Taliesin West is the beautifully designed home and School of Architecture situated in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains just outside Scottsdale, AZ. Originally Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home from 1937 until his death in 1959, it is now the home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in addition to the school.
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Wright and his architecture students used to visit Arizona back in the1930s, and after a few years of making the trip from his summer home, he decided in 1937 to purchase a plot of land that would be the Taliesin West to his Taliesin in Wisconsin. The land he chose is on the southern slope of the mountains and overlooks Paradise Valley which he believed to the perfect spot for a place of residence, business and learning.
Handcrafted over approximately 20 years by Wright and his apprentices he was determined to have it blend in with its natural surroundings in the desert and was quoted as saying,
❝ Arizona needs its own architecture…Arizona’s long, low, sweeping lines, uptilting planes. Surface patterned after such abstraction in line and color as find “realism” in the patterns of the rattlesnake, the Gila monster, the chameleon, and the saguaro, cholla or staghorn—or is it the other way around—are inspiration enough. ❞– Frank Lloyd Wright
HIGHLIGHTS OF TALIESIN WEST
One look and we are sure you will agree Taliesin West does indeed live in harmony with its environment. Constructed with native desert rocks and redwood beams with as little concrete as possible the structure is quite beautiful. We can only imagine how long-time fans of Wright’s work must love it when they come to visit one of his most personal creations. Such is the impact of Frank Lloyd Wright’s on architecture that some of his creations, including Taliesin West, have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Visitors to the site must take one of their guided tours, but they are very interesting. There are several different options to choose from depending on your level of interest and we decided to take the 90-minute “Insights Tour” which is just right for folks that haven’t been long-time fans and really want a good introduction to Wright, his life, designs, and his school. For enthusiasts there is a longer behind the scenes tour, then there are shorter tours, a photography tour, a tour at night, and a few others. There really is a tour for everyone to get a look inside and hear the stories your guide will regale you with..
On the Insights Tour, you start in a forecourt area to learn a little about Wright’s history and how the house came to be here. You then proceed into a studio, the Garden Room, an enclosed garden, bedrooms, peak into the architecture school’s studio, and then into a Cabaret. All the while your guide teaches you about the history, architectural methods used and points out little bits and bobs that you might miss if you had we just wandered around on our own. The Cabaret which is the last room on the tour has a little surprise, which we won’t ruin for you so you can be delighted by it as much as we were.
PLAN YOUR VISIT TO TALIESIN WEST
Information last updated November 2019
HOW TO GET THERE
Taliesin West can found at 12621 N Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85259.
Parking is available on site and is free of charge to visitors.
HELPFUL LINK:
- If you need an app that will navigate you around whether walking, driving or using public transport and even works offline then click for a guide about how to use Here WeGo.
OPENING HOURS
Opening hours vary through the year, so please check the hours for when you want to visit on the Taliesin West Website.
You can only visit Taliesin West on a guided tour and they do book up, so it is advisable to book in advance rather than turn up and hope tours are available.
You will be outside quite a bit of the time as you walk between the various parts of the estate. Visiting time will depend on which tour you book which is from 1.5 to 3 hours.
HOW TO BUY TICKETS
You can only visit Taliesin West with a guided tour.
The Insights Tour costs $35 for adults, $25 for students (with ID) and $19 for 6-12s on Mon-Thu. On Fri-Sun the prices are $40 for adults, $30 for students (with ID) and $19 for 6-12s. The tour takes around 90 minutes.
The Details Tour costs $40 on Mon-Thu and $45 on Fri-Sun. The tour takes around 2 hours.
The Behind the Scenes tour costs $75 for a three-hour tour. It is offered on Mon & Sat 09:15 and Thu at 14:15. Other dates are sometimes available on holidays. The tour takes around 3 hours.
Other tours are available in addition to those above.
ACCESSIBILITY
Though Taliesin West was not built with accessibility in mind, ramps are available for wheelchairs users to use through the tours. The tours will visit gravel walkways and uneven surfaces.
For accessibility details please visit the Taliesin West Accessibility page.
IS TALIESIN WEST WORTH THE VISIT?
For fans of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work, then a visit to Taliesin West is a must, but it’s well worth visiting even if you aren’t a fan. The interesting design features are pointed out to you by your guide and the whole place is quite beautiful. Frank Lloyd Wright’s philosophy of organic architecture, where buildings are built in harmony with both humans and the environment are clearly in evidence. To have the opportunity to visit one of his most personal creations, the house was built almost entirely by Wright and his apprentices is quite an honour and an experience.
In Frank Lloyd Wrights own words:
❝ Taliesin West is a look over the rim of the world. ❞– Frank Lloyd Wright
ADD TO YOUR PHOENIX ITINERARY
From stunning mountain drives and trails to desert landscapes with their unique flora, Phoenix has plenty of attractions to tempt visitors, from the quirky to the mainstream.
IN THE AREA
- Drive the stunning Apache Trail, part-paved, part-gravel road through the beautiful Superstition Mountains. Just beyond the Roosevelt Dam at the far end, you can see ancient cliff dwellings at the Tonto National Monument.
- One of the most popular trails in the White Tank Mountains, Waterfall Canyon Trail passes ancient hieroglyphs en-route to the waterfall. Only running after wet weather, dry weather allows you to climb right up into the fall area that would normally be inaccessible.
- Built by Boyce Gully for his daughter Mary Lou, the Mystery Castle is constructed out of whatever material he could find to provide a castle his daughter could live in, which she did for many years.
- See how people lived in Pioneer times at the Pioneer Living History Museum. Visit 30 homes, both authentic and recreation to see how life was lived in the late 1800s.
- Explore 140 acres of Papago Park at the Desert Botanical Garden. Over 21,000 plants are laid out in several ecosystems for visitors to explore.
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