Taliesin - Frank Lloyd Wright

Since we were not eating a lot of cheese, our main interest in Wisconsin was Frank Lloyd Wright and his home, Taliesin. Madison was our stopping spot the night before our tour of the home. This is, of course, the capitol of Wisconsin. It is also an isthmus. The only isthmus I'd ever learned about was the one in Panama. Teachers are missing a bet by not teaching about Madison. The capitol building is square in the middle of this bit of land. All the streets surrounding it are one way.

Karen and I decided to find some of the homes that Wright designed in the area. We didn't have a very good map. The frustration of driving to nowhere on all those one way streets was overwhelming. Madison was really beautiful: lovely homes and great waterfront areas. It will take me only a little more time to get over the fact that we found none of the Wright homes in the area.

We got to Taliesin early so we had lunch in the museum cafe which overlooked the Wisconsin river. That is the view on the left. The tour is very interesting. The house itself is the third iteration of the building built on that site. Our tour guide was a little skittish about talking about the Wrights' personal life. She did mention the fire that burned down the first house. Bless Wikipedia for the rest of the story.

Wright had left his wife and 6 children for the wife of one of his clients. He built Taliesin for this woman and her children. A fire started and a servent killed many of the people in the house, including the woman and her children. The house was rebuilt, Wright married a second woman. The house burned down again. They eventually divorced and he married Olga, who was his wife until his death when he was over 90 years old.

Wright's buildings leave a lot to be desired. They are always interesting to look at. They always leak like sieves. I don't know why anyone would have wanted one of his buildings. The tour guide had drunk the koolaid, however, and said that you have to accept the bad with the revolutionary. Right.

We spent the night at another great Motel 6. Wisconsin gave us a stunning bon voyage thunderstorm. I don't think I've ever seen so much lightening and rain. We opened our curtains and laid in bed until the storm had passed. It was very quick. This is a whole new type of weather for us California girls. Our biggest surprise was the downed tree next to my car. Thank you, Wisconsin, for not giving us more of a thrill than we were ready to accept.


The Ramblers