Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo, NY
Frank Lloyd Wright Chronology
Research by Eileen Rogers
The information contained in this document includes material that has been compiled from documents available at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, Forest Lawn Cemetery, and the University Archives at SUNY @ Buffalo. - Eileen Rogers
All pages are copyrighted, © 2004 Eileen Rogers.
Highlights on this page are added (by editor) for convenience of readers.
Genealogy - 1 Highlights:
- FLW born 1867 in Wisconsin
- FLW had two sisters, three stepsiblings
- FLW designed 1000 structures, 400 were built
Genealogy - 2 Highlights:
- FLW and first wife, Catherine Lee Tobin, had six children. Married 1889, Divorced 1922.
- FLW and Catherine's first born was Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. (1890-1978), an architect
- FLW's granddaughter was actress Ann Baxter
- FLW had an affair with Martha (Mamah) Cheney during his first marriage
Genealogy - 3 / Chronology: 1885-1887 Highlights:
- FLW and second wife, Miriam Noel, have three children during their five-year marriage. Married 1923, Divorced 1928
- Wright did not finish high school. He took classes at the University of Wisconsin in drafting for two years while he gained practical experience in the office of the Dean of Engineering
- FLW and third wife, Olga Hinzenberg, had one daughter. Married 1928
- In 1887, FLW moves to Chicago and becomes apprentice for Joseph Lyman Silsbee
Chronology: 1887-1902 Highlights:
- In 1887, FLW leaves Silsbee and works for work for Adler & Sullivan, eventually becoming Sullivan's Chief Assistant
- In 1889, Catherine Lee Tobin marries FLW, giving him social polish. They settle in fashionable Oak Park.
- In 1889, FLW builds his own Oak Park house at 951 Chicago Ave.
- FLW resigns from Adler & Sullivan after Sullivan learned Wright was designing homes on his own
- By 1900, FLW was into his Prairie Style
- 1902, designs the Dana House in Springfield, IL
Chronology: 1903-1906 Highlights:
- 1903 designs William Martin (Darwin Martin's older brother) House in Oak Park
- 1903 designs Barton House, 188 Summit, Buffalo
- 1903 designs Edwin Cheney House in Oak Park. FLW and Mrs. Cheney will have a scandalous love affair.
- 1903 designs Larkin Building in Buffalo
- 1904 designs Darwin D. Martin House and Conservatory in Buffalo
- 1905 travels to Japan
- 1905 designs E-Z Polish Factory for William and Darwin Martin in Chicago
- 1905 designs Heath House, 76 Soldier's Place, Buffalo
- 1905 designs Darwin Martin gardener's cottage, 285 Woodward, buffalo
- 1906 designs Unity Temple in Oak park
- 1906 designs Robie House in Chicago
Chronology: 1908-1911 Highlights:
- 1908 designs Davidson House, 57 Tillinghast, Buffalo
- 1909-1910 FLW and Mrs. Mamah Cheney abandon their families and have a scandalous affair; flee to Europe
- 1911 returns from Europe; unable to return to Chicago; builds a house in Wisconsin (named Taliesin by FLW) on family land given by Wright's mother.
Chronology: 1914-1924 Highlights:
- 1914 Mamah Cheney, her two sons, and five other employees at Taliesin are brutally murdered
- 1914 rebuilds Taliesin (Taliesin II)
- 1914 Miriam Noel (one of hundreds) sends a message of condolence. Within weeks of Mamah's death, she is living at Taliesin
- 1915 designs Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan
- April 1924 Miriam Noel leaves Taliesin
- 1924 FLW meets Olgivanna Milanoff. They fall in love in the Fall.
Chronology: 1925-1926 Highlights:
- 1926 Bank forecloses on Taliesin and uses it for file storage. Wright is forced to auction his Japanese print collection. Taliesin is put up for auction. Darwin Martin and others form a corporation that would gradually pay off Wright's debts and pay him a salary.
Chronology: 1926-1928 Highlights:
- 1927 designs Biltmore Hotel (Arizona Biltmore)
- 1927 designs Graycliff, Derby
Chronology: 1928-1933 Highlights:
- 1928 designs Blue Sky Mausoleum, Forest lawn Cemetery, Buffalo. Built 2004
- 1932 designs Gasoline Filling Station, Buffalo. Not built.
- 1933 Taliesin Fellowship founded
Chronology: 1935-1953 Highlights:
- 1935 designs Falling Water
- 1936 designs Johnson Wax Co. Administration Building
- 1937 designs Taliesin West, Arizona
Chronology: 1954-1985 Highlights:
- 1956 designs Guggenheim Museum
- 1959 FLW dies