Who Was Frank Lloyd Wright?
For Frank Lincoln Wright’s ninth birthday, his mother, Anna Lloyd Jones, bought him a special set of building blocks. The wooden blocks came in many shapes and sizes: cubes, spheres, and pyramids. There were shiny papers to cover them, and sticks to connect them.
On that day in 1876, Anna dreamed her son would grow up to be a famous architect. An architect is a person who designs buildings such as homes, schools, hospitals, and museums. An architect plans what a building will look like inside and out. He also makes sure it is built safely.
Frank loved his new toys and played with them all day long. He learned how shapes fit together. And he learned that he could make bigger and bigger structures by putting smaller shapes together in the right order.
During Frank’s long life, he designed more than 1,100 buildings, including small houses, giant mansions, churches, temples, office buildings, and even a world-famous museum. When asked how he could create so many new projects, Frank answered, “I can’t get them out fast enough.” He could barely keep up with his own ideas!
Frank’s ideas led to some of the most creative structures ever built. He designed a house in Pennsylvania called Fallingwater that sits on top of a waterfall! He constructed an office building in Wisconsin that has columns shaped like giant lily pads at the top. He designed the Guggenheim art museum in New York City—a building that looks like a giant teacup from the outside. Inside, a spiral ramp rises toward a domed skylight.
In 1991, the American Institute of Architects declared Frank “the greatest American architect of all time.” He really did become one of the world’s best architects. And Frank’s journey all began with a set of blocks.
