Please join the National Park Service, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, and APT WGLC on November 4th at 6:00 pm for an evening program at Unity Temple to celebrate the recent UNESCO World Heritage List inscription of eight sites designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The program will include a brief slide presentation and lecture from Phyllis Ellin and Barbara Gordon of the nomination process.
Attendees will be eligible for 1 AIA CEU (pending approval). Registration is open to everyone. Local street parking is available.
Wright is widely considered to be the greatest American architect of the 20th century, and the sites in the group inscription span his influential career. They include Unity Temple (constructed 1906-1909, Oak Park, Illinois), the Frederick C. Robie House (constructed 1910, Chicago, Illinois), Taliesin (begun 1911, Spring Green, Wisconsin), Hollyhock House (constructed 1918-1921, Los Angeles, California), Fallingwater (constructed 1936-1939, Mill Run, Pennsylvania), the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House (constructed 1936-1937, Madison, Wisconsin), Taliesin West (begun 1938, Scottsdale, Arizona) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (constructed 1956-1959, New York, New York). The collection represents the first modern architecture designation in the country on the prestigious list. As Barbara Gordon stated, “This recognition by UNESCO is a significant way for us to reconfirm how important Frank Lloyd Wright was to the development of modern architecture around the world.”
There are nearly 400 remaining structures designed by Wright. The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy hopes that the inscription of these eight major works also brings awareness to the importance of preserving all of his buildings as a vital part of our artistic, cultural and architectural heritage. It is the Conservancy’s belief that all communities where a Wright building stands should appreciate what they have and share in the responsibility to protect their local—and world—heritage. The eight inscribed sites have played a prominent role in the development and evolution of Modern architecture during the first half of the 20th century and continuing to the present.
The Wright nomination has been in development for more than 15 years, a coordinated effort between the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, each of the nominated sites and independent scholars, with a substantial financial commitment realized through subsidies and donations, countless hours donated by staff and volunteers, and the guidance and assistance of the National Park Service. The nomination effort was spearheaded by Fallingwater Director Emerita and founding Conservancy board member Lynda Waggoner, with Fallingwater contributing support and expertise in the nomination’s preparation.
Phyllis Ellin is a contract historian and architectural historian for the U.S. National Park Service’s Office of International Affairs, focusing on the World Heritage program. She has guided the preparation of several U.S. nominations, and has served on U.S. delegations to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee since 2008.
Barbara Gordon is the Executive Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, which is the only organization dedicated to facilitating the preservation and stewardship of the remaining built works designed by Frank Lloyd Wright through advocacy, education and technical services. The Conservancy was responsible for the coordination of the nomination of 8 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings to the World Heritage list, which includes Oak Park’s Unity Temple.