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The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona, 85261-4430, (602) 860-2700.
One Hour Tour: October-May: Monday-Thursday 1 - 4 p.m. Friday-Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Cost: $10 adults. $8 students and seniors.
Behind the Scenes Three Hour Tour: October-May, Thursday 9 a.m. - noon. Cost $25. Reservations required.
Photographer's Tour: October-May 1st, Wednesday and Saturday each month 7- 9 a.m. $20. Reservations required.
Standing guard over this dessicated domain, 50-foot tall saguaro cactus scratch the sky with their prickly arms. The road curves as if following the pathway of a giant snake weaving among the furry spines of the teddy bear cholla which looks anything but cuddly. Red flowers wave at the end of long stalks like a cluster of warning flags.
When Frank Lloyd Wright established the western branch of his alternative architectural school in 1938, there were only 200 people in Scottsdale. Fuzzy jackrabbits could cavort with their scaly friends all they wanted.
Today Scottsdale is located in the metropolitan Phoenix area which boast a population of 1/2 million, a fact that would have left the architect apoplectic. Early in this country he was dismayed that ugly power lines were ruining the scenic beauty of the area.
This famous architectural pioneer became enamored of the desert when working on the Arizona Biltmore hotel in 1927. Deciding to flee the harsh midwestern winters, Wright established Taliesin (TALly-essen) West as a winter campus for his primary school in southwest Wisconsin.
When it came time to christen th new compound, many names were set up and knocked down like so many bowling pins. It was finally decided to add the word West to the name already used for Wright's first school, Taliesin. The name comes from...