It never ceases to amaze me how Wright's style was so ahead of the times. A lot of people immediately think the houses are mid-50's but they're in fact 20 to 30 years earlier! If you happen to be driving through somewhere near one of the houses that are under conservancy[1] they are well worth a stop.
45 years earlier in some cases. I found the Robie House in Chicago (built in 1910!) to be a total head-trip.
CGMthrowaway 34 minutes ago [-]
FLW created the times
UncleOxidant 16 minutes ago [-]
There's something similar in cinema. For example, I was watching Terrance Malick's Badlands for the first time a couple of years ago and I could swear it felt like a film from the 90s or maybe early 2000s. But it was from 1973.
gabrielsroka 13 minutes ago [-]
> Wright borrowed $5,000 from one of his bosses, Louis Sullivan,[25][28][29][I] who took title to the land.[19][23] In exchange, Wright had to repay the loan within five years.[30] Excluding the land cost, Wright eventually spent $5,300, which included $1,200 from his own savings and $3,500 from Sullivan's loan.
According to BLS CPI data $5000 in 1889 is $182,132.07 in modern day purchasing power
burkaman 47 minutes ago [-]
I know houses used to be cheaper but I was still struggling to understand how a 22-year-old from what doesn't sound like a very rich family could have afforded this. His foundation website says "he negotiated a five-year contract with Sullivan in exchange for the loan of the necessary money" and then "it was not long before escalating expenses tempted him into accepting independent residential commissions". I guess you really did used to be able to get whatever you wanted just by going to college and working hard.
fusslo 2 minutes ago [-]
It kinda seems like Sullivan being shrewd. Sullivan probably saw the value in one of his junior architects going through the whole process of building a house for himself. It'd give Wright valuable experience. Mistakes could happen to his own property rather than a client's. Having such a contract may limit the chances that Wright would leave the employer. Wrights attitude towards Sullivan would be more positive if Wright saw him as a patron.
CGMthrowaway 18 minutes ago [-]
At age 22, FLW was specially trained, working at the equivalent of a frontier AI lab (the most important architect in Chicago) and in the most booming city at the time (Chicago, especially where construction was concerned- due to the Great Fire rebound)
He's not a random, there are a lot of factors working for him
gedy 22 minutes ago [-]
I agree and feel same. Doubly so since after 100+ years it's now more expensive and difficult to build a custom home? Seems off.
pfannkuchen 34 minutes ago [-]
N = 1 though.
> With money borrowed from his boss
Genius in field works for wealthy man in field, gets special treatment at a young age. News at 11.
tangenter 1 hours ago [-]
[dead]
artisinal 1 hours ago [-]
Built his own home at 22. Started his own firm at 26. Raised six children. Peak Gilded Age energy. Boomers have nothing on him.
Rendered at 18:43:22 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Frank_Lloyd_Wright_wor...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright_Home_and_St...
He's not a random, there are a lot of factors working for him
> With money borrowed from his boss
Genius in field works for wealthy man in field, gets special treatment at a young age. News at 11.