Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center

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Coordinates: 28°02′00″N 81°56′59″W / 28.033260°N 81.949855°W / 28.033260; -81.949855
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The Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center is a posthumous addition to Frank Lloyd Wright's Child of the Sun collection at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida.[1] Wright oversaw the construction of twelve buildings on Florida Southern's campus between 1938 and 1958. He also designed a Usonian house in 1939 meant to be used for faculty housing.[2] Wright produced plans for 14 of the homes to be built on the college campus, but the plan was never carried through.[3] In 2013, the College completed construction of the design as the featured structure in the Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center.[1][2][4]

The 1,700 sq. ft. Usonian house features textile-block construction and colored glass inserts in perforated concrete blocks,[2] both signature elements of Wright’s building designs at Florida Southern, as well as furnishings designed by Wright. The two-bedroom house was similar in design to Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House, the first of Wright’s Usonian houses.[5]

The Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center offers a variety of self-guided, docent-led, and group tours of the Wright campus.[6] The Center provides a home for the permanent display of photographs, furniture, and drawings depicting Wright’s relationship with the College. A documentary film about the Wright’s work at Florida Southern is also available for visitors to view while touring the Usonian house. The Center also acts as a home for visiting exhibits on loan from various other Wright sites.

The Child of the Sun collection is the largest single-site collection of Wright’s work in the world and a National Historic Landmark (2012).[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Frank Lloyd Wright History at Florida Southern College". Florida Southern College. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Architecture at its best". Hernando Sun. July 22, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  3. ^ Gyure, Dale Allen (2010). Frank Lloyd Wright’s Florida Southern College. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. p. 93.
  4. ^ Clements, Caroline Sanders (June 21, 2018). "Frank Lloyd Wright in Florida". Garden and Gun. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  5. ^ Gyure, Dale Allen (2010). Frank Lloyd Wright’s Florida Southern College. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. p. 91.
  6. ^ a b "Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture Visitor Center". Florida Southern College. Retrieved October 14, 2022.

External links[edit]

  1. Lessons to be learned from Frank Lloyd Wright at the Usonian House in Lakeland
  2. 17 U.S. college campuses with beautiful architecture

28°02′00″N 81°56′59″W / 28.033260°N 81.949855°W / 28.033260; -81.949855

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