the planetarium building by frank lloyd wright
all images © robin hill

florida southern college’s long-hidden treasure trove of frank lloyd wright buildings
is  the largest single site collection of the architect’s work in the world, known
collectively as ‘child of the sun,’ will be featured in an upcoming exhibition
from may 15 to august 23 at the guggenheim museum in new york. in the context of
wright’s other projects, the show, ‘frank lloyd wright: from within outward’ will feature
photos and drawings of wright’s one-of-a-kind master plan. coincidentally, an ambitious
restoration effort is currently under way on wright’s college campus.

the project occupied wright for 21 years, from 1938 until his death in 1959.
eager to realize his dream of masterminding an entire city, wright designed
18 buildings for florida’s southern college, 12 of which were built. to save money,
five of the buildings were constructed by the students themselves in exchange for
tuition.


esplandes and watson administration building


fletcher building





the water dome

wright’s centerpiece, a massive, 160-foot-diameter, 74-jet fountain called the
water dome, was too technically advanced for its time. it was finally completed
in 2007, the first wright design to be built for an original client at the original site
since 1966.


the water dome


annie pfeiffer chapel, 1941
all images © robin hill

the highlight of the campus is the annie pfeiffer chapel from 1941, the first
building of the lot to be completed. light pours into the chapel through colored
glass inlays in the hand-cast, textured bricks, while a tower looking like a stack of
wright’s famous bow ties rises from the roof.


annie pfeiffer chapel, 1941


annie pfeiffer chapel, 1941
all images © robin hill