Taliesin West
Frank Lloyd Wright's desert winter home, studio and school in the Sonoran foothills near Scottsdale.
Frank Lloyd Wright bought a stretch of raw desert in the McDowell foothills in 1937 and began building a winter camp for himself, his family and his apprentices. Walls of local stone set in concrete rise from the ground, while canvas and redwood roofs filter the light. Wright kept altering the complex until his death in 1959, so the buildings record more than two decades of continuous experiment with desert masonry, terraces and low, sheltering forms.
The site remains the headquarters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019 within the serial listing of Wright's twentieth-century architecture. Visitors move through the drafting studio, Wright's office and living quarters, the Cabaret theatre and the Music Pavilion, along with garden courts and the terrace known as the Prow. Self-guided audio tours are the usual route, with guided, behind-the-scenes and early morning options at set times.
Highlights
- UNESCO World Heritage site since 2019
- Desert masonry walls of local stone and concrete
- Wright's drafting studio, office and private quarters
- Cabaret theatre and Music Pavilion built for the Fellowship
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