Wright Way Arizona: Innovations in Living
February 20-24, 2009

Taliesin West Photographer: Terrence Reimer

Treat yourself to a winter sojourn in the Arizona sun.  Enjoy a tour and dinner at Wright’s Arizona Biltmore Hotel, and a full-day, all-access tour of Wright’s sprawling winter headquarters, Taliesin West. Experience the spectacular Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Arizona State University, originally designed as the Baghdad Opera House and considered to be Wright’s last public commission.   Venture into the desert and explore the stunning Arcosanti community designed by former Frank Lloyd Wright Fellow, Paolo Soleri.

Tour Price

Members: $2295 per person, double occupancy, land only

Non-members: $2495 per person, double occupancy, land only

Daily Itinerary (subject to change)

Friday, February 20
Late afternoon arrival at the Arizona Biltmore hotel in Phoenix, a lavish structure attributed to Wright.  Crowned “The Jewel of the Desert” when it opened in 1929, the Arizona Biltmore is constructed using “"Biltmore Blocks”, pre-cast concrete blocks featuring a geometric pattern that is said to represent a freshly cut palm tree.  Enjoy a tour and dinner at this magnificent hotel and join in the festivities as the hotel celebrates its 80th anniversary.

Saturday, February 21
Explore Taliesin West, Wright’s winter headquarters and home to the Taliesin Fellowship, on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour.  A highlight of this tour is a stop in the colorful Taliesin Fellowship dining room not open to the public, where you'll be treated to mid-morning "tea” and the opportunity to talk with Wright associates.

Sunday, February 22
Begin your day with a tour of Wright’s spectacular UHaul/Price House, which he designed for Harold Price, Sr., an important client of Wright’s for whom he later designed Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK.  The 4,781 square foot elongated home, which stretches the length of a football field, is executed in concrete block with a light steel frame and features 10 rooms arranged in 4 areas which can be closed off from the rest of the house.  In 1964, the Price estate sold the house to Sam Shoen, founder of UHaul.  After the tour, enjoy a free afternoon to explore Phoenix on your own.

Monday, February 23
Enjoy a full-day, in-depth tour of Arcosanti, a stunning community designed by former Frank Lloyd Wright fellow, Paolo Soleri.  Arcosanti began construction in 1970 by the Cosanti Foundation as an experimental town in the high desert of Arizona, 70 miles north of Phoenix. Designed according to Soleri’s concept of arcology (architecture + ecology), Arcosanti is an experiment in evolved living where the built and the living interact as organs would in a highly evolved being. The community is designed so that many systems work together, with efficient circulation of people and resources, multi-use buildings, and solar orientation for lighting, heating and cooling.

Tuesday, February 24
Take a morning tour of the Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Arizona State University, considered the last public commission by Wright.  Originally designed as the Baghdad Opera House in 1957-1958, the plans were not carried out and instead were revived for the new auditorium on the ASU campus, which fit the similar desert environment.   In the afternoon, enjoy a tour of Wright’s First Christian Church in Phoenix, called "One of the ten best church buildings ever built in America" by Harold Wagoner, a former Dean of the Church Architects Guild of America.  The church was constructed in the early 1970’s using Wrights unused plans for a Classical University for the Southwest Christian Seminary. 

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