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These 8 Iconic Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings May Become UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2019

According to Curbed.com, “Wright’s buildings are the first pieces of modern architecture to be submitted for the honor by the United States”


After a bold move made by The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, 8 of the legendary architect’s most memorable buildings may become UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2019.

Eight Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, handpicked to highlight specific stages in the architect’s body of work — and titled collectively as “The 20th Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright —  have been submitted for the honor, replacing a previous application made in 2015.

If the nomination passes, all 8 buildings would join the approximately 1,100 sites currently on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including some of the most recognizable buildings in the world, like the Taj Mahal or the Sidney Opera House.

At this time, there are only 24 World Heritage Sites in the US. Remarkably, Wright’s buildings are the first pieces of modern architecture to be submitted for the honor by the United States, Curbed.com reports.

Becoming a World Heritage site will not change much for the properties — especially since most are already protected by historic designations. But the title is a nod to the extraordinary cultural significance and “outstanding universal values” of the structures, and will likely ink more visits for the properties.

“As the only organization with the mission to facilitate the preservation and maintenance of the remaining structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, this nomination is one of the most important shared endeavors we have undertaken,” The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy said.

Now, you might be wondering which eight buildings were chosen to represent half a decade of work by America’s most well known architect. Here they are:

Taliesin, Wisconsin

Location: Spring Green, Wisconsin
Built: 1911 – 1959
Served as the longtime estate of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Taliesin,_the__natural_house__of_architect_Frank_Lloyd_Wright_and_one_of_the_nation's_most_famous_homes,_Spring_Green,_Wisconsin_LCCN2011632365.tif
Located 2.5 miles south of the village of Spring Green, Wisconsin, the 600-acre property was developed on land owned by the estate of Frank Lloyd Wright’s mother. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons

Unity Temple – Oak Park, Illinois

Location: Oak Park, Illinois
Built: 1905 – 1908
Serves as a Unitarian Universalist church in Oak Park, Illinois, and the home of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Lloyd_Wright_Unity_Temple_sanctuary_1
QuartierLatin1968 [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons 
Frank_Lloyd_Wright_-_Unity_Temple_-_Oak_Park_IL_
David Brossard [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons 

The Frederick C. Robie House

Location: Chicago, Illinois
Built: 1909 – 1910
Served as single-family home; was included on the very first National Register of Historic Places list of October 15, 1966

Frank_Lloyd_Wright_-_Robie_House_8
Lykantrop [Copyrighted free use], from Wikimedia Commons

Fallingwater

Location: Mill Run, Pennsylvania
Built: 1964
Serves as a single-family house, initially designed for the Kaufmann family.

fallingwater-frank-lloyd-write-house
Daderot [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons

The Hollyhock House

Location: Los Angeles, California
Built: 1922
Initially built as a part of a larger arts & theater complex that never came to fruition, the Hollyhock House remained a standalone structure

Hollyhock_House_by_Frank_Lloyd_Wright
Codera23 [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons

The Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Built: 1937
Served as a single family home for Herbert and Katherine Jacobs, and stands as the first example of a Usonian home

Jacobs_First_House_-_Frank_Lloyd_Wright
James Steakley [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Taliesin West

Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Built: 1937
Served as Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home. Today it is the main campus of the School of Architecture at Taliesin and houses the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

Frank-Lloyd-Wright-Taliesin-West
AndrewHorne [CC BY 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
Taliesin-West-Frank-Lloyd-Wright
AndrewHorne [CC BY 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

The Guggenheim Museum

Location: New York City, New York
Built: 1937
Serves as a world-famous museum that collects and exhibits modern and contemporary art from around the world

NYC_-_Guggenheim_Museum_Frank_lloyd_Wright_Buildings
Jean-Christophe BENOIST [CC BY 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
GuggenheimMuseum-NY-1
Smart Destinations [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Written by Georgie Mihaila

With a decade-long career as a digital content creator, Georgie started out as a real estate journalist for Multi-Housing News & CPExecutive. She later transitioned into digital marketing, working with leading real estate websites like PropertyShark, RENTCafé and Point2Homes. After a brief but impactful stint in the start-up world, where she led the marketing divisions of fintech company NestReady and media publisher Goalcast, Georgie returned to her first passion, real estate, and founded FancyPantsHomes.com

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