• by Tanya Gazdik , June 8, 2017

It’s not every day one of the world’s greatest architects turns 150. 

Frank Lloyd Wright, who would have celebrated his 150th birthday today, is widely considered to be the father of modern architecture. Architecture and art destinations around the country are paying homage to him this week, and in some cases, even longer. 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has partnered with geographic mapping company Esri to launch a new virtual tour of Wright’s Pope-Leighey House, a site of the National Trust in Alexandria, Va., and a digital story map of Wright-designed buildings across the United States.

“We wanted to put together something unique to help recognize and celebrate [his] legacy on his 150th birthday,” said Reina Murray, GIS Project Manager, National Trust for Historic Preservation. “But we also had a goal of demonstrating a new way for people to experience historic sites by developing a digital tour of the Pope-Leighey House. This tour allows people who can’t make it to the site themselves to still experience the house, its layout and some of its unique characteristics.”

The story map allows the organization to present a curated selection of projects based on time of construction to help illustrate Wright’s range and evolution in design, Murray tells Marketing Daily.

“While this is far from an exhaustive list of Wright’s works, this format allows us to present a large collection of Wright’s projects in an easily accessible and visually appealing way,” she says. 

Other companies and historic sites are also celebrating Wright’s birth anniversary.

Toymaker Lego has released the latest kit in its architecture series: Wright's New York masterpiece, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The 744-piece set features a new rendition of the building made from the classic plastic blocks, following a 208-piece interpretation released in 2009. Other Wright houses previously offered in Lego kits include Fallingwater and Chicago’s Robie House.

The actual Guggenheim celebrates Wright’s 150th birth year with a special reduced admission of $1.50. Visitors will be treated to free birthday cupcakes in the Guggenheim’s newly renovated Cafe 3, which will feature large-scale, rarely seen photographs of the museum during its construction. An actor-historian portraying Frank Lloyd Wright will be on-site engaging with visitors.

In Chicago, the Unity Temple is reopening after a nearly two-year $25 million restoration and the Unitarian Universalist congregation is expecting big crowds. The group’s leader, Rev. Alan Taylor, sent an email to members Wednesday about the re-opening and Wright’s birthday. 

“Here in the Chicago area, there tends to be a near cultic worship of the man, or at least his genius,” Taylor wrote. “He was from a significant Unitarian family, but his personal ethics and morals were often in question. Yet, without doubt, he was a brilliant architect, arguably the most significant American architect, and Unity Temple is arguably his master achievement in the history of architecture.”

Pennsylvania’s Fallingwater, one of the architect’s most well-known if not greatest creations, is offering free lectures and exhibitions.  In addition, visitors also have the opportunity to sample special menu items offered at the Fallingwater Café based on some of Wright’s favorite recipes, including one for his birthday cake — a confection of walnuts, chocolate and strawberries. The Fallingwater Museum Store has 150th commemorative specialty items for sale, from baseball caps to wooden holiday ornaments.

Festivities continue at the Price Tower, an innovative Oklahoma skyscraper Wright designed in 1956 in which the top floors were turned into a boutique hotel in 2003. The Price Tower Arts Center is offering special $1.50 tours June 8 - 10 of all the historic floors along with free cupcakes.

This September, the premier Wright preservation group, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, will hold its annual conference in New York City and will celebrate the milestone birth anniversary. The conference,  Frank Lloyd Wright at 150, is timed to coincide with a major new exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive. 

Finally, Wright fans can bring a little of his magic into their modern day homes. The fabric and wallpaper company Schumacher and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation have collaborated on a fabric line inspired by the original and wildly successful line Wright and his team designed for Schumacher in 1955.