JOURNALISTS TAKE OVER. IT BECOMES SENSATIONALISTIC. KAMIN: WRIGHT IS A TABLOID
NEWSPAPER EDITOR'S DREAM. I MEAN, HE'S RIGHT OUT OF CENTRAL CASTING IN TERMS OF HOW HE LOOKS, HIS BRAGGADOCIO. HE'S A GUY WHO MANIPULATES THE
MEDIA, WHO HAS A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MEDIA. THE MEDIA HELPS MAKE HIM AND IT ALSO HELPS TEAR HIM APART. HAWTHORNE: FRANK AND MAMAH SETTLED IN ITALY'S TUSCAN
COUNTRYSIDE. WRIGHT ALSO TRAVELED WIDELY, SEEING THE NEWEST LANDMARKS OF EUROPEAN MODERNISM, AND SPENT SIGNIFICANT TIME IN BERLIN. SAMUELSON: HE IS ENGAGED TO
PRODUCE THE PLATES FOR A PUBLICATION OF HIS WORK IN EUROPE FOR THE GREAT GERMAN PUBLISHING HOUSE OF WASMUTH.
BEY: THIS LEAVING WAS ONE OF A STUNNING PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AS WELL. HE COMES BACK TO AMERICA A DIFFERENT ARCHITECT THAN HE DID
WHEN HE--WHEN HE LEFT IT. HAWTHORNE: ON HIS RETURN IN 1910, WRIGHT TRIED TO REESTABLISH HIS ARCHITECTURAL
PRACTICE IN OAK PARK, BUT IT SOON BECAME CLEAR THAT THE
SCANDAL HAD HARDLY DISSIPATED WHILE HE WAS AWAY. WHEN I SAT DOWN INSIDE THE ROBIE HOUSE WITH THE CHICAGO ARCHITECT ARIC LASHER, HE TOLD ME THAT WRIGHT HAD OTHER PRIORITIES THAN QUIETING THE
TABLOIDS. LASHER: HE WAS SOMEONE DRIVEN BY ARTISTIC IMPULSES ABOVE ALL
OTHERS. OBVIOUSLY, SOCIAL PROPRIETY AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS WERE LESS IMPORTANT THAN HIS MISSION AS AN ARTIST AND AS A CREATIVE THINKER. HAWTHORNE: THAT MAY SOUND IN THE ABSTRACT LIKE BOILERPLATE PRAISE, THE KIND OF THING YOU'D HEAR FROM A TOUR GUIDE, BUT I
THINK THIS POINT IS A KEY ONE. WHAT I WAS BEGINNING TO LEARN WAS THAT WRIGHT, WHEN FACED WITH A CHOICE BETWEEN PRODUCING ARCHITECTURE THAT HE KNEW WAS POPULAR AND ARCHITECTURE THAT MIGHT PUSH HIS WORK IN NEW DIRECTIONS, ALMOST ALWAYS TOOK
THE RISKIER PATH. IT WAS A KIND OF COMPULSION FOR HIM, THIS INSTINCT. AS ONE WRITER PUT IT, "WRIGHT SEEMED UNCOMFORTABLE AS SOON AS HIS LIFE REACHED ANY SORT OF
EQUILIBRIUM." AS HE HAD THE YEAR BEFORE, WRIGHT DECIDED HE NEEDED TO GET AWAY. SAMUELSON: HE RETURNS TO WHAT WAS PART OF HIS ROOTS, THE
HILLSIDE OF WISCONSIN, THE FAMILY LAND OF THE LLOYD JONESES. THIS WOULD BE HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY. HAWTHORNE: AS A REFUGE FOR
HIMSELF AND MAMAH, WRIGHT BUILT A REMARKABLY AMBITIOUS HOUSE
AND STUDIO. THE MATERIALS HE FOUND ON THE SITE OR CLOSE BY, WITH SAND
FROM THE WISCONSIN RIVER USED TO MAKE STUCCO THE SAME OCHER COLOR AS THE RIVER'S BANKS. BEY: AND IN A SENSE, HE'S HOME, RIGHT? HE'S WELSH BY EXTRACTION AND HE
NAMES IT TALIESIN, "SHINING BROW," A WELSH WORD. SO, IT'S HIM RETURNING TO SOMETHING, AND SOMETHING DEEPER
AND--AND SOMETHING ROOTED. HAWTHORNE: WALKING THROUGH TALIESIN, I WAS REMINDED THAT IT'S WITHOUT ANY DOUBT ONE OF THE SUPREME ACHIEVEMENTS OF
WRIGHT'S CAREER. IT WAS SYMBOLIC FOR HIM OF TWO THINGS: HIS BREAK WITH CONVENTIONAL SOCIETY IN OAK
PARK AND HIS INTEREST IN CREATING AN ARCHITECTURE THAT
SEEMED NOT ONLY TO GROW FROM THE LANDSCAPE BUT TO BE ALMOST
CONTINUOUS WITH IT. BUT WRIGHT DIDN'T CUT TIES WITH CHICAGO ALTOGETHER.
SAMUELSON: HE MAINTAINED A CHICAGO OFFICE WHERE HE COULD MEET CLIENTS, AND THERE WERE SOME BIG PROJECTS. SOME WERE DREAM PROJECTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE MIDWAY GARDENS IN CHICAGO, WHICH WAS LIKE MADE
FOR WRIGHT, BECAUSE IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS MADE TO APPEAL TO ALL THE SENSES. HAWTHORNE: IT WAS WHILE WRIGHT WAS WORKING AT THE MIDWAY GARDENS SITE ONE AFTERNOON IN AUGUST OF 1914 THAT HE
RECEIVED THE NEWS THAT WOULD RADICALLY CHANGE HIS LIFE.
SAMUELSON: WORD REACHES HIM OF AN UNFOLDING TRAGEDY AT
TALIESIN, SOMETHING THAT WAS TOTALLY UNIMAGINABLE. A SERVANT UP AT TALIESIN HAD
MURDERED NOT ONLY MEMBERS OF THE STAFF, BUT MURDERED BRUTALLY THE LOVE AND PASSION
OF HIS LIFE, MAMAH BORTHWICK CHENEY.
HAWTHORNE: THE KILLER WAS A COOK AND HANDYMAN NAMED JULIAN
CARLTON. HIS MOTIVE REMAINS UNCLEAR, ALTHOUGH HIS WIFE TOLD POLICE
HE'D BEEN GROWING INCREASINGLY PARANOID IN THE WEEKS BEFORE THE CRIME. AFTER SERVING LUNCH TO MAMAH AND HER TWO CHILDREN, HE ATTACKED AND
KILLED ALL 3 OF THEM WITH A HATCHET. THEN HE LIT THE TALIESIN STUDIO ON FIRE AND KILLED SEVERAL MEMBERS OF WRIGHT'S STAFF IN THE SAME GRUESOME FASHION. WITH
7 DEAD, IT WAS, AND REMAINS TO THIS DAY, THE LARGEST MASS MURDER IN WISCONSIN HISTORY. JUST DOWN THE HILL FROM TALIESIN, I VISITED THE GROUNDS
OF THE CHAPEL WHERE WRIGHT BURIED MAMAH IN A PLAIN PINE COFFIN. THIS WAS AN INTENSELY PERSONAL SPOT FOR WRIGHT: THE CHAPEL ITSELF WAS THE FIRST BUILDING HE EVER HELPED DESIGN, AS A TEENAGER, AND HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY, THE LLOYD JONESES, ALL WORSHIPPED
THERE AND WOULD EVENTUALLY BE BURIED THERE. IT TOOK ME A WHILE
TO FIND MAMAH'S GRAVE. UNLIKE THOSE OF WRIGHT'S BLOOD RELATIVES, WHICH ARE
QUITE PROMINENT, IT'S HIDDEN AWAY AT THE BASE OF A TREE. IN DESPAIR AFTER THE MURDERS,
WRIGHT BROKE OUT, JOB-LIKE, IN BOILS AND THOUGHT HE WAS GOING BLIND. ULTIMATELY, THOUGH, MAMAH'S DEATH WOULD LEAVE A MARK FAR MORE PSYCHOLOGICAL THAN PHYSICAL.
AS WRIGHT LOOKED ON THE RUINS OF TALIESIN, HE BEGAN TO SEE HIMSELF. "THE GAPING BLACK HOLE LEFT BY FIRE IN THE BEAUTIFUL HILLSIDE," HE WROTE, "WAS NO
LESS EMPTY, CHARRED, AND UGLY IN MY OWN LIFE." IT WAS IN THAT SHAKY STATE OF MIND THAT WRIGHT MADE HIS FIRST TRIP TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, IN
JANUARY OF 1915, LESS THAN 6 MONTHS AFTER THE MURDERS. BACK IN LOS ANGELES, I SAT DOWN WITH
THE WESTERN HISTORIAN WILLIAM DEVERELL TO ASK HIM WHAT KIND OF CITY WRIGHT FOUND HERE. DEVERELL: LOS ANGELES COMES OUT
OF THE 19TH CENTURY BRASH. SO, THE POPULATION GROWTH IN
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IS PRODIGIOUS, FROM THE FIRST 3 DECADES OF THE 20TH CENTURY. HAWTHORNE: THE L.A. OF THAT ERA WAS ALMOST PERFECTLY SUITED TO DISTRACTING
A GRIEVING ARCHITECT WITH THE PROSPECT OF NEW WORK AND NEW CLIENTS. DEVERELL: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA,
AND CALIFORNIA GENERALLY, HAD SINCE THE ERA OF THE GOLD RUSH BEEN SEEN AS A PLACE FOR REINVENTION.
SO, IT HAS THAT REHABILITATIVE FEEL TO IT.
IT ALSO HAS A RECUPERATIVE FEEL TO IT.
SO, PEOPLE COME OUT HERE IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH
CENTURY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO GET BETTER, THEY WANT TO GET WELL, THEY WANT TO CONVALESCE.
HAWTHORNE: ONE OF WRIGHT'S MOST IMPORTANT STOPS ON THAT TRIP TO
CALIFORNIA WAS A VISIT TO THE PANAMA-CALIFORNIA EXPOSITION IN SAN DIEGO. THERE
HE CAME FACE TO FACE WITH A RICH VARIETY OF BUILDING MODELS
AND DRAWINGS SHOWING PRE-COLUMBIAN DESIGNS, ARTIFACTS OF THE MAYA, AND OTHER CULTURES THAT ROSE TO
PROMINENCE MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS AGO, IN THE CENTURIES
BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF THE SPANISH. ACCORDING TO MEGAN O'NEIL AND JESSE LERNER, THE EXPERTS IN
PRE-COLUMBIAN CULTURE I SPOKE WITH NEXT, THE SAN DIEGO EXPO CELEBRATED MAYA DESIGNS AS PART
OF A REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE INDIGENOUS TO THE AMERICAS. O'NEIL: THE 1915 EXPOSITION IN SAN DIEGO, THE EXTERIOR OF THE CALIFORNIA BUILDING WAS SPANISH
COLONIAL, AND THEN THE INTERIOR WAS THIS SORT OF MAYA FANTASY WORLD, LET'S SAY, THAT WAS PARTIALLY VERY ARCHAEOLOGICAL, I THINK, BUT THEN ALSO ABOUT THIS FANTASY IMAGINATION OF
RUINS, ET CETERA. LERNER: ALL THE VISITORS TO THE
SAN DIEGO EXHIBITION WOULD HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO SEE VERY
ACCURATE REPRODUCTIONS OF MAYA SCULPTURE AND SOME MORE FANCIFUL REPRESENTATIONS OF MAYA CITIES AT THEIR PRIME. HAWTHORNE: IN ADDITION, THE
EXPO MAY WELL HAVE CEMENTED IN WRIGHT'S MIND A LINK BETWEEN THIS ARCHITECTURE AND DEATH. PRE-COLUMBIAN TEMPLES WERE SOMETIMES NOT ONLY THE SETTINGS
FOR HUMAN SACRIFICE BUT ALSO PART OF COMPLEXES WHERE IMPORTANT FIGURES WERE BURIED.
PLACES WHERE THE LIVING COULD COMMUNE WITH AND REMEMBER THE DEAD. SAMUELSON: WITH WRIGHT'S MIND,
HE SEES IT ALL. HE TAKES IT ALL IN. IT BECOMES PART OF HIS TOOLBOX
FOR FUTURE USE. HAWTHORNE: WRIGHT HAD SEEN PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHITECTURE BEFORE.
HE'D SEEN IT AT THE 1893 WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION IN
CHICAGO. AND ACCORDING TO THE UCLA
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN THOMAS HINES, THERE WERE ALSO MEMORIES FROM HIS CHILDHOOD.
HINES: HIS PARENTS, HIS MOTHER, HAD GIVEN HIM BOOKS WITH
PICTURES OF THE BUILDINGS FROM CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO, AND THE YUCATAN. THOSE IMAGES STAYED IN HIS MIND MOST OF HIS LIFE.
LERNER: IN THE 1840S, THERE ARE 4 BOOKS, A SERIES OF TWO VOLUMES CALLED "INCIDENTS OF
TRAVEL IN YUCATAN" AND "INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN CENTRAL AMERICA, CHIAPAS, AND YUCATAN," THAT WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL. THEY WENT THROUGH MANY REPRINTINGS AND THEY ARE REALLY
THE PRINCIPAL SOURCE OF U.S. AWARENESS OF THE RUINS OF THE
ANCIENT MAYA. THE AUTHOR OF THESE 4 BOOKS IS JOHN LLOYD STEPHENS, AND HE
TRAVELED WITH AND COLLABORATED WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER AND
ILLUSTRATOR CALLED FREDERICK CATHERWOOD. SHORTLY AFTER THE PUBLICATION
OF THOSE 4 BOOKS, YOU START TO SEE ALL KINDS OF REFERENCES TO THE ANCIENT MAYA AND TO
MAYAN RUINS IN POPULAR CULTURE. HAWTHORNE: THOSE REFERENCES INCLUDED THIS PAIR OF SIBLINGS THAT P.T. BARNUM PUT IN HIS FREAK SHOWS, THOUGH HE CALLED THEM AZTEC, NOT MAYAN. AND, INCREDIBLY, THESE FLOATS, AT LEAST ONE WITH A FAKE DEAD BODY DRAPED ACROSS IT, DESIGNED
BY ARCHITECT SUMNER HUNT. THEY WERE PART OF THE LA FIESTA
PARADE IN 1895 THROUGH THE STREETS OF L.A. SO, LET'S PAUSE HERE TO CONSIDER THE EVIDENCE WE'VE COLLECTED SO
FAR AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE DIRECTION OF WRIGHT'S WORK AFTER THE MURDERS AT TALIESIN.
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU ADD UP WRIGHT'S INTEREST IN PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHITECTURE, THE
ROLE OF DEATH IN THAT ARCHITECTURE, AND THE MURDER OF MAMAH BORTHWICK? YOU GET THIS, ONE OF THE FIRST
MAJOR BUILDINGS WRIGHT DESIGNED AFTER RETURNING TO THE MIDWEST FROM HIS TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. IT'S A WAREHOUSE COMMISSIONED
BY A WHOLESALE GROCER NAMED A.D. GERMAN FOR A SITE IN WRIGHT'S BIRTHPLACE, THE SLEEPY
WISCONSIN TOWN OF RICHLAND CENTER. I GOT A TOUR FROM A COUPLE OF LOCAL RESIDENTS WHO ARE WORKING TO BRING THE BUILDING BACK TO
LIFE. TO PUT IT MILDLY, IT DOES NOT LOOK
LIKE A TRADITIONAL WAREHOUSE, OR A FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT DESIGN, OR THE KIND OF BUILDING YOU'D
EXPECT TO FIND IN SMALL-TOWN WISCONSIN. IT LOOKS A TEMPLE, LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT OUT OF A CATHERWOOD DRAWING. LERNER: IF YOU PUT THAT SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE SO-CALLED NUNNERY
STRUCTURE AT UXMAL, ONE OF THE BUILDINGS THAT HE WOULD HAVE SEEN REPRODUCED BOTH AT THE CHICAGO COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF IN SAN DIEGO, YOU CAN SEE A REAL SORT OF DIALOGUE AT THE VERY LEAST. HAWTHORNE: IT'S CLEAR THAT
WRIGHT WAS USING THE RICHLAND CENTER COMMISSION TO TEST OUT THE MAYAN AND OTHER PRE-COLUMBIAN MOTIFS THAT HE'D
JUST SEEN IN SAN DIEGO AND THAT WOULD SOON FORM THE BASIS OF HIS RESIDENTIAL WORK IN LOS ANGELES. AND THOUGH HE WAS IN A NEW RELATIONSHIP BY NOW, A TEMPESTUOUS ONE, WITH A WOMAN NAMED MIRIAM NOEL, WHOM HE
WOULD LATER MARRY AND THEN QUICKLY DIVORCE, HE WAS ALSO STILL STRUGGLING TO RECOVER EMOTIONALLY FROM THE MURDERS, AND INCREASINGLY DESPERATE TO WORK ANYWHERE BUT THE MIDWEST. LUCKILY FOR WRIGHT, HE FOUND TWO COMMISSIONS THAT HELPED HIM ACCELERATE HIS ESCAPE. HE WAS ASKED TO DESIGN THE GIANT IMPERIAL HOTEL IN TOKYO, AND
IN CALIFORNIA HE BEGAN WORK ON A PROJECT THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY BE DUBBED HOLLYHOCK HOUSE, FOR
A WEALTHY, AMBITIOUS, AND INCONSTANT NEW CLIENT NAMED
ALINE BARNSDALL. HINES: WRIGHT WAS IN NEED OF ESCAPE AND HELP.
PART OF IT HE FOUND IN JAPAN, THE IMPERIAL HOTEL COMMISSION, AND HERE IN THE BARNSDALL
COMMISSION. THOSE TWO GREAT, RATHER EXOTIC COMMISSIONS IN EXOTIC PLACES
FROM HIS MIDWESTERN STANDPOINT, AND THOSE WERE IMPORTANT SOURCES OF HEALING, REALLY, FOR HIM. HAWTHORNE: ACCORDING TO JEFFREY HERR, WHO NOW OVERSEES HOLLYHOCK HOUSE, ALINE
BARNSDALL HOPED TO BUILD NOT JUST A RESIDENCE BUT A PERFORMING-ARTS COMPLEX.
HERR: SHE WAS EDUCATED IN EUROPE AND BECAME INTERESTED
IN THEATRE, SPECIFICALLY AVANT-GARDE THEATRE. HAWTHORNE: WHILE WRIGHT WAS OFF IN TOKYO, SHE FOUND A 36-ACRE HILLTOP SITE ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF HOLLYWOOD, A SPOT
CALLED OLIVE HILL. HINES: WITH ALINE BARNSDALL'S
MONEY, HER INHERITED FORTUNE FROM HER FATHER WHO HAD BEEN AN OIL BARON, THERE WERE LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES. HAWTHORNE: AND WHILE HER DREAMS OF BUILDING A THEATER WERE NEVER REALIZED, THE HOUSE WRIGHT PRODUCED FOR HER IS PLENTY THEATRICAL ON ITS OWN. HERR: WHEN WRIGHT DESIGNED HOLLYHOCK HOUSE, HE NOT ONLY CONCEDED TO ALINE BARNSDALL'S
IDEA THAT THIS HOUSE WOULD BE NAMED HOLLYHOCK HOUSE BECAUSE
IT'S HER FAVORITE FLOWER, BUT HE WENT 10 STEPS FURTHER DESIGNING AN AMAZING ABSTRACTION OF THE PLANT AND THEN RIFFING ON THAT WITH
INNUMERABLE ADAPTATIONS OF THAT DESIGN. HAWTHORNE: THERE IS A RANGE OF STYLES IN HOLLYHOCK HOUSE, INCLUDING VIENNESE MODERN AND JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE.
BUT IT IS, ABOVE ALL, A MAYA TEMPLE. HERR: IF YOU LOOK AT THE WEST FAÇADE, YOU HAVE THIS MONUMENTAL SORT OF TEMPLE-STYLE BUILDING. IT HAS ORNAMENTATION THAT IS
CERTAINLY REMINISCENT OF MAYAN OR PRE-COLUMBIAN RUINS. HAWTHORNE: IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, DESPITE ITS
UNORTHODOX POWER AND MOMENTS OF REAL BRILLIANCE, HOLLYHOCK HOUSE WAS AN IMPERFECT L.A. DEBUT FOR WRIGHT.
IT NEVER CAME CLOSE TO FULFILLING BARNSDALL'S AMBITIONS, THAT'S FOR SURE.
AND IN A FORESHADOWING OF WRIGHT'S L.A. HOUSES TO COME, IT NEVER SUCCEEDED AS A RESIDENCE, A
DOMESTIC SETTING. BARNSDALL STARTED THINKING ABOUT DONATING IT TO THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
BEFORE IT WAS EVEN A YEAR OLD, AND SHE WOULD MAKE THE GIFT OFFICIAL IN 1927. IT'S PROBABLY DIFFICULT FOR US TO REALIZE NOW JUST HOW IDIOSYNCRATIC A HOUSE DESIGNED
TO RESEMBLE A MAYA TEMPLE WOULD HAVE SEEMED IN THE LOS ANGELES OF THAT TIME. DEVERELL: BY THE TEENS, AND
CERTAINLY BY THE 1920S, THE ELITE ARCHITECTURAL CLIENTS HAVE MORE OR LESS CHOSEN THAT
THE ARTICLE OF FAITH IS THE SPANISH COLONIAL STYLE. HAWTHORNE: WRIGHT WAS FULL OF DISDAIN FOR THIS ARCHITECTURE
AND ITS SUITABILITY FOR LOS ANGELES. HE CALLED IT "FRAUDULENT" AND COMPLAINED THAT THE RED TILE
ROOFS OF SPANISH COLONIAL AND MISSION-STYLE BUILDINGS HERE "GIVE BACK THE SUNSHINE STAINED PINK." WHEN I WENT TO SEE
KATHRYN SMITH, AMONG THE LEADING AUTHORITIES IN L.A. ON WRIGHT'S WORK, SHE EXPLAINED
SOMETHING IMPORTANT: THAT WRIGHT'S DISLIKE FOR THE SPANISH COLONIAL WAS PART OF HIS BROADER IMPATIENCE WITH THE IDEA THAT AMERICAN ARCHITECTS
SHOULD LOOK TO EUROPE FOR THEIR CULTURAL INSPIRATION. SMITH: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
WANTED TO CREATE A GENUINE, ORIGINAL AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE. SO, EVEN FROM THE 1890S TO THE
1900S, HE REJECTED VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE, GREEK
ARCHITECTURE, ROMAN REVIVAL, ROMANESQUE REVIVAL. HINES: WRIGHT WAS ALWAYS
SOMETHING OF A CULTURAL NATIONALIST DETERMINED TO FIND THE ROOTS OF AN AMERICAN CULTURE.
HAWTHORNE: WRIGHT WAS ARGUING, IN EFFECT, THAT PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHITECTURE WAS MORE AMERICAN THAN THE SPANISH COLONIAL AND
THAT LOS ANGELES HAD MORE IN COMMON IN TERMS OF CLIMATE, LANDSCAPE, AND CULTURE WITH PRE-COLUMBIAN MEXICO THAN WITH
NEW YORK OR SPAIN. THIS POINT OF VIEW WAS IN CERTAIN WAYS DEEPLY NAIVE. WRIGHT NEVER VISITED ANY PRE-COLUMBIAN RUINS IN PERSON. AS HE WOULD LATER DO WITH NATIVE AMERICAN DESIGNS, WRIGHT TENDED TO RATHER
INDISCRIMINATELY MIX TOGETHER MAYA CULTURE WITH AZTEC OR INCA. LASHER: THERE IS SOMETHING PECULIAR ABOUT LOOKING TO INDIGENOUS ARCHITECTURES OF NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA AND
APPROPRIATING THEM WHEN, IN FACT, YOU'RE THE DESCENDANT OF, YOU KNOW, WHITE SETTLERS THAT ACTUALLY PUSHED THESE INDIGENOUS CULTURES ASIDE. HAWTHORNE: AND YET THERE WAS ALSO SOMETHING GENUINE IN WRIGHT'S USE OF PRE-COLUMBIAN FORMS. WHAT HE WAS EXPRESSING WAS A KIND OF HEARTFELT, IF
SCATTERSHOT, PAN-AMERICAN PRIDE. "WE CAN'T LEARN ANYTHING FROM EUROPE," HE SAID. "THEY HAVE TO
LEARN FROM US." BY EARLY 1923, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE BARNSDALL JOB HADN'T
WORKED OUT THE WAY HE'D HOPED, WRIGHT DECIDED HE WANTED TO SETTLE IN LOS ANGELES FOR GOOD. HIS SON FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT JR., KNOWN AS LLOYD WRIGHT AND AN
ARCHITECT LIKE HIS FATHER, HAD PRECEDED HIM TO L.A. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT FOUND A STUDIO AT THE CORNER OF FOUNTAIN AND HARPER AVENUES, IN
WHAT'S NOW WEST HOLLYWOOD. SMITH: FORTUNATELY FOR HIM, THERE WAS SOMEONE HERE WHO KNEW HIM, AND THIS WAS A WOMAN NAMED ALICE MILLARD.
SHE AND HER HUSBAND HAD COMMISSIONED HIM FOR A HOUSE IN CHICAGO. HAWTHORNE: MILLARD HAD MOVED TO CALIFORNIA AFTER HER HUSBAND
DIED AND ASKED WRIGHT TO DESIGN A HOUSE FOR A PIECE OF LAND SHE'D FOUND IN PASADENA. IT WAS A COMMISSION THAT WOULD
PROPEL HIS WORK IN A DRAMATIC NEW DIRECTION. WRIGHT WANTED TO OFFER AN ANSWER TO THE LEAN, MACHINE-MADE
MODERNISM THAT WAS GAINING TRACTION IN EUROPE, BUT HE WANTED TO DO IT IN A WAY
THAT WOULD NOT ONLY SEEM INDIGENOUS TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BUT THAT MIGHT BE DEMOCRATIC, AFFORDABLE ON A
MASS SCALE. SO, WRIGHT DEVISED A BRAND-NEW MODULAR SYSTEM MADE, SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH, OF
CONCRETE BLOCKS CREATED WITH A RECIPE THAT USED SOIL FROM THE BUILDING SITE ITSELF. CONCRETE BLOCKS THAT COULD BE
CHEAPLY PRODUCED AND THEN STACKED QUICKLY BY HAND.
SAMUELSON: YOU HAVE CONCRETE, WHICH IS A NATURAL MATERIAL
THAT IS OF THE EARTH ITSELF. ITS MATERIALS ARE PART OF THE EARTH, BOUND TOGETHER BY THE
NATURAL SANDS AND THE CRUSHED GRANITES THAT ARE PUT TOGETHER
BY CONCRETE INTO BLOCKS AND FORMED.
HAWTHORNE: CONCRETE ALSO APPEALED TO WRIGHT BECAUSE HE COULD EASILY STAMP THE BLOCKS WITH THE MAYA PATTERNS HE'D GROWN SO FOND OF. THE MATERIAL OF THE HOUSE AND
THE DECORATION ON THE HOUSE WOULD BE ONE AND THE SAME. PERHAPS THINKING BACK TO TALIESIN, WRIGHT TOLD ALICE MILLARD THAT ONE VIRTUE OF THE BLOCKS WAS THAT THEY WERE FIREPROOF. WHEN
I WENT TO SEE UCLA'S MICHAEL OSMAN, AN EXPERT IN THE MATERIALS OF MODERN
ARCHITECTURE, HE TOLD ME THAT THERE WERE SOME BASIC CONTRADICTIONS INHERENT IN WRIGHT'S NEW SYSTEM. OSMAN: WHEN I THINK ABOUT
WHAT AN ARCHITECT IS DOING WHEN THEY TRY AND MAKE A MODULAR SYSTEM OUT OF CONCRETE, IT SEEMS TO ME TO BE AGAINST THE GRAIN OF THAT MATERIAL, WHICH IN A CERTAIN WAY LENDS ITSELF TO BEING MORE OF A MASS AND LESS OF A UNIT. SO, WITH WOOD, BECAUSE IT GROWS IN A
TREE AND YOU TAKE THE TREE DOWN, YOU'RE ALREADY GIVEN A UNIT,
THE LOG, AND THERE'S A LOT OF INVESTIGATION INTO WHAT THE LOG CAN DELIVER IN TERMS OF LUMBER. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO AN AGGREGATE MADE UP OF SAND, CEMENT, GRAVEL, AND
REINFORCEMENT BARS, IT'S A FRANKENSTEIN BODY IN A WAY, SO,
TO MAKE IT INTO A UNIT IS A KIND OF COUNTERINTUITIVE THING, EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE NOW, WE TAKE IT
FOR GRANTED THAT CONCRETE COMES IN MODULAR UNITS. HAWTHORNE: CONCRETE WAS FAR FROM A HIGH-DESIGN MATERIAL IN
THOSE DAYS. WRIGHT CALLED IT THE "CHEAPEST AND UGLIEST THING IN THE BUILDING WORLD." AND, IN FACT, THIS WAS PART OF
THE CHALLENGE FOR HIM. AS HE PUT IT, "WHY NOT SEE WHAT COULD BE DONE WITH THAT GUTTER
RAT?" OSMAN: CONCRETE WAS A GUTTER
RAT IN CERTAIN CIRCLES, FOR SURE WITH JOHN RUSKIN IN THE SEVEN LAMPS OF ARCHITECTURE,
THE LAMP OF TRUTH IS NEVER USE--THERE'S A FOOTNOTE: NEVER USE CONCRETE BECAUSE IT HAS NO CHARACTER. IT DOESN'T COME FROM NATURE,
AND THEREFORE IT ONLY TAKES ON THE CHARACTER OF EITHER WHAT YOU COVER IT WITH, OR THE FORMWORK THAT IT'S POURED INTO.
HAWTHORNE: FOR WRIGHT, THIS QUALITY WAS CENTRAL TO CONCRETE'S APPEAL.
HE SAW THE MATERIAL AS A SHAPESHIFTER, CAPABLE OF SOLVING SEVERAL ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEMS AT ONCE. SMITH: SO, WITH THIS ONE ELEMENT, THE SQUARE BLOCK, FRANK
LLOYD WRIGHT CREATED SOMETHING THAT WAS STRUCTURAL, MODULAR, MATERIAL, AND A POETIC
CONNECTION TO THE SITE ITSELF. HAWTHORNE: ONCE WRIGHT HAD AN
APPROACH IN MIND FOR ALICE MILLARD'S PROPERTY, HE DECIDED TO PUT THE HOUSE NOT IN THE PERFECTLY FLAT MIDDLE OF THE LOT, AS PRETTY MUCH ANY OTHER
ARCHITECT WOULD HAVE DONE, BUT DOWN IN A RAVINE ALONG ONE EDGE. THOUGH THIS MADE THE HOUSE SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLOODING FROM DAY ONE, IT'S ALSO WHAT GIVES THE DESIGN, VEILED BY TREES, SUCH AN
OTHERWORLDLY LOOK. THE RESULT, WHICH WRIGHT NICKNAMED "LA MINIATURA," IS A SINGULARLY
BRILLIANT WORK OF L.A. ARCHITECTURE, ONE THAT SEEMS TO
GROW ALMOST INEXORABLY FROM ITS SITE WHILE ALSO CLOSING ITSELF OFF FROM THE WORLD AT LARGE. FLAT-ROOFED LIKE A WORK OF A EUROPEAN MODERNIST, BUT ALTOGETHER MORE MYSTERIOUS,
CLOSED-OFF, AND DRAMATIC. A SMALL TEMPLE IN A EUCALYPTUS GROVE. REMEMBER BRENDAN GILL'S MAYAN GOD? HE MIGHT HAVE FELT VERY MUCH AT
HOME HERE. O'NEIL: WHEN I SAW THE DESIGNS
ON THE MILLARD HOUSE WITH THAT CROSS, I THOUGHT, "WELL, COULD
THAT BE A REFERENCE TO THIS MESOAMERICAN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SHAPE OF THE UNIVERSE?"
THE MESOAMERICAN UNIVERSE, OF WHICH THE MAYA WERE A PART,
SHARED WITH THE MAYA, AZTECS, MIXTECS, ZAPOTECS, ALL THESE
CULTURES, THE CARDINAL DIRECTIONS AND INTERCARDINAL DIRECTIONS WERE ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISHING THE UNIVERSE.
SO, YOU GET STORIES OF GODS OR HEROES WHO MEASURE OUT THE SIDES OF THE UNIVERSE. SO, WHEN YOU SEE THIS CROSS, LET'S SAY, EQUIDISTANT, IT IS SHOWING, IT'S POINTING TO THOSE CARDINAL DIRECTIONS,
ESTABLISHING OR SHOWING THE SHAPE OF YOUR UNIVERSE. BUT THAT SPECIFIC DESIGN IS
ALSO THE SYMBOL FOR GOLD FOR THE AZTECS.
AND I HAVE NO IDEA IF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT KNEW THAT, BUT IT'S PRETTY NEAT TO SEE THE
MILLARD HOUSE WITH ALL OF THESE DESIGNS FOR GOLD. IT'S SORT OF THIS SORT OF
CHANGING OF MATERIALS WHERE YOU GET CONCRETE TURNING INTO GOLD, SO, SORT OF TRANSUBSTANTIATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. HAWTHORNE: BY THIS POINT, I'D SPOKEN TO A NUMBER OF EXPERTS ON WRIGHT'S WORK, BOTH IN THE MIDWEST AND IN LOS ANGELES. WHAT I HADN'T DONE IS SPEAK TO
ANYBODY WHO LIVES IN ONE OF THESE HOUSES. AND WHILE THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE IN A
LITERAL SENSE--NONE OF WRIGHT'S L.A. HOUSES IS NOW USED AS A FULL-TIME RESIDENCE--I FOUND
THE NEXT BEST THING VIA MY 8-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER. [PIANO PLAYING] WOMAN: BEAUTIFUL. HAWTHORNE: SHE TAKES PIANO
LESSONS IN THE STUDIO ATTACHED TO THE MILLARD HOUSE, WHICH WRIGHT'S SON LLOYD ADDED IN 1926. HER TEACHER, CINDY LAM, ACTS AS
A CARETAKER FOR THE MAIN HOUSE. LAM: TWO. NOTES WERE CORRECT. I DID THINK IT WAS STRANGE-LOOKING. WHEN I FIRST SAW PICTURES OF THIS PLACE, I THOUGHT, "REALLY? LIKE, WHO MAKES A CONCRETE HOUSE? THAT'S JUST, LIKE, SO UGLY. WHO DOES THAT?" [LAUGHS] I DIDN'T REALLY SEE THE DARKNESS. I THINK
I SAW THIS PLACE--REALLY, IT REPRESENTED STRENGTH AND BEAUTY
TO ME. I HAD A BREAK-UP WITH A BOYFRIEND AND WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF BREAKING UP AND HE WAS SAYING ALL THESE THINGS TO ME THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, LESS THAN DESIRABLE. I JUST REMEMBER THERE WAS LIKE
A MOMENT, LIKE THIS LIGHT BULB WENT OFF AND I THOUGHT, "THIS IS MY FORTRESS. YOU DON'T GET TO BE IN HERE. YOU NEED TO LEAVE NOW." THIS HOUSE REALLY EMBOLDENS PEOPLE. I'VE FOUND PEOPLE IN THE YARD.
I HAVE A SIGN OUT FRONT THAT SAYS THAT THERE ARE NO TOURS BUT IF YOU FEEL ENTITLED TO ONE THEN YOU CAN LEAVE A BOTTLE OF
WINE AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT. [LAUGHS] SO FAR, NO WINE. I THINK PEOPLE GET A LITTLE BIT SHAMED BY THAT
MESSAGE AND THEY GO THEIR OWN WAY. HAWTHORNE: THE NEXT HOUSE WRIGHT DESIGNED IN LOS ANGELES, AFTER MILLARD, HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING OF AN ENIGMA. AND SO IS THE MAN IT'S NAMED FOR, A DOCTOR FROM WISCONSIN
NAMED JOHN STORER. SMITH: WE DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT HIS BIOGRAPHY, BUT THROUGH THE DRAWINGS AND SOME CORRESPONDENCE, IT HAS COME TO LIGHT THAT THIS WAS PROBABLY A
SPEC HOUSE, SOMETHING THAT STORER WAS BUILDING FOR RESALE. HAWTHORNE: THOUGH THE CURRENT
OWNER TURNED DOWN OUR REQUEST TO FILM THERE,
WE GOT A PEEK INSIDE THANKS TO MARTHA STEWART, WHO FEATURED THE HOUSE ON HER TELEVISION
SHOW NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO. THE FOOTAGE SUGGESTS A GOOD DEAL OF CONTINUITY WITH THE MILLARD HOUSE, WITH A STRONG MAYA
INFLUENCE, STACKED CONCRETE BLOCKS, A REDWOOD CEILING, AND A RATHER STANDOFFISH RELATIONSHIP TO THE STREET. HINES: YOU LOOK UP AT IT FROM HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD, THAT LITTLE STRETCH OF HOLLYWOOD
BOULEVARD, AND IT'S A REAL PRESENCE THERE.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO MISS IT. IT DOES NOT NESTLE IN.
HAWTHORNE: WRIGHT PUT THE LIVING ROOM ON THE TOP FLOOR, INSIDE A TALL CENTRAL PAVILION THAT OPENS ONTO A PAIR OF TERRACES. THE HOUSE IS EVEN MORE VERTICAL
AND TEMPLE-LIKE THAN MILLARD AS SEEN FROM THE STREET, BECAUSE INSTEAD OF BEING SUNK INTO A
RAVINE, IT STARTS ON A HILLSIDE AND GOES UP FROM THERE. THE AUTHOR AND WRIGHT EXPERT ROBERT SWEENEY TOLD ME THAT AS THE
STORER HOUSE WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, WRIGHT WAS CONTINUING TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE CONCRETE BLOCK SYSTEM. SWEENEY: HE DID A DESIGN FOR ALINE BARNSDALL ON OLIVE HILL
CALLED THE LITTLE DIPPER; IT WAS A KINDERGARTEN. AND THERE ARE MANY DRAWINGS SHOWING THE EVOLUTION OF THE
CONCRETE BLOCK SYSTEM. IT WAS WORKED OUT FOR THE
LITTLE DIPPER. HAWTHORNE: ONE CHANGE FROM
MILLARD WAS THAT THE BLOCKS COULD BE STACKED WITHOUT ANY
MORTAR, REQUIRING LESS SKILLED LABOR, AND THEN WOVEN TOGETHER
WITH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL STEEL RODS. WRIGHT CALLED IT A TEXTILE BLOCK SYSTEM. SWEENEY: WRIGHT WENT BACK TO WISCONSIN DURING CONSTRUCTION OF THE STORER HOUSE AND TURNED THE PROJECT OVER TO HIS SON LLOYD.
HAWTHORNE: WHEN HE RETURNED TO CALIFORNIA, WRIGHT WAS DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED. COMPARED TO ALICE MILLARD, STORER WAS A LESS INVOLVED AND
DEDICATED CLIENT. ON TOP OF THAT, WRIGHT'S BLOCK SYSTEM WAS PROVING TRICKY TO EXECUTE, ESPECIALLY ON A
HILLSIDE. WRIGHT TOLD LLOYD THAT HE CONSIDERED THE HOUSE A "TRAGEDY" AND THAT IT WAS "LACKING JOY."
IN LATER YEARS, ONE RESIDENT OF THE HOUSE, EVEN IN PRAISING IT, COMPARED THE LIVING ROOM TO "A
DRAMA OF SOPHOCLES," AS IF WRIGHT'S OWN FAMILY STRIFE AND VIOLENT RECENT PAST WERE
WRITTEN INTO THE CONCRETE BLOCKS THEMSELVES. THE HOUSE, TO BE FAIR, HASN'T ALWAYS PROMPTED THAT SORT OF
REACTION. IN THE 1980S, THE FILM PRODUCER JOEL SILVER BOUGHT IT AND UNDERTOOK A COMPLETE AND
ENTHUSIASTIC RESTORATION. IN THE PROCESS, HE BECAME SO
OBSESSED WITH WRIGHT THAT HE BEGAN DROPPING REFERENCES TO THE ARCHITECT INTO HIS WORK. IN "DIE HARD," THERE'S A TV NEWS STATION CALLED KFLW, AND THE MOVIE'S VILLAIN, HANS GRUBER, PLAYED BY ALAN RICKMAN, PAUSES AT ONE POINT TO ADMIRE A BRIDGE DESIGN THAT WRIGHT IN REAL LIFE PROPOSED NEAR THE END OF HIS
CAREER FOR SAN FRANCISCO BAY. GRUBER/RICKMAN: --EXACTNESS, THE ATTENTION TO EVERY CONCEIVABLE DETAIL. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. HAWTHORNE: THE STORER HOUSE ITSELF DOESN'T SHOW UP IN ANY OF SILVER'S MOVIES, OR ANY FAMOUS MOVIES, FOR THAT
MATTER. BUT FOR THE NEXT OF WRIGHT'S LOS ANGELES HOUSES, FOR THE COUPLE CHARLES AND MABEL ENNIS, IT'S A
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY. [DOOR CREAKING] [MAN LAUGHING] VINCENT PRICE: I'M VINCENT
PRICE, AND YOU'RE INVITED TO MY PARTY IN THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. HAWTHORNE: I VISITED THE
ENNIS HOUSE NOT LONG AFTER THE COMPLETION OF AN IMMACULATE RESTORATION OVERSEEN BY ITS NEW
OWNER--RON BURKLE. WHAT STRUCK ME WAS THAT THE
HOUSE IS NOT JUST THE BIGGEST BUT THE MOST IMPOSING OF WRIGHT'S L.A. DESIGNS, ONE THAT MANAGES TO
WRING GENUINE GRANDEUR FROM CONCRETE BLOCK. LOOMING OVER LOS FELIZ, IT'S
THE APOTHEOSIS OF WRIGHT'S VISION OF A PRE-COLUMBIAN TEMPLE RELOCATED TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA--MONUMENTAL AND IMPENETRABLE. HINES: THAT BULWARK, THAT BASTION UP THERE. QUITE WONDERFUL, QUITE STRIKING, BUT NOT INTIMATE.
HAWTHORNE: MANY OF THE DETAILS, THE WROUGHT-IRON DECORATION AND STAINED GLASS IN PARTICULAR, REFLECT THE ENNISES' TASTE MORE
THAN THEIR ARCHITECT'S. SMITH: THEY WERE AN INTERESTING COUPLE. WE DON'T REALLY KNOW
A LOT ABOUT THEM. I DON'T THINK IT'S EVEN PINNED DOWN AT THIS MOMENT HOW THEY MET FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.
SWEENEY: I HAVE WRESTLED FOR YEARS WONDERING WHY THEY BUILT
THIS ENORMOUS HOUSE. IT'S A MAYA PALACE. SMITH: THEY WERE JUST CLIENTS, AND THEY WANTED TO HAVE THE
HOUSE THAT THEY WANTED TO HAVE BUILT, AND SO, THERE ARE PARTS OF THE ENNIS HOUSE, MAJOR, MAJOR ELEMENTS THAT POP OUT TO PEOPLE, WHERE THEY TURN TO THE KIND OF DECORATIVE WORK OF THE
PERIOD. IT SORT OF LOOKS LIKE NORMA DESMOND'S HOUSE IN "SUNSET BOULEVARD." AND PEOPLE WONDER ABOUT THAT,
BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO HAVE IT CARRIED OUT AND COMPLETED TO THEIR OWN WISHES. IT'S ATTRACTED A CERTAIN AURA
ABOUT IT, WHICH PERHAPS HAS BEEN MADE MORE SO BY THE NUMBER OF HOLLYWOOD FILMS THAT IT'S BEEN IN. BUT I THINK EVEN BEFORE THAT, IT WAS IN THE HOLLYWOOD FILMS BECAUSE IT COMMUNICATED THIS KIND OF MYSTERIOUS AURA
ABOUT IT. APPIS: OH, MRS. ESTEE DECIDED THE POOL NEEDED A DEAD HORSE IN IT, SO, WE GOT ONE. HAWTHORNE: IF THE ENNIS HOUSE
WAS TYPICAL OF WRIGHT'S L.A. WORK IN SUGGESTING DARK, EVEN SINISTER OVERTONES, IN SEEMING TO REPEL THE VERY IDEA OF
NORMAL FAMILY LIFE, THE EXCEPTION CAME IN THE ARCHITECT'S FOURTH CONCRETE BLOCK HOUSE, IN THE
HOLLYWOOD HILLS. THE CLIENTS WERE A YOUNG BOHEMIAN COUPLE NAMED HARRIET AND SAMUEL
FREEMAN; THEY'D SCRAPED TOGETHER THE MONEY TO BUY A PIECE OF LAND THAT OFFERED A
VIEW STRAIGHT DOWN HIGHLAND AVENUE. WHAT THE FREEMANS LACKED IN
MONEY THEY MADE UP FOR IN ENTHUSIASM FOR WRIGHT'S WORK. THE ARCHITECT, IN RETURN,
PRODUCED A HOUSE THAT SEEMED TO FIT THEM LIKE A GLOVE, WITH A BIG, OPEN LIVING ROOM WHERE HARRIET, A DANCER, COULD HOLD
PERFORMANCES AND SALONS. THEY LIVED THERE FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, MORE THAN 60 YEARS.
AND UNDER THE STEWARDSHIP OF USC, TO WHICH THE FREEMANS DONATED THE HOUSE IN 1986, IT'S BEEN THE SETTING FOR AT LEAST
ONE MORE SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP. HARRIS: I'M HANK HARRIS. I'M AN
ACTOR. MY WIFE-- TIMME: IS ELIZABETH TIMME, AND I'M AN ARCHITECT AND
MY DAD WAS THE DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AT USC FROM 1994 TO 2005 AND-- HARRIS: WE MET AND FELL IN LOVE IN THE FREEMAN HOUSE.
TIMME: AND I HAD THE BENEFIT OF BEING ABLE TO STAY THERE WHILE I WAS A STUDENT. HARRIS: ME, TOO.
TIMME: AND HIM, TOO. HAWTHORNE: YOU'VE PROBABLY NOTICED BY NOW THAT THE FREEMAN HOUSE IS IN PRETTY TERRIBLE SHAPE. IN
PART BECAUSE OF ITS STEEP LOT, AND PERHAPS BECAUSE THE FREEMANS DIDN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES OF THE ENNISES OR
EVEN ALICE MILLARD, THE HOUSE HAD STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS FROM THE BEGINNING. WRIGHT HAD CLEARLY NOT PERFECTED HIS NEW CONCRETE BLOCK SYSTEM.
THESE ISSUES WERE COMPOUNDED BY THE 1994 NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE.
HARRIS: THE TEXTILE BLOCKS WOULD ABSORB RAIN TO A POINT AND THEN IT WOULD JUST BEGIN TO DRIP THROUGH CONSTANTLY.
TIMME: AND I REMEMBER MY DAD JUST COMING OVER WITH, LIKE, TARP.
HARRIS: YEAH, IT WAS JUST PLASTIC EVERYWHERE, JUST TO KEEP THE WATER OFF THE FLOOR, AND WE'D GET UP AND SQUEEGEE IT OFF EVERY MORNING. TIMME: SO, IT FELT LIKE A RUIN,
WHICH WAS REALLY CRAZY TO BE INSIDE SOMETHING THAT FELT VERY MUCH LIKE ANGKOR WAT. IT JUST FELT VERY MUCH LIKE SOMEONE ELSE'S KIND OF BIZARRE "BLADE RUNNER" FANTASY. HAWTHORNE: OUR NEXT INTERVIEWEE,
WHO OVERSEES THE HOUSE FOR USC, UNDERSTANDS AS WELL AS ANYBODY HOW DIFFICULT THESE PROBLEMS
ARE TO SOLVE. SANDMEIER: WE'RE TAKING THE APPROACH THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS
A VERY COMPLICATED KNIT SWEATER AND WE DON'T WANT TO PULL THE WRONG THREAD FIRST AND UNRAVEL
THE WHOLE THING. IT IS A COMBINATION OF NOT
ENOUGH MONEY TO DO IT AND TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT THE RIGHT APPROACH AND, WITH THE SMALL
AMOUNT OF MONEY WE HAVE, WHAT INTERVENTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.
WE USE IT NOW, WE TAKE STUDENTS UP THERE ALL THE TIME, AND IT'S IN A CONDITION WHERE IT ACTUALLY PROVIDES SOME REALLY
GREAT LESSONS ABOUT HOW THIS HOUSE WAS ACTUALLY BUILT. YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE. YOU CAN SEE THE SYSTEMS. THEY'RE EXPOSED RIGHT
NOW. THAT'S AMAZING FOR ARCHITECTURE
STUDENTS. HAWTHORNE: THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT CAN SEEM LIKE FOLLY TO KEEP
FIXING A HOUSE THAT IN MANY WAYS HAS PROVED STUBBORNLY UNFIXABLE.
SMITH: AND I'VE THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT THE SYSTEM, BECAUSE IT WAS EXPERIMENTAL, BUT THEN, ON THE
OTHER HAND, THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT IT WAS FLAWED.
AT THE VERY BEGINNING, I BELIEVED THAT THE TEXTILE BLOCK SYSTEM SHOULD BE HELD SACROSANCT, BUT IF YOU GO TO JAPAN, YOU SEE, IF YOU FOLLOW OUT THE IDEA OF BUILDING A BUILDING IN CONCERT WITH NATURE,
IN CONCERT WITH NATURE MEANS THAT IT HAS A LIFE.
AND WHEN YOU CARRY FORWARD WITH A LIFE, AT SOME TIME, A LIFE ENDS. IN SOME WAYS, I KNOW THIS WOULD
BE HORRIFIC TO AN AMERICAN MENTALITY, BUT PERHAPS THEY SHOULD JUST HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO DETERIORATE, AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION OF THE SYSTEM. TIMME: WE ALWAYS JOKED THAT WE
WOULD, IF WE GOT REALLY RICH AND FAMOUS, WE WOULD GO
BACK THERE AND PAINT IT GOLD AND THEN BURN IT DOWN.
HARRIS: YEAH, YOU CAN'T BURN CONCRETE, THOUGH. TIMME: I KNOW. THAT'S WHY IT'S
A FUNNY-- HARRIS: --IT'S A JOKE. TIMME: IT'S A JOKE. WE COULD MELT IT. HARRIS: YEAH. HAWTHORNE: SOME HISTORIANS HAVE STRESSED THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THIS HOUSE AND THE
CONCRETE BLOCK DESIGNS THAT PRECEDED IT, EVEN SEEING IN ITS
CORNER WINDOW THE SEEDS OF THE CASE STUDY MODERN HOUSES OF POST-WAR LOS ANGELES. BUT MORE STRIKING IS HOW SIMILAR
THE CONCRETE BLOCK HOUSES ARE AS A GROUP, HOW CONSISTENTLY
DENSE AND INTROVERTED. THE FREEMAN HOUSE, AS SEEN FROM THE STREET, IS JUST AS WINDOWLESS, SECRETIVE, AND OFF-PUTTING, JUST AS SUGGESTIVE OF A CRYPT, AS THE MILLARD HOUSE, THE FIRST OF WRIGHT'S CONCRETE
EXPERIMENTS HERE. SMITH: BY THE END OF 1923, HE
WAS FEELING THAT THERE WASN'T GOING TO BE A BIG FUTURE FOR HIM. AND HE SORT OF WAS AT A DEAD
END. HE DIDN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE HERE. HE FELT ALIENATED FROM THE REAL ESTATE MARKET OF LOS ANGELES.
DEVERELL: CALIFORNIA HISTORY IS FILLED WITH PEOPLE
WHO COME OUT TO CALIFORNIA IMAGINING A FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES THAT NEVER TAKES
PLACE. THEY NEVER DISCOVER GOLD, THEY NEVER GET FAMOUS, THEY NEVER STAR IN A FILM, THEY NEVER FIND OIL, SO, THEY GO HOME. SWEENEY: HE WAS NOT WELL-RECEIVED IN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA. PEOPLE WERE NOT PEOPLE WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK OR BE EXPERIMENTAL ENOUGH TO BUILD WITH THESE CONCRETE BLOCKS, AND I THINK MANY PEOPLE SIMPLY DIDN'T LIKE THE HOUSES.
THEY ARE NOT DOMESTIC IN ANY CONVENTIONAL SENSE. SAMUELSON: HE WAS SOMEBODY WHO WAS IMPULSIVE AND HE WOULD CHANGE. HE WAS PERCEPTIVE. AND SO, IF IT LOOKED LIKE IT WASN'T GOING
WHERE IT WANTED TO GO, [SNAPS FINGERS] THAT'S IT. HE WENT BACK HOME. HAWTHORNE: AFTER LEAVING LOS
ANGELES AT THE END OF 1923, WRIGHT MAINTAINED SOME
CONNECTIONS HERE. HIS SON LLOYD STAYED ON IN L.A., AND EVEN CONTINUED THE FAMILY
TRADITION OF DESIGNING HOUSES COVERED IN PRE-COLUMBIAN
ORNAMENT. VISITING THIS HOUSE BY LLOYD WRIGHT IS TELLING, THOUGH. WHAT LLOYD PRODUCED HAS NONE OF THE GRAVITY, THE POWER, OF HIS
FATHER'S L.A. HOUSES. IT FEELS LIKE A STAGE SET, SOME CORNER OF DISNEYLAND. THE HOUSE IS A PASTICHE IN A
WAY FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S L.A. HOUSES ARE NOT. ACROSS L.A., AS THE 1920S WORE ON, PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHITECTURE BECAME ALL THE RAGE, THOUGH
WITH MORE FLAMBOYANCE AND POPULISM THAN HAD MARKED WRIGHT'S USE OF IT. MOST NOTABLY, A BRITISH
ARCHITECT NAMED ROBERT STACY-JUDD CAME HERE, FULLY EMBRACED PRE-COLUMBIAN CULTURE, AND NEVER LOOKED BACK. HE BUILT THE AZTEC HOTEL IN MONROVIA. HERE HE IS DOING A MADE-UP
PRE-COLUMBIAN DANCE IN MADE-UP PRE-COLUMBIAN COSTUME.
AND HERE'S A DANCER PERFORMING SOME OF THAT SAME CHOREOGRAPHY IN FRONT OF THE ENNIS HOUSE IN
THE LATE 1920S. LATER ON, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WOULD
COME BACK TO DESIGN THE 1939 STURGES HOUSE IN BRENTWOOD, A CANTILEVERED VERSION OF
WRIGHT'S SMALL USONIAN HOUSES. IN THE 1950S, HE DESIGNED THIS SMALL SHOPPING CENTER ON RODEO DRIVE IN BEVERLY HILLS. BUT
NONE OF THOSE LATER DESIGNS HAVE THE PECULIAR FORCE OR DENSITY OF THE L.A. HOUSES OF THE 1920S.
NOW NEARLY A CENTURY OLD, THESE CONCRETE BLOCK HOUSES RETAIN
THEIR WILDLY ANOMALOUS CHARACTER. THEY STAND APART
FROM WRIGHT'S WORK, AND APART FROM THE REST OF THE LOS ANGELES ARCHITECTURE OF THE PERIOD. OSMAN: THE L.A. HOUSES ARE
MUSCULAR, THEY'RE BRUTAL, THEY'RE ROMANTIC, THEY'RE FANTASTIC, YOU KNOW. THEY'RE STRANGE. HAWTHORNE: AND ALL THESE YEARS LATER THEY'VE SETTLED INTO AN
ODD PLACE IN THE CULTURE, POPPING UP NOT JUST IN THE MOVIES BUT IN THE DIGITAL WORLD.
IT TURNS OUT WRIGHT'S BLOCKS WORK EXCEPTIONALLY WELL IN THE GAME MINECRAFT, WHICH RELIES ON
A SIMILAR MODULAR LOGIC. THERE'S ALSO A COMPOSITE VERSION OF THE BLOCK HOUSES IN A VIDEO GAME STARRING BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, IN WHICH BUFFY FIGHTS
OFF UNDEAD OPPONENTS IN A SERIES OF APPROPRIATELY DARK AND MOODY WRIGHTIAN SPACES. TO GET A FINAL AND MORE PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ON WRIGHT'S TIME IN L.A., I DROVE OUT TO MALIBU ONE
MORNING TO MEET ERIC LLOYD WRIGHT, FRANK'S GRANDSON AND LLOYD'S SON, AND AN ARCHITECT IN HIS OWN RIGHT WHO HAS WORKED
ON RESTORING SEVERAL OF HIS GRANDFATHER'S HOUSES. ERIC WRIGHT LIVES WITH HIS WIFE MARY IN A COMPOUND OVERLOOKING THE PACIFIC THAT FEELS VERY
MUCH LIKE THE END OF THE ROAD. IF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT SOUGHT IN L.A. THAT FAR CORNER OF THE
U.S., HIS GRANDSON, NOW 88, SEEMS TO HAVE FOUND THAT FAR
CORNER OF LOS ANGELES ITSELF. WE MET IN AN UNFINISHED BUILDING MADE, APPROPRIATELY ENOUGH, OUT OF CONCRETE ON THE EDGE OF HIS PROPERTY. WE TALKED ABOUT THE TEXTILE BLOCK SYSTEM, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH
HIS GRANDFATHER, AND ABOUT HIS WORK ON SOME OF THE L.A. HOUSES. I ASKED HIM WHY HE THOUGHT WRIGHT HAD COME HERE AFTER MAMAH'S MURDER. WHAT HAD DRAWN HIM TO LOS ANGELES?
WRIGHT: WELL, HE, OF COURSE, WAS, HAD BEEN VERY UPSET ABOUT THE DEATH OF HIS COMPANION AND
ALL THE ADVERSE PUBLICITY THAT HAD COME ABOUT BECAUSE OF HIS LIVING WITH HER AND BEING
TOGETHER. SO, HE THOUGHT THAT LOS ANGELES, THIS WAS A NEW TOWN, COMING UP, HE COULD HAVE A NEW LIFE. HAWTHORNE: AND THEN, FOR ME, A
KEY QUESTION: WHEN FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BEGAN WORKING IN LOS ANGELES, WHAT WAS HIS STATE OF MIND?
WRIGHT: WELL, IT WAS ONE OF, I THINK, SORROW BECAUSE HE HAD, THEY HAD HAD A WONDERFUL LIFE. HE HAD HAD WITH MAMAH BORTHWICK A WONDERFUL LIFE UNTIL HER DEATH. HAWTHORNE: THAT BRINGS US
BACK TO MY OVERNIGHT STAY AT THE MILLARD HOUSE AND THE
QUESTION I POSED AT THE START: WHY DO THE L.A.
HOUSES LOOK THE WAY THEY DO? ARE THEY EXPRESSIONS NOT JUST OF A DESIRE FOR PRIVACY AND
ESCAPE BUT EXPRESSIONS, TO USE ERIC WRIGHT'S WORD, OF "SORROW"? SOME OF THE PEOPLE I INTERVIEWED TOOK ISSUE WITH
THAT IDEA. SAMUELSON: MANY PEOPLE HAVE LOOKED AT THE CALIFORNIA
HOUSES, PARTICULARLY THE CONCRETE BLOCK HOUSES OF 1923, AS THINGS THAT ALMOST SEEM LIKE
MAUSOLEUMS, OR THEY'RE HEAVY, AND THAT THIS REFLECTS AN IDEA OF GRIEF. NOW, I CAN'T GET INTO
WRIGHT'S HEAD. I DON'T KNOW THAT I QUITE BUY THAT. HAWTHORNE: AFTER A WHILE, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO NOTICE A
SPLIT. HISTORIANS HAVE TENDED TO PLAY DOWN THE PRE-COLUMBIAN ASPECTS OF THE HOUSES AND ESPECIALLY THEIR CONNECTIONS TO DEATH AND TO PLAY UP THEIR WIDE RANGE OF OTHER INFLUENCES. ARTISTS, FILMMAKERS, HOLLYWOOD LOCATION
SCOUTS, AND VIDEO-GAME DESIGNERS, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAVE ALL HAD A SIMPLER AND PERHAPS MORE INSTINCTIVE TAKE.
THEY'VE SEEN WHAT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ALL OF US: THAT THESE HOUSES ARE SHADOWED BY VIOLENCE AND EVEN DEATH.
OVER TIME I CAME TO AGREE WITH THIS MORE DIRECT VIEW, EVEN TO THINK OF THE HOUSES AS A PRECURSOR TO L.A. NOIR. AND FOR ME, IT HARDLY FELT LIKE A LEAP. IF MY EXPERIENCE AS A CRITIC HAS TAUGHT ME ANYTHING, IT'S THAT IF YOU SPEND ENOUGH TIME
IN A BUILDING AND LISTEN CLOSELY ENOUGH TO WHAT IT'S SAYING, IT WILL TELL YOU PRETTY
MUCH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. AND YOU'D HAVE TO BE PUTTING YOUR FINGERS IN YOUR EARS NOT TO HEAR HOW CLEARLY WRIGHT'S LOS
ANGELES HOUSES ARE COMMUNICATING THEIR MORE FUNEREAL ASPECTS.
WHAT'S MORE, THE VOCABULARY THAT HAS GROWN UP AROUND THE HOUSES, SOME OF IT FROM WRIGHT HIMSELF, IS CONSISTENTLY DARK
AND EVEN MACABRE: DRAMA OF SOPHOCLES; BRUTAL; SINISTER;
TRAGEDY; LACKING JOY. PART OF WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE, I THINK, IS THAT SCHOLARS
ARE UNDERSTANDABLY RELUCTANT TO EMBRACE THE CRUDE CARICATURE OF PRE-COLUMBIAN CULTURE AND ITS
VARIOUS DEATH CULTS, ESPECIALLY THAT OF THE AZTECS, THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WAY AMERICANS UNDERSTOOD THOSE
RUINS DURING WRIGHT'S DAY. YET THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT THOSE CARICATURES SHAPED WRIGHT'S UNDERSTANDING OF PRE-COLUMBIAN
DESIGNS AND THEIR MEANING. AND IT'S NOT AS THOUGH WRIGHT WAS ONE TO DISCOURAGE A PSYCHOLOGICAL READING OF HIS ARCHITECTURE. TO THE CONTRARY, AS THE CRITIC HERBERT MUSCHAMP ONCE POINTED
OUT, "WRIGHT EXPLICITLY OFFERED UP HIS LIFE ALONG WITH HIS WORK FOR CRITICAL APPRAISAL, INSISTING THAT NEITHER COULD BE ADEQUATELY UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT
THE OTHER." KAMIN: HIS ARCHITECTURE SAVES
HIM, IN A SENSE. IT BECOMES, YOU KNOW, IT'S THIS MISSION, THIS PROJECT THAT HELPS HIM TO RECOVER FROM THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST
CATASTROPHIC PERSONAL TRAGEDY. HAWTHORNE: IN THE END, I CAME
DOWN ON THE SIDE OF THE IDEA THAT WRIGHT'S L.A.
HOUSES, THESE STRANGE APPARITIONS, ARE NOT JUST HEAVY
BUT HEAVY-HEARTED. THERE WAS SOMETHING IN PRE-COLUMBIAN ARCHITECTURE, ITS STARKNESS, ITS STATE OF RUIN, THAT
SUGGESTED TO WRIGHT A SENSIBILITY THAT MIGHT SUIT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND HIS OWN UNCERTAIN FRAME OF MIND IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING THE MURDERS. I DON'T THINK IT'S THE CASE THAT
THE HOUSES LOOK OFF-PUTTING AND CRYPT-LIKE TO US BECAUSE
THEY'RE EMPTY, BECAUSE NONE OF THEM IS NOW USED AS A FULL-TIME RESIDENCE. I THINK THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE: I THINK NONE OF THEM IS NOW USED AS A FULL-TIME RESIDENCE PRECISELY BECAUSE THEY'RE
OFF-PUTTING AND CRYPT-LIKE. BECAUSE THEY WERE A MEANS FOR WRIGHT OF FINALLY PUTTING A TROUBLED PERIOD BEHIND HIM FOR GOOD. MAMAH BORTHWICK IS BURIED IN
A LITTLE GRAVEYARD I VISITED NEXT TO UNITY CHAPEL IN SPRING GREEN. SHE'S ALSO BURIED IN LOS ANGELES. PRETTY AS A PORTRAIT LOOK LIKE MAMAH BORTHWICK ON THAT SHINING BROW OF TALIESIN SOMEONE MIGHT TRY AND BURN IT DOWN SO YOU'LL HAVE TO PUT THE FIRE OUT A FORTUNE SPENT IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS THROUGH THE LOS ANGELES THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS THE CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL AND OTHERS.
Westworld most recently filmed in Millard House!
Amazing video, never knew that much about his personal life. The grandness of the hollyhock house too is incredible! You can definitely tell he just got back from Japan with that property
Getting some serious Blade Runner-esque vibes from that Mayan stone tile ;)
Awesome. I used to live in Oak Park, IL where his studio was. There were several of his houses peppered throughout the town, plus the Unity Temple. I miss just strolling around and looking at those epic places.
Toured his Taliesen house in Arizona. It was nothing short of magical.
My grandparents had a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Holiday Utah. It was such an amazing house, then after they passed away nobody in the family could afford to cash out the other sibling so they had to sell it.
Been some schmuck plastic surgeon from California about it, tore it down, and built the ugliest 10,000 ft² house of ever seen.
someone... collects famous houses and leaves them sitting empty? That sucks.