‘Trail Tracker’ Aids Visits to Frank Lloyd Wright Sites

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Exploring the Wisconsin legacies of internationally renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright just got easier. Taliesin Preservation has launched “Trail Tracker” as part of the revamped Frank Lloyd Wright Trail website franklloydwrighttrail.org and an updated digital app. The website maps out and connects nine public Wright sites along 200 miles in southern Wisconsin. The website and app help in planning trips. Trail Tracker also lets visitors track their progress and receive a Frank Lloyd Wright Trail Badge that is shareable on social media. 

The new website provides information about Wright and his roots and legacy places in Wisconsin. Born in Richland Center in 1867, Wright spent boyhood summers in Spring Green, where his ancestors first settled in the 1840s. He built Taliesin as his home, studio, and working farm, starting in 1911. Eventually he established a school for apprentice architects there. The estate now encompasses about 800 acres and includes numerous buildings that Wright designed. The Driftless region landscape surrounding Taliesin, with dramatic bluffs and coulees, inspired Wright’s organic architecture and the “Prairie style” for which he is famous. 

The Frank Lloyd Wright Trail was originally established in 2017, following state legislation to honor the work of the man that many consider to be America’s most influential architect. The Wright Trail project included the installation of roadway signage and a public relations campaign. The self-guided automotive trail consists of publicly accessible sites chosen to provide both architectural enthusiasts and casual visitors with different experiences and insights into the architect’s career. Wright designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period spanning 70 years. 

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Traveling from east to west, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail originates on Interstate 94 near the Wisconsin-Illinois border in Racine County. It proceeds north to Milwaukee, then west to Madison, onward to Spring Green, and ending in Richland Center. It comprises the following sites: SC Johnson Administrative Building and Research Tower, and the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread, in Racine; the Burnham Block of System-Built Homes in Milwaukee; Monona Terrace, and First Unitarian Society Meeting House, in Madison; Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, and the Wyoming Valley School, in Spring Green; and A.D. German Warehouse in Richland Center. Each site offers touring opportunities; the website provides links to each site. 

Since public access and hours vary, visitors are encouraged to plan ahead and consult respective sites in advance. For example, Taliesin taliesinpreservation.org offers multiple tour options seasonally. Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center mononaterrace.com is open at no charge year-round. Two homes within Milwaukee’s Burnam Block wrightinmilwaukee.com may be toured by appointment. 

Dedicated Facebook and Instagram accounts have also been created at @flwtrailwi, and a digital newsletter is offered. The relaunch also consists of digital ads, airport digital display boards, print ads, a brochure, Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television announcements, and other promotions. These efforts are supported by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism in the form of a Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) Grant and by inputs from each of the sites within the Trail network. 

The prevalence of Wright’s architecture in southern Wisconsin makes the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail attractive to Wright enthusiasts—and the striking characteristics of his architecture hold the interest of people of all ages.

Milwaukee resident Barbara Elsner and her late brother George Meyer promoted awareness of the Wisconsin-born architect’s legacy for decades. Meyer wrote a successful grant that made the case that promoting Wright treasures could help draw tourists to Wisconsin. That has become a reality, with individuals and groups, including from Europe, visiting Wright sites throughout the state. In 1992, a nonprofit called Lloyd Wright Wisconsin was formed with help from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. Elsner has also been a driving force in preserving Milwaukee’s row of American System-Built Homes on the South Side. It is the only known example of an urban block with diverse Wright homes designed for middle-class families. 

Taliesin Preservation is a Wisconsin-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1993. Its mission is to preserve Taliesin’s natural, built and cultural environments through educational and cultural programming and to encourage greater understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and ideas. In 1976, Taliesin was designated as a National Historic Landmark. In 2019, Taliesin was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the 20th Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Upcoming Book Talk: Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee will host a free event on Friday, June 9 with Kristine Hansen, author of the forthcoming Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin: How America's Most Famous Architect Found Inspiration in His Home State. Reservations are required.

eventbrite.com/e/kristine-hansen-author-of-frank-lloyd-wrights-wisconsin-a-boswell-event-tickets-534049535537