Frank Lloyd Wright in Lakeland

Heading there, we didn’t realize what the impact of Frank Lloyd Wright in Lakeland was.

The Florida Southern College campus is the home of the world’s largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, with nine building and architectural features for the visitor to see, enter, and enjoy.

Frank Lloyd Wright, world famous architect, left us on April 9, 1959, yet his work certainly lives on throughout the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida.

It’s an inviting campus, and both times we’ve been to it at  111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr  Lakeland, FL, we have enjoyed wandering the incredibly well manicured grounds, the walkways and visiting the various Frank Lloyd Wright buildings and architecture on campus.

The folks at http://en.wikipedia.org state that “The collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture at Florida Southern College is called Child Of The Sun. This includes:

• Annie Pfeiffer Chapel – First completed Frank Lloyd Wright building, begun 1938, dedicated 1941, French-door balconies restored in 2007
• Buckner Building (originally the Roux Library) – begun 1942, completed 1946
• Ordway Building (originally the Industrial Arts Building) – begun 1950, completed 1952
• Danforth Chapel – begun 1954, completed 1955
• Polk County Science Building (commonly known as Polk Science) – begun 1952, completed 1958
• Watson Fine Building (administration building) – begun 1946, completed 1949
• Water Dome – partially completed 1949, fully completed and restored in 2007 to Wright’s original plans
• Three Seminars or The L A Raulerson Building (currently the Business Office) – begun 1940, completed 1942, and underwent renovations into one office building in 1958
• The Esplanades – various completion times, currently undergoing restoration around the campus”

The photo above is the on-campus, covered walkway, to the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel.

Of course, the water dome, breathtaking technology in the 1940’s, is today a bit of a technological relic. Nevertheless, we found ourselves heading back to the water dome when it was due to start pumping water inside its 160′ perfect circle pond, with the nozzles able to pump water 45 feet into the air to create the  dome. This was breathtaking stuff back in 1948, and is a national treasure today.

The dome pond pumps four times a day, and takes about an hour to reach the full dome shape. We didn’t stay and watch the complete cycle, though many folks appear to.

When you go, visit the Frank Lloyd Wright visitor center first, as you can acquire a pamphlet and map that will allow a knowledgeable, self-guided tour.

Visit the following link for information to help in your visit: http://www.flsouthern.edu/fllw-visitors.aspx