Taliesin (studio): Difference between revisions

| visitation_num = 25,000<ref name="Milan 2024"/><ref name="Verburg 2010">{{cite news |last=Verburg |first=Steven |title=Amid an Architectural Wonder, a Family Grows |url=http://host.madison.com/news/local/amid-an-architectural-wonder-a-family-grows/article_a07ac998-c38e-5092-89e7-e643aa45b5f0.html |work=[[Wisconsin State Journal]] |date=July 25, 2010 |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=August 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829201223/http://host.madison.com/news/local/amid-an-architectural-wonder-a-family-grows/article_a07ac998-c38e-5092-89e7-e643aa45b5f0.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

'''Taliesin''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|t|æ|l|iː|ˈ|ɛ|s|ɪ|n}} {{Respell|tal|ee|ess|in}};<ref name="n159939002The Reporter 2004">{{Cite news |date=2004-05-May 30, 2004 |title=Preserving architectural gem a slow project |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-preserving-architectural-ge/159939002/ |access-date=2024-11-November 29, 2024 |work=The Reporter |pages=25 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> sometimes known as '''Taliesin East''',<ref name="p222157728Campbell 2003">{{Cite magazine |last=Campbell |first=Robert |date=Apr 2003 |title=What becomes a legend most? Restoring Wright's greatest work raises some sticky questions |work=Architectural Record |pages=93-9693–96 |volume=191 |issue=4 |id={{pq|222157728}}}}</ref><ref name="p306864489Yenckel 1987">{{cite news |last=Yenckel |first=James T.  |date=1February Feb1, 1987 |title=Places and Spaces of Frank Lloyd Wright; Other Wright Sites |work=The Washington Post |page=E01 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|306864489}}}}</ref> '''Taliesin Spring Green''', or '''Taliesin North''' after 1937) is a house-studio complex located {{convert|2.5|mi}} south of the village of [[Spring Green, Wisconsin]], United States. Developed and occupied by American architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], the {{convert|600|acre|adj=on}} estate is an exemplar of the [[Prairie School]] of architecture. Wright began developing the estate in 1911 on land that previously belonged to his maternal family.

Jones Valley, the [[Wisconsin River]] valley in which Taliesin sits, was formed during [[Pre-Illinoian]] glaciation. This region of North America, known as the [[Driftless Area]], was totally surrounded by ice during [[Wisconsin glaciation]], but the area itself was not glaciated. The result is an unusually hilly landscape with deeply carved river valleys.<ref>{{cite web |title=Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge |publisher=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] |url=http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=32596 |access-date=September 24, 2013 |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202103859/http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=32596 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Mickelson|Attig|1999|p=93}}

The valley, approximately {{convert|2.5|mi}} south of the village of [[Spring Green, Wisconsin]],{{sfn|Henning|2011|p=3}} was originally settled by [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]'s maternal grandfather, Richard Lloyd Jones. Jones had emigrated with his family from [[Wales]], moving to the town of [[Ixonia, Wisconsin|Ixonia]] in [[Jefferson County, Wisconsin]]. In 1858, Jones and the family moved from Ixonia to this part of Wisconsin to start a farm.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tauscher |first1=Cathy |last2=Hughes |first2=Peter |title=Jenkin Lloyd Jones |series=Dictionary of Unitarian Universalist Biography |publisher=Unitarian Universalist History and Heritage Society |year=2007 |url=http://uudb.org/articles/jenkinlloydjones.html |access-date=October 6, 2014 |archive-date=October 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010000337/http://uudb.org/articles/jenkinlloydjones.html |url-status=live}}</ref> By the 1870s, Jones' sons had taken over operation of the farm, and they invited Wright to work during summers as a farmhand.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=35}}

Wright's aunts Jane and Ellen C. Lloyd Jones (known as Jennie and Nell) began a [[Mixed-sex education|co-educational school]], the [[Hillside Home School I|Hillside Home School]], on the farm in 1887 and let Wright design the building; this was Wright's first independent commission. In 1896, Wright's aunts again commissioned Wright, this time to build a windmill. The resulting [[Romeo and Juliet Windmill]] was unorthodox but stable. By 1901 the school role was such that the original building was inadequate, and Wright was commissioned to design a replacement.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://flwright.org/explore/hillside-home-school |title=Hillside Home School, for Jane and Ellen Lloyd Jones |publisher=Frank Lloyd Wright Trust |access-date=August 20, 2024 |archive-date=August 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240820055124/https://flwright.org/explore/hillside-home-school |url-status=live}}</ref> This became [[Hillside Home School II]], and Wright later sent several of his children to the school.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=56}} Wright's final commission on the farm was [[Tan-y-Deri]], a house for his sister Jane Porter, completed in 1907.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=35}}<ref name="Kuhl 1991">{{Cite news |last=Kuhl |first=Sara |date=May 5, 1991-05-05 |title=Breathing life into architecture |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-breathing-life-into/159884986/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wausau Daily Herald |pages=48}}</ref> Tan-y-Deri, [[Welsh language|Welsh]] for "under the oaks", was a design based on his recent ''[[Ladies Home Journal]]'' article "[[A Fireproof House for $5000]]." The family, their ideas, religion, and ideals, greatly influenced the young Wright, who later changed his middle name from Lincoln (in honor of [[Abraham Lincoln]]) to Lloyd in deference to his mother's family.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=35}}

When Wright decided to construct a home in this valley, he chose the name of the Welsh [[bard]] [[Taliesin]], whose name means "shining brow"{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=119}} or "radiant brow". Wright learned of the poet through [[Richard Hovey]]'s ''Taliesin: A Masque'',<ref>{{Cite web |year=2022 |title=Taliesin: A Masque |url=https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/hovey-taliesin-a-masque |access-date=May 16, 2022 |website=d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/ |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118215050/https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/hovey-taliesin-a-masque |url-status=live }}</ref> a story about an artist's struggle for identity.{{sfn|Menocal|1992|pp=44–45}} The Welsh name also suited Wright's roots, as the Lloyd Joneses gave Welsh names to their properties.{{sfn|Wright|1943|p=167}} The hill upon which Taliesin was built was a favorite from Wright's youth; he saw the house as a "shining brow" on the hill,{{sfn|Wright|1943|p=170}}{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=114}} in hope of a place of refuge "but I had forgotten grandfather Isiah's punishments and beatings".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Frank Lloyd |title=An Autobiography: Frank Lloyd Wright |date=1932 |publisher=Longman's, Green |isbn=978-0764932434}}</ref><ref name="arte">

{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=Dokumentarfilm: Frank Lloyd Wright – Der Phoenix aus der Asche |url=https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/dokumentarfilm/architekturgenie-frank-lloyd-wright/swr-fernsehen/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9hZXgvbzE1NDE3NzE/ |access-date=October 8, 2021 |website=www.ardmediathek.de |language=de |archive-date=October 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008180858/https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/dokumentarfilm/architekturgenie-frank-lloyd-wright/swr-fernsehen/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9hZXgvbzE1NDE3NzE/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the name was originally only applied to the house, Wright later used the term to refer to the entire property. Wright and others used roman numerals to distinguish the three versions of the house.{{sfn|Henning|2011|p=5}}

Upon moving in with Borthwick in the winter of 1911, Wright resumed work on his architectural projects, but he struggled to secure commissions because of the ongoing negative publicity over his affair with Borthwick (whose ex-husband, [[Edwin Cheney]], maintained primary [[Child custody|custody]] of their son and daughter). However, Wright did produce some of his most acclaimed works during this time period, including the [[Midway Gardens]] in [[Chicago]] and the [[Avery Coonley House|Avery Coonley Playhouse]] in [[Riverside, Illinois|Riverside]]. He also indulged his hobby for collecting [[Japanese art]], and quickly became a renowned authority. Borthwick translated four works from Swedish [[difference feminist]] [[Ellen Key]].{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=131}}

Before he left, Carlton plotted to kill theTaliesin's workers and residents.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=192}}<ref of,name="n160187162">{{Cite andnews workers|date=2014-08-13 at,|title=Town rises to occasion after Taliesin mass murder |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-town-rises-to-occasion/160187162/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |work=The Capital Times |pages=22}}</ref> His primary target was draftsman Emil Brodelle, who had racially abused Carlton on August 12 for not following an order. Brodelle and Carlton also engaged in a minor physical confrontation two days later.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=192}} He planned the assault, targeting the noon hour, when Borthwick, her visiting children, and the studio personnel would be on opposite sides of Taliesin's living quarters awaiting lunch.<ref name="n160187162" />{{sfn|Secrest|1992|pp=218–219}}{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=188–191}} Wright was away in Chicago completing Midway Gardens while Borthwick stayed at home with her two children, 11-year-old John and 8-year-old Martha. As only two survived that day and there was no criminal trial, the sequence of events have been posited based on details from the two survivors (William Weston and Herbert Fritz), and evidence found at the scene.{{sfn|Secrest|1992|pp=218–219}}{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=188–191}}

On August 15, Carlton grabbed a shingling [[hatchet]] and began an attack. It is believed that he started with Borthwick and two of her children, John and Martha, whoMartha—who were waiting on the porch off the living room{{sfn|Secrest|1992|pp=218–219}}{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=188–191}}—as they were the most vulnerable of his targets.<ref name="n160187162" /> Apparently, Mamah Borthwick was killed by a single blow to the head, and her son John was killed as he sat in his chair. Martha managed to flee, but was hunted down and killed in the courtyard. Carlton then coated the bodies in [[gasoline]] and set them on fire, setting the house ablaze.{{sfn|Secrest|1992|pp=218–219}}{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=188–191}} He then attacked the living quarters where the staff were situated, pouring [[gasoline]] underneath the door of the far end of the quarters and setting them on fire. Draftsman Herbert Fritz managed to break open a window and escape, though he broke his arm in the process.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/wright-mare-massacre-frank-lloyd-home-article-1.1591522 |authorfirst=Mara |last=Bovsun |title=Cook massacres seven at Wisconsin home Frank Lloyd Wright built for his mistress |newspaper=New York Daily News|location=New York|date=January 25, 2014 |access-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206212809/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/wright-mare-massacre-frank-lloyd-home-article-1.1591522 |url-status=live}}</ref> Carlton mortally wounded Brodelle, and then attacked the other occupants.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 5, 2017 |title=The Terrible Crime at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/28519/taliesin-tragedy |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Mental Floss |language=en-US |archive-date=July 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708184058/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/28519/taliesin-tragedy |url-status=live }}</ref>

With the house empty and people wounded, Carlton ran to the basement and into a fireproof furnace chamber. He had brought a small vial of [[hydrochloric acid]] with him and attempted [[suicide]] by swallowing it, but it failed to kill him.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=188–191}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/flw/buildings/taliesin/taliesin_wright02.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903162351/https://www.pbs.org/flw/buildings/taliesin/taliesin_wright02.html | archive-date=September 3, 2019 |authorfirst=Ken |last=Burns |title=Frank Lloyd Wright | publisher=[[PBS]] }}</ref> Together, Lindblom and Weston ran to a neighboring farm to send the alert of the attack. Weston then returned to Taliesin and used a garden hose to help extinguish the flames. His efforts saved the studio (with many of Wright's drawings and manuscripts), as well as the agricultural part of the building. Eventually, neighbors arrived to assist in putting out the fire, to tend to survivors, and search for the murderer. Gertrude was found in a nearby field, apparently unaware of her husband's intentions. She was dressed in travel clothes, expecting to catch a train to Chicago with Julian to seek a new job.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=192}}

Later in the afternoon, Sheriff John Williams located Carlton and arrested him. Carlton was transferred to the county jail in [[Dodgeville, Wisconsin|Dodgeville]].{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=188–191}} Gertrude was released from police custody shortly after the incident. She was sent to Chicago with $7 and was never heard from again. The hydrochloric acid that Carlton ingested had badly burnt his [[esophagus]], which made it difficult for him to ingest food. Carlton was [[indictment|indicted]] on August 16 and was charged with the [[murder]] of Emil Brodelle, the only death that was directly witnessed by a survivor.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=195–196}} Carlton pleaded not guilty. Forty-seven days after the fire, before the case could be heard, Carlton died of starvation in his cell.<ref name="n160187162" />{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=195–196}} Wright's biographers in the 20th century tended not to discuss the Taliesin massacre; one biography dedicated only one paragraph to the attacks, while another said obliquely that the "incident marked a rupture in Wright's career".<ref name="n160101709">{{Cite news |last=Wolff |first=Patricia |date=2011-06-26 |title=Tranquil Taliesin harbors tragic tale |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oshkosh-northwestern-tranquil-talies/160101709/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |work=The Oshkosh Northwestern |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oshkosh-northwestern-tranquil-talies/160106162/ A7]}}</ref> The Taliesin murders remained relatively obscure until the 2000s, when two books about the attacks were published.<ref name="n160101709" />

BodiesThe fire destroyed the living areas, but the agriculture wing and the drafting studio survived largely intact.<ref name="n160101709" /> The bodies of the dead and injured were brought to [[Tan-y-Deri]], the nearby home of Wright's sister, Jane Porter. The dead were Mamah and Brodelle, with John missing (his remains were later found incinerated). Martha Cheney, foreman Thomas Brunker, and Ernest Weston (13-year-old son of William Weston) would die later that day or that night. Gardener David Lindblom survived until August 18 (Tuesday morning). Wright returned to Taliesin that night with his son [[John Lloyd Wright|John]] and Edwin Cheney.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|pp=188–191}} Cheney brought the remains of his children back to Chicago while Wright buried Mamah Borthwick on the grounds of nearby [[Unity Chapel]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS562 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright |date=August 3, 2012 |publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society |access-date=August 21, 2024 |archive-date=August 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240821111745/https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS562 |url-status=live}}</ref> (the chapel of the mother's side of his family). Heartbroken over the loss of his lover, Wright did not mark the grave because he could not bear to be reminded of the tragedy.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=193}} He also did not hold a funeraryfuneral service for Borthwick, although he did fund and attend services for his employees' services.{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=194}}

Shortly after the Taliesin massacre, Wright declared his intention to rebuild the complex.<ref name="n160187162" /> Within a few months of his recovery, Wright began work on rebuilding Taliesin, naming the rebuilt structure "Taliesin II": <blockquote>There is release from anguish in action. Anguish would not leave Taliesin until action for renewal began. Again, and at once, all that had been in motion before at the will of the architect was set in motion. Steadily, again, stone by stone, board by board, Taliesin the II began to rise from Taliesin the first.<ref>Frank Lloyd Wright. ''An Autobiography'', in ''Frank Lloyd Wright Collected Writings: 1930–32'', Vol. 2. Edited by Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, introduction by Kenneth Frampton (1992; Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., New York), 241.</ref>{{sfn|Drennan|2007|p=160}} </blockquote>The new complex was mostly identical to the original building{{sfn|Secrest|1992|p=222}} and was constructed on the ruins of Taliesin I.{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=120}} Similarly to the original complex, Taliesin II was arranged around a set of terraces and courtyards.<ref name="p862751855">{{Cite magazine |last=Buono |first=Jon |date=Apr-Jun 2011 |title=Modern Architecture and the U.S. Campus Heritage Movement |work=Planning for Higher Education |page=88-102 |volume=39 |issue=3 |id={{pq|862751855}}}}</ref> The dam (which burst less than a week after the murders) was rebuilt.{{sfn|Secrest|1992|p=222}} Wright added an observation platform, perhaps inspired by the one he designed in [[Baraboo, Wisconsin|Baraboo]].{{sfn|Henning|2011|p=68}} Later, he built a hydroelectric generator in an unsuccessful effort to make Taliesin completely self-sufficient. The generator was built in the style of a Japanese temple. Within only a few years, parts of the structure eroded away. It was demolished in the 1940s.{{sfn|Henning|2011|pp=70–72}}

Wright was deeply in debt following the destruction of Taliesin II. Aside from debts owed on the property, his divorce from Noel forced Wright to sell much of his farm machinery and livestock. Wright was also forced to sell his prized Japanese prints at half value to pay his debts. The [[Bank of Wisconsin]] [[foreclosure|foreclosed]] on Taliesin in 1927 and Wright was forced to move to [[La Jolla, California]]. Shortly before the bank was to begin an auction on the property, Wright's former client [[Darwin D. Martin House|Darwin Martin]] conceived a scheme to save the property. He formed a company called Frank Lloyd Wright Incorporated to issue stock on Wright's future earnings. Many of Wright's former clients and students purchased stock in Wright to raise $70,000. The company successfully bid on Taliesin for $40,000, returning it to Wright.{{sfn|Secrest|1992|pp=333–335}} Wright returned to Taliesin by October 1928.{{sfn|Secrest|1992|p=342}} Wright's interaction with Taliesin lasted for the rest of his life, and eventually, he purchased the surrounding land, creating an estate of 593 acres (2.4&nbsp;km²).{{sfn|Hoppen|1997|pp=59–60}}

Some of Wright's best-known buildings and most ambitious designs were created at his studio in the Taliesin III period. Works completed at Taliesin through the 1930s include [[Fallingwater]] (the house for Edgar Sr. and Liliane Kaufmann), the world headquarters for [[Johnson Wax Headquarters|S.C. Johnson]], and the first [[Usonia]]n house for [[Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House|Herbert and Katherine Jacobs]]. After [[World War II]], Wright moved his studio work in Wisconsin to the drafting studio at the [[Hillside Home School II#History|Hillside Home School]]. After that, Wright used the studio at Taliesin for meeting with prospective apprentices and clients.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM64835 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright and Man in Studio &#124; Photograph |date=December 1, 2003 |website=Wisconsin Historical Society |access-date=May 25, 2020 |archive-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004053304/https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM64835 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM64876 |title=Art Work at Taliesin &#124; Photograph |date=December 1, 2003 |website=Wisconsin Historical Society |access-date=May 25, 2020 |archive-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004053257/https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM64876 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The modern-day Taliesin property is at 5481 County Road C in [[Wyoming, Iowa County, Wisconsin]].<ref name="n160100586">{{Cite news |last=Adams |first=Barry |date=2011-01-10 |title=Taliesin to mark its 100th year |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/portage-daily-register-taliesin-to-mark/160100586/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |work=Portage Daily Register |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/portage-daily-register-taliesin-to-mark/160100634/ 13]}}</ref> All Wright buildings on the property have a combined {{convert|75000|sqft}}, just short of {{convert|2|acre}}, on {{convert|600|acre}} of land.<ref name="FAQ">{{cite web |title=Frank Lloyd Wright FAQs |url=http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/frank-lloyd-wright/fllw-faq |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017210344/http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/frank-lloyd-wright/fllw-faq |archive-date=October 17, 2013 |access-date=October 17, 2013 |publisher=Taliesin Preservation, Inc.}}</ref> Through Wright's lifetime, he and his apprentices continued to make changes to Taliesin III. but these modifications were never reflected in blueprints.<ref name="n159926866Saemann 2000">{{Cite news |last=Saemann |first=Karyn |date=2000-08-August 17, 2000 |title=Wright's studio made right |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-wrights-studio-made-r/159926866/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=1B, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-wrights-studio-made-r/159926897/ 4B]}}</ref> Construction was handled mostly by Wright's apprentices, who tended to be inexperienced, leaving cracks and gaps throughout the structure.<ref name=":0Martell 2008" /><ref name="Chicago Tribune 2002 b827">{{cite web |date=March 31, 2002 |title=The trouble with Taliesin |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2002/03/31/the-trouble-with-taliesin/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> Wright added several dams across the estate to create lakes.{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=123}} The presence of Taliesin also influenced the architecture of public buildings in the nearby town of [[Spring Green, Wisconsin|Spring Green]], which contain details influenced by Wright's designs.<ref name="n160100586" />

In its final form, the Taliesin III building measuredmeasures {{convert|37000|sqft}}.<ref name="n160100586" /><ref name="FAQ" /><ref name="Kodrich 1988">{{Cite news |last=Kodrich |first=Kris |date=1988-07-July 11, 1988 |title=Taliesin showing its age |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-taliesin-showing/159885091/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=9}}</ref> The current structure is the northernmost building in the complex and is arranged in the shape of the letter "U", facing south-southwest.<ref{{sfn|National namePark Service|1972|page="NPS p. 2" />}} In contrast to Wright's later work—which tended to incorporate curved forms—Taliesin III largely incorporates rectangular shapes in its design.<ref name="p404964253">{{Cite news |last=Albanese |first=Ellen |date=3August Aug3, 2005 |title=Tale of Two Unique Houses Defines One Wisconsin Town |work=Boston Globe |page=F.7 |id={{Pq|404964253}}}}</ref> Surrounding the main house are fountains, gardens, and courtyards.,{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=123}}<ref name="n159925902Potts 2001">{{Cite news |last=Potts |first=Jeff |date=July 1, 2001-07-01 |title=Taliesin Wright's prototypical work |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-taliesin-wrights-pr/159925902/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wausau Daily Herald |pages=33}}</ref> in a similar manner to the first two complexes.<ref name="p862751855" /> The house is accessed from a driveway that wraps around the hill, leading to the main courtyard. Water from one of the estate's lakes is pumped upward into the courtyard, supplying the pools there; the courtyard also contains oak trees and a perimeter wall made of rock.{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=123}} One magazine wrote that the house "emerges from the hillside like a natural outcropping, rooted in the earth".<ref name="p205353877Legler 2001" />

Wright's apprentices were responsible for much of the construction; they used recycled materials, as well as then-uncommon materials such as [[plywood]], to construct much of the building.<ref name="n159939002The Reporter 2004" /> The facade is clad with limestone from the surrounding area.<ref name="NPS p. 2">{{harvnbsfn|National Park Service|1972|ps=.|page=2}}</ref><ref name="p205353877Legler 2001">{{Cite magazine |last=Legler |first=Dixie |date=May 2001 |title=On the trail of Frank Lloyd Wright |work=Better Homes and Gardens |pages=258C-258D |volume=79 |issue=5 |id={{pq|205353877}}}}</ref> Wright mixed stucco with Wisconsin River sand to turn the walls into a yellowish color.<ref name="p198405256Stone 2008">{{Cite magazine |last=Stone |first=Emily |date=JunJune 23, 2008 |title=Wright's 'shining brow' |work=Crain's Chicago Business |page=20 |volume=31 |issue=25 |id={{Pq|198405256}}}}</ref> The house is topped by intersecting hipped roofs with masonry chimneys.<ref{{sfn|National namePark Service|1972|page="NPS p. 2" />}}<ref name="Smiley 1993">{{cite web |last=Smiley |first=Jane |date=March 7, 1993 |title=Wisconsin: Three Visions Attained |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/07/magazine/wisconsin-three-visions-attained.html |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118125055/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/07/magazine/wisconsin-three-visions-attained.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The house's service wing, which wraps around one side of the hill, is the only part of the house that rise above the hill.{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=123}}

The interior is asymmetrical, and the rooms are not as formally organized as those of Wright's later [[Prairie Houses]]; rather, the interior layout accommodated the site's topography.{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|pages=123–124}} Some of the spaces inside the house have ceilings measuring about {{Convert|6|ft}} high, slightly taller than Wright himself, who measured {{Convert|5|ft|8|in}} tall.<ref name="Smiley 1993" /> Among the spaces with low ceilings is the vestibule, where Wright wanted to discourage people from loitering.<ref name="p198405256Stone 2008" /> The vestibule leads directly to the living room, which overlooks the Wisconsin River;{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=124}}<ref name="n159925902Potts 2001" /> the living room has large glass windows and a sloped ceiling.{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=124}}<ref name="p267270154Johnson 2008">{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=M L.  |date=13September Sep13, 2008 |title=Wisconsin's Taliesin celebrates 'organic architecture' |work=Waterloo Region Record |page=W.15 |id={{Pq|267270154}}}}</ref> To the right of the living room is a "birdwalk",{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=124}} which is cantilevered from the house.<ref name="n159925902Potts 2001" /><ref name="n159971993The Reporter 1987">{{Cite news |date=September 6, 1987-09-06 |title=Bell tolls for Taliesin |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-bell-tolls-for-taliesin/159971993/ |access-date=2024-11-November 29, 2024 |work=The Reporter |pages=A6, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-taliesin-needs-major-repair/159971976/ A7] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Wright's own bedroom has a low ceiling with [[Clerestoryclerestory window|clerestory windows]]s, as well as a sliding glass wall that opens onto a terrace.{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=124}} There is also a studio with a hipped ceiling and a stone fireplace.{{Sfn|McCarter|1997|page=126}} The other interior spaces include an office and a sitting room.<ref name="n159925902Potts 2001" />

The [[Hillside Home School II|Hillside Home School]], the southernmost building in the complex,<ref{{sfn|National name="NPS p.Park Service|1972|page=2" />}} is designed in the [[Prairie School|Prairie Style]].{{sfn|McCrea|2012|p=35}}<ref name="Kuhl 1991" /> It has a {{convert|5000|ft2|adj=on}} apprentices' drafting room.<ref name="n159925902Potts 2001" /> In addition, the Hillside Home School contains a theater, constructed in 1933 and rebuilt after a fire in 1952;<ref name="Fixsen 2024">{{cite web |last=Fixsen |first=Anna |date=June 14, 2024 |title=A 'Mona Lisa' of Frank Lloyd Wright Design Is Back in Business |url=https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a61100937/frank-lloyd-wright-hillside-theater-taliesin/ |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=ELLE Decor |archive-date=June 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614173645/https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a61100937/frank-lloyd-wright-hillside-theater-taliesin/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the theater has a capacity ofwith 100 seats.<ref name="McLaughlin 2024">{{Cite news |last=McLaughlin |first=Katherine |date=June 10, 2024 |title=An Iconic Frank Lloyd Wright Theater Reopens Following a $1.1 Million Restoration Project |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/an-iconic-frank-lloyd-wright-theater-reopens |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611210946/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/an-iconic-frank-lloyd-wright-theater-reopens |archive-date=June 11, 2024 |access-date=June 12, 2024 |work=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Adams 2024">{{cite web |last=Adams |first=Barry |date=May 30, 2024 |title=After 6-year wait, Frank Lloyd Wright's 100-seat theater at Taliesin set to reopen |url=https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/art-theater/taliesin-theater-frank-lloyd-wright-spring-green/article_c6f3b308-1975-11ef-b73f-bfb164cfb06e.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902174309/https://madison.com/life-entertainment/local/art-theater/taliesin-theater-frank-lloyd-wright-spring-green/article_c6f3b308-1975-11ef-b73f-bfb164cfb06e.html |archive-date=September 2, 2024 |access-date=November 27, 2024 |website=Wisconsin State Journal}}</ref> The modern Taliesin complex also includes the Midway Farm,<ref{{sfn|National name="NPS p.Park Service|1972|page=2" />}}<ref name="Kuhl 1991" /> constructed between 1938 and 1947.<ref{{sfn|National namePark Service|1972|page="NPS p. 2" />}}<ref>{{cite book |author= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FRIAQAAIAAJ |title=Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly |publisher=Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation |year=2007 |page=6 |access-date=November 28, 2024 |issue=v. 18}}</ref> Though the site is no longer used as a farm, several of the Midway Farm buildings still exist, including a stone milk house, the [[Midway Barn]], and several wooden structures.<ref{{sfn|National namePark Service|1972|page="NPS p. 2" />}} Wright's sister's house, [[Tan-y-Deri]], is located up the hill from Midway Farm. Next to Tan-y-Deri is the octagonal [[Romeo and Juliet Windmill]], a wooden structure measuring {{Convert|60|ft}} high.<ref name="NPS p. 3">{{harvnbsfn|National Park Service|1972|ps=.|page=3}}</ref> In addition, the Taliesin Dam is located near the complex's entrance driveway, and there are various other houses across the grounds.<ref{{sfn|National namePark Service|1972|page="NPS p. 3" />}} Nearby is the [[Unity Chapel]],<ref name="Welchman x410" /> where Wright would later be buried.<ref name="Conroy r586">{{cite web |last=Conroy |first=Sarah Booth |date=April 9, 1985 |title=Wright's Grave Site Moved |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/04/09/wrights-grave-site-moved/510f9f85-3224-415a-a990-1016de77bee8/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |website=The Washington Post |archive-date=January 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108194522/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/04/09/wrights-grave-site-moved/510f9f85-3224-415a-a990-1016de77bee8/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Peterson n296">{{cite web |last=Peterson |first=Iver |date=April 10, 1985 |title=Reburial of Frank Lloyd Wright Touches Off a Stormy Debate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/10/us/reburial-of-frank-lloyd-wright-touches-off-a-stormy-debate.html |access-date=November 29, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

Wright inherited the nearby [[Hillside Home School I|Hillside Home School]] when it became insolvent in 1915 (the school had been run by his aunts, and the building was designed by him). In 1928, Wright conceived the idea of hosting a school there and issued a proposal to the [[University of Wisconsin]] that would have created the Hillside Home School for the Allied Arts; however, the plan was later abandoned.{{sfn|Gottlieb|2001|p=9}} In 1932, the Wrights instead established the private Taliesin Fellowship, where fifty to sixty apprentices could come to Taliesin to study under the architect's mentorship. Apprentices helped him develop the estate at a time when Wright received few commissions for his work, including the Hillside Home School building, renovating the original school gymnasium into a theater. Apprentices under Wright's direction also constructed a drafting studio and dormitories.<ref name="Matheson 1959">{{cite news |last=Matheson |first=Helen |date=April 10, 1959 |title=Wright: A Force of Nature |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1183157/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109104819/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1183157/wisconsin-state-journal/ |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |access-date=August 6, 2014 |work=[[Wisconsin State Journal]] |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>Notable fellows include [[Arthur Dyson]], [[E. Fay Jones|"Fay" Jones]], [[Shao Fang Sheng]], [[Paolo Soleri]], [[Edgar Tafel]], and [[Paul Tuttle]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Piu |first=Lara |title=150 Years After Frank Lloyd Wright's Birth, Taliesin West Is Still Evolving – Here's How |url=https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/frank-lloyd-wright-150th-anniversary-taliesin-west-2017-9187175 |date=May 3, 2017 |access-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022113416/https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/frank-lloyd-wright-150th-anniversary-taliesin-west-2017-9187175 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1937, Wright designed and the apprentices began construction on a winter home in [[Scottsdale, Arizona|Scottsdale]], [[Arizona]], which became known as [[Taliesin West]].<ref name="Matheson 1959" /> After Taliesin West was completed, Wright and the fellowship "migrated" between the two homes each year,<ref name="p306864489Yenckel 1987" /><ref name="Matheson 1959" /> spending summers in Arizona and winters in Wisconsin.<ref name="p306864489Yenckel 1987" /><ref name="Welchman x410" />

Wright did not consider the fellowship a formal school, instead viewing it as a benevolent educational institution. He also worked to ensure [[G.I. Bill]] eligibility for returning [[World War II]] veterans.<ref name="Matheson 1959"/> The town of [[Wyoming, Iowa County, Wisconsin|Wyoming, Wisconsin]], and Wright became embroiled in a legal dispute over his claim of tax exemption. A trial judge agreed with the town, stating that, since apprentices did much of Wright's work, it was not solely a benevolent institution. Wright fought the case to the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]]. When Wright lost the case there in 1954,<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation v. Wyoming |vol=267 |reporter=Wis. |opinion=599 |court=[[Wisconsin Supreme Court|Wis.]] |year=1954 |url=http://law.justia.com/cases/wisconsin/supreme-court/1954/267-wis-599-4.html |access-date=August 6, 2014 |quote=Since Mr. Wright and his family are direct beneficiaries and the benefit to the public purely incidental, necessarily plaintiff's effort to be relieved of taxes on its property must fail because of the legal principles controlling tax exemptions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808053922/http://law.justia.com/cases/wisconsin/supreme-court/1954/267-wis-599-4.html |url-status=live}}</ref> he threatened to abandon the estate. However, he was persuaded to stay after some friends raised $800,000 to cover the back taxes at a benefit dinner.<ref name="Matheson 1959"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Wright's Taliesin Is Still Active |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1183164// |work=[[Evening Standard]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=June 29, 1965 |page=3 |access-date=October 20, 2015 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109104728/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1183164/the-evening-standard/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The Taliesin Fellowship evolved into [[The School of Architecture]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 9, 2020 |first=Jonathan |last= Hilberg |title=Exclusive: School of Architecture at Taliesin will change its name, move to Cosanti |language=en-US |work=The Architects Newspaper |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2020/06/exclusive-school-of-architecture-at-taliesin-will-change-its-name-move-to-cosanti/ |access-date=August 19, 2024}}</ref>

In 1940, Frank Lloyd Wright, his third wife [[Olgivanna Lloyd Wright|Olgivanna]], and his son-in-law [[William Wesley Peters]] formed the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.<ref name="Van Goethem 1967" /> Wright added a third story above the second-story bedrooms and first-story living spaces in 1943, though this ended up weakening the original house's frame.<ref name="p267270154Johnson 2008" /><ref name="Martell 2008" /> The Hillside School building caught fire in April 1952,<ref name="Hesselberg g050">{{cite web |last=Hesselberg |first=George |date=November 22, 2024 |title=Collection of Frank Lloyd Wright's estate photos will stay together in sale to historical society |url=https:0//madison.com/entertainment/arts_and_theatre/collection-of-frank-lloyd-wrights-estate-photos-will-stay-together-in-sale-to-historical-society/article_4d8d2ef2-468b-11e0-b5bd-001cc4c03286.html |access-date=December 1, 2024 |website=Wisconsin State Journal}}</ref><ref name="NYT 1952 i423">{{cite web |date=April 27, 1952 |title=Architecture Site Burns; Grass Fire Shifts to Wisconsin School of Frank Lloyd Wright |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/27/archives/architecture-site-burns-grass-fire-shifts-to-wisconsin-school-of.html |access-date=December 1, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> and the theater and dining room in that building were subsequently rebuilt.<ref name="Hesselberg g050" /><ref name="Fixsen 2024">{{cite web |last=Fixsen |first=Anna |date=June 14, 2024 |title=A 'Mona Lisa' of Frank Lloyd Wright Design Is Back in Business |url=https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a61100937/frank-lloyd-wright-hillside-theater-taliesin/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614173645/https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a61100937/frank-lloyd-wright-hillside-theater-taliesin/ |archive-date=June 14, 2024 |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=ELLE Decor}}</ref> Upon Wright's death on April 9, 1959, ownershiphe was buried next to the Unity Chapel in the Lloyd-Jones cemetery near Taliesin; his body remained there until 1985, when it was moved to Taliesin West.<ref name="Conroy r5862">{{cite web |last=Conroy |first=Sarah Booth |date=April 9, 1985 |title=Wright's Grave Site Moved |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/04/09/wrights-grave-site-moved/510f9f85-3224-415a-a990-1016de77bee8/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |website=Washington Post}}</ref> Ownership of the Taliesin estate in Spring Green, as well as Taliesin West, was conveyed to the foundation. The Taliesin Fellowship continued to use the Hillside School as The School of Architecture at Taliesin. The fellowship allowed tours of the school, but initially did not permit visitation of the house or other grounds.<ref name="Van Goethem 1967">{{cite news |last=Van Goethem |first=Larry |title=Taliesin East – a Living Symbol of Frank Lloyd Wright's Philosophy |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1183161// |work=[[Janesville Daily Gazette]] |date=July 15, 1967 |access-date=August 14, 2014 |page=1 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109104728/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1183161/janesville-daily-gazette/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

When the group spent two summers in [[Switzerland]], rumors started that they were planning on selling the house to [[S. C. Johnson]], a former Wright client. Instead, the fellowship sold a surrounding piece of land to a developer associated with the company, intending to develop a tourist complex.<ref name="Van Goethem 1967"/> The {{convert|3000|acre|adj=on}} resort included an eighteen-hole golf course, restaurant, and a visitor center.<ref>{{cite news |title=Spring Green Recreational Plan Unveiled |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1183166/ |work=[[The Daily Telegram]] |agency=[[United Press International]] |date=July 18, 1966 |access-date=August 14, 2014 |page=11 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109104730/https://www.newspapers.com/missing.php |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1973, the Taliesin estate was listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/73000081_text | title=Taliesin– Nomination Form | publisher=National Register of Historic Places | date=July 29, 1975 | author=Carolyn Pitts | access-date=October 6, 2014 | archive-date=October 30, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030010634/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/73000081_text | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="n159971636Gould 1980">{{Cite news |last=Gould |first=Whitney |date=1980-08-August 29, 1980 |title=Taliesin's 'marriage' of house, hill is revived |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesins-marriage/159971636/ |access-date=2024-11-November 29, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=45, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesins-marriage/159971686/ 46]}}</ref> and in 1976, it was recognized as a [[National Historic Landmark]] (NHL) District by the National Park Service.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2002 b827" /><ref name="n159971636Gould 1980" /><ref name="p134693896Klein 1982">{{cite news |last=Klein |first=Frederick C. |date=13August Aug13, 1982 |title=Taliesin: New Life for the Master's Shrine? |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=17 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|134693896}}}}</ref> A National Historic Landmark is a site deemed to have "exceptional value to the nation."<ref>{{citation |title=Code of Federal Regulations: Parks, Forests, and Public Property |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-1998-title36-vol1/pdf/CFR-1998-title36-vol1-part65.pdf |page=301 |publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]] |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=October 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018020738/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-1998-title36-vol1/pdf/CFR-1998-title36-vol1-part65.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[contributing property|properties contributing]] to the district are the landscape, Taliesin III, the pool and gardens in the courtyard, [[Hillside Home School II|Hillside Home School]] (which includes the Hillside drafting studio and the theater), the dam, [[Romeo and Juliet Windmill]], [[Midway Barn]], and Tan-y-Deri.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taliesen |url=https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2016 |work=National Register or State Register |date=January 2012 |publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society |access-date=August 20, 2024 |archive-date=February 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214171420/https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the late 1980s, Taliesin and Taliesin West were jointly nominated as a [[World Heritage Site]], a [[UNESCO]] designation for properties with special worldwide significance.<ref name="Allsopp 2008" /> The federal government endorsed the nomination,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Lauren |date=1990-06-June 29, 1990 |title=Taliesin preservation sought |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin-preservation/159887026/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=24}}</ref> but UNESCO rejected it because the organization wanted to see a larger nomination with more Wright properties.<ref name="Allsopp 2008">{{cite journal |last=Allsopp |first=Phil |title=Preservation, Maintenance Key Funding Priorities for Capital Campaign |date=Fall 2008 |journal=Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly |volume=19 |issue=4}}</ref> In 2008, the National Park Service submitted the Taliesin estate along with nine other Frank Lloyd Wright properties to a tentative list for World Heritage Status, which the National Park Service says is "a necessary first step in the process of nominating a site to the World Heritage List."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/New_Tentative_List.htm |title=New US World Heritage Tentative List |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=August 15, 2012 |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026052904/http://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/New_Tentative_List.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tentative List: Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5249/ |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113003547/http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5249/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United States Department of the Interior]] again nominated the Taliesin estate to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2015, alongside nine other buildings.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 17, 2022 |title=Ten Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Nominated for UNESCO Distinction |url=https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/10-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-nominated-for-unesco-distinction/ |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=Metropolis |archive-date=November 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241128133816/https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/10-frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-nominated-for-unesco-distinction/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Winston |first=Anna |date=February 3, 2015 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright buildings nominated for UNESCO World Heritage List |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2015/02/03/frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-nominated-unesco-world-heritage-list-guggenheim-taliesin-fallingwater/ |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=Dezeen |archive-date=July 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702132302/https://www.dezeen.com/2015/02/03/frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-nominated-unesco-world-heritage-list-guggenheim-taliesin-fallingwater/ |url-status=live}}</ref> UNESCO ultimately added eight properties, including Taliesin, to the World Heritage List in July 2019 under the title "[[The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1496 |access-date=July 7, 2019 |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |archive-date=July 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709141412/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1496 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tareen |first=Sophia |date=July 8, 2019 |title=Guggenheim Museum Added to UNESCO World Heritage List |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Guggenheim-Museum-Added-to-UNESCO-World-Heritage-List--512323791.html |access-date=July 8, 2019 |work=NBC New York |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708030357/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Guggenheim-Museum-Added-to-UNESCO-World-Heritage-List--512323791.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Dohms 2019">{{cite web |last=Dohms |first=Elizabeth |date=July 9, 2019 |title=Stakeholders: Frank Lloyd Wright's World Heritage List Designation Is A Triumph For Wisconsin |url=https://www.wpr.org/art/architecture/stakeholders-frank-lloyd-wrights-world-heritage-list-designation-triumph-wisconsin |access-date=November 27, 2024 |website=WPR}}</ref> [[Wisconsin Public Radio|''Wisconsin Public Radio'']] wrote that the World Heritage designation was "a triumph for Wisconsin", as two of the eight properties were located in the state.<ref name="Dohms 2019" />

By the late 20th century, Taliesin had become dilapidated in spite of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation's efforts to maintain it. With the NHL designation, the organization had received $300,000 in federal funds to help maintain the property.<ref name="n159971636Gould 1980" /><ref name="p134693896Klein 1982" /> However, the organization needed another $2.5 million to rehabilitate the estate by the early 1980s.<ref name="p134693896Klein 1982" /> At the time, the organization barely had enough money for regular maintenance of Taliesin and Taliesin West, let alone long-term repairs.<ref name="p134693896Klein 1982" /><ref name="n159971993The Reporter 1987" /> Furthermore, the house had been damaged during an electrical fire in 1975.<ref name="n159971636Gould 1980" /> Some parts of the property, such as the Romeo and Juliet Windmill, were in even worse condition than the main house.<ref name="n159971636Gould 1980" /><ref name="n159971993The Reporter 1987" />

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation conducted some repairs to the building in the 1980s. These included injecting concrete into the soil to prevent the house's [[Foundation (engineering)|foundation]] from [[settling]], re-plastering the walls, adding a foam covering to the roof, and insulating the ceilings.<ref name="n159971636Gould 1980" /> Though the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation still occupied the estate seasonally, Taliesin was closed to the public.<ref name="Welchman x410" /> In 1983, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation began selling off the contents of Wright's archives to raise money for a $20 million [[endowment fund]] to restore the estate.<ref name="Goldberger h407">{{cite web |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=September 11, 1983 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright is Clearly the Man of the Year |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/11/arts/frank-lloyd-wright-is-clearly-the-man-of-the-year.html |access-date=November 29, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811193547/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/11/arts/frank-lloyd-wright-is-clearly-the-man-of-the-year.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n159968854Gould 1983">{{Cite news |last=Gould |first=Whitney |date=1983-09-September 30, 1983 |title=Scholarship, preservation vie over sale of Wright drawings |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-scholarship-preservat/159968854/ |access-date=2024-11-November 29, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=35, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-scholarship-preservat/159968910/ 37]}}</ref> These sales were controversial, with opponents objecting to the dispersal of Wright's documents.<ref name="n159968854Gould 1983" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=September 14, 1983 |title=Scholars Question Sale of Wright Drawings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/14/arts/scholars-question-sale-of-wright-drawings.html |access-date=November 29, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> During that time, all the buildings except for the Hillside Home School were typically closed to the public.<ref name="Kodrich 1988" />

In 1987, the [[National Park Service]] evaluated the 1,811 NHLs nationwide for historical integrity and threat of damage.<ref>{{citation |title=Damaged and Threatened National Historic Landmarks, 1987 |year=1987 |url=https://archive.org/details/damagedthreatene001987 |access-date=October 18, 2013 |publisher=[[National Park Service]]}}</ref> Taliesin was declared a "Priority 1" NHL, a site that is "seriously damaged or imminently with such damage".<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2002 b827" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Preservation |url=http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/preservation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018005616/http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/preservation |archive-date=October 18, 2013 |access-date=October 18, 2013 |publisher=Taliesin Preservation, Inc.}}</ref> The main building was in poor shape, with cracking plaster, sinking foundations, and rotting wood.<ref name="Kodrich 1988" /> Some of the wooden floors had warped, and the birdwalk had developed a large crack.<ref name="The Reporter 1987" /> The other buildings at Taliesin were in similarly poor condition, having weathered over the years.<ref name="Kodrich 1988" /><ref name="Civil Engineering 1993">{{Cite magazine |date=Oct 1993 |title=Taliesin rehab would make Wright proud |work=Civil Engineering |page=12 |volume=63 |issue=10 |id={{Pq|228413814}}}}</ref> There was no heating system, and many parts of the building complex were exposed to moisture and extreme heat.<ref name="n159939002The Reporter 2004" /><ref name="n159919656Treleven 1999">{{Cite news |last=Treleven |first=Ed |date=1999-05-May 19, 1999 |title=U.S. grant will hasten Taliesin restoration |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-us-grant-will/159919656/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=21}}</ref> All the buildings except for the Hillside Home School were typically closed to the public.<ref name="Kodrich 1988" /> The [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] also listed the site as one of [[America's Most Endangered Places]]<ref name="n159927234Bromley 2002">{{Cite news |last=Bromley |first=Ben |date=2002-11-November 23, 2002 |title=Taliesin Turbulence |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/portage-daily-register-taliesin-turbulen/159927234/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Portage Daily Register |pages=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/portage-daily-register-taliesin-turbulen/159927269/ B3]}}</ref> due to "water damage, erosion, foundation settlement and wood decay".<ref>{{cite web |title=11 Most Endangered Historic Places: Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin |url=http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/11-most-endangered/locations/frank-lloyd-wrights-taliesin.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019164040/http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/11-most-endangered/locations/frank-lloyd-wrights-taliesin.html#.UmGcsRCojs4 |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |access-date=October 18, 2013}}</ref> Many of these structural issues were attributed to the haphazard, experimental nature of Taliesin's construction, which had been described as resembling a "stage set".<ref name="p222157728Campbell 2003" /><ref name=":0Martell 2008" /> [[Richard Carney]], who led the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, estimated that Taliesin needed $10–20 million in repairs.<ref name="n160097957">{{Cite news |last=Kodrich |first=Kris |date=1987-10-18 |title=Taliesin West: Aspiring Architects Tough It Out at Wright's Oasis |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-taliesin-west-a/160097957/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=89, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-taliesin-west-a/160097999/ 94]}}</ref>

Wisconsin governor [[Tommy Thompson]] appointed a commission in 1988 to prepare plans for preserving and operating Taliesin;<ref name="Kodrich 1988" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mell |first=Doug |date=1988-06-June 28, 1988 |title=Panel to decide Taliesin's future |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-panel-to-decide/159883404/ |access-date=2024-11-November 27, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1988-06-June 27, 1988 |title=Taliesin in need of repairs |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-crescent-taliesin-in-need-of-re/159883422/ |access-date=2024-11-November 27, 2024 |work=The Post-Crescent |pages=2}}</ref> the commission estimated that it would cost $14.7 million to repair the complex.<ref name="Lynch 1990">{{Cite news |last=Lynch |first=Kevin |date=1990-08-August 30, 1990 |title=Taliesin |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin/159883110/ |access-date=2024-11-November 27, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=1F, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin/159883167/ 6F]}}</ref> Thompson established Taliesin Preservation, Inc. (TPI), a non-profit organization, in 1990 to restore Taliesin.<ref name="Lynch 1990" /> The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation retained ownership of the complex, working with TPI to preserve the property.<ref name="n160101709" /> TPI received $150,000 from the state government, a $50,000 [[matching grant]] from the [[J. Paul Getty Trust]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=1990-03-March 29, 1990 |title=Taliesin gets $50,000 toward fix-up |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-taliesin-gets-5/159883060/ |access-date=2024-11-November 27, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=19}}</ref> and a $100,000 grant from the [[Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1992-09-September 20, 1992 |title=Grants helps Taliesin project |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/baraboo-news-republic-grants-helps-talie/159882406/ |access-date=2024-11-November 27, 2024 |work=Baraboo News Republic |pages=35}}</ref> The Taliesin complex began hosting tours in mid-1992.<ref>{{cite news |last=Zell |first=Fran |date=23August Aug23, 1992 |title=A rare look at Wright Taliesin, the architect's former home in Wisconsin, finally opens its doors to public tours |work=Chicago Tribune |page=10 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|283373437}}}}</ref> Thompson suggested in late 1992 that the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) fund the house's restoration with an $8 million bond issue. Thompson estimated that the complex could attract up to 150,000 visitors annually, generating more than $10 million in tourist spending in Wisconsin.<ref name="Broadway 1991">{{Cite news |last=Broadway |first=Joel |date=1991-10-October 26, 1991 |title=Taliesin home repair |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-taliesin-home-re/159888112/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1991-10-October 26, 1991 |title=Wright project set 50 years later |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-times-wright-project-set-50/159888235/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=The Journal Times |page=5}}</ref> WHEDA approved a loan for the complex later the same year.<ref name="Massey 1993a">{{Cite news |last=Massey |first=Jim |date=15November Nov15, 1993 |title=$24 million would restore home of master architect |work=Milwaukee Journal |page=B8 |id={{pq|333592868}}}}</ref><ref name="Broadway 1994">{{Cite news |last=Broadway |first=Joel |date=June 2, 1994-06-02 |title=Loan and donations help preserve Taliesin's past |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-loan-and-donatio/159891162/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=2}}</ref> In addition, TPI suggested spending $3.8 million on a visitor center.<ref name="Broadway 1991" /> TPI's executive director Robert Burley drew up plans for Taliesin's restoration.<ref name="Massey 1993" /> By the mid-1990s, the renovation was expected to cost an estimated $24 million.<ref name="Massey 1993">{{Cite news |last=Massey |first=Jim |date=1993-11-November 17, 1993 |title=Taliesin restoration project to save Wright's experiments |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-country-today-taliesin-restoration-p/159880222/ |access-date=2024-11-November 27, 2024 |work=The Country Today |pages=23}}</ref><ref name="Gould 1995">{{Cite news |last=Gould |first=Whitney |date=15October Oct15, 1995 |title=Preserving a treasure: Taliesin restoration keeps Wright's spirit alive |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |page=1 |id={{pq|260284857}}}}</ref> Early restoration work included repairs to the foundation, remediation of fire hazards, and emergency repairs to other parts of the house.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Novak |first=Bill |date=2001-11-28 |title=Taliesin fix-up a labor of love |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin-fix-up-a-labo/159926708/ |access-date=2024-11-28 |work=The Capital Times |pages=2}}</ref>

Early restoration work included repairs to the foundation, remediation of fire hazards, and emergency repairs to other parts of the house.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Novak |first=Bill |date=November 28, 2001 |title=Taliesin fix-up a labor of love |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin-fix-up-a-labo/159926708/ |access-date=November 28, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=2}}</ref> U.S. senator [[Herb Kohl]] introduced a bill in July 1993 to provide another $8 million for Taliesin's restoration.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hawkins |first=Hillari |date=1993-07-July 30, 1993 |title=Bill seeks Taliesin money |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-bill-seeks-talie/159880443/ |access-date=2024-11-November 27, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=18}}</ref><ref name="Lucchetti 1994">{{Cite news |last=Lucchetti |first=Aaron |date=30January Jan30, 1994 |title=Federal role debated, though |work=Milwaukee Journal |page=A1 |id={{PQ|333660110}}}}</ref> Kohl and U.S. representative [[Scott Klug]] also cosponsored legislation to convert Taliesin into a National Park Service site, though the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation would have continued to own the complex.<ref name="Lucchetti 1994" /> TPI also sought to raise the final $8 million for the restoration from donations.<ref name="Massey 1993a" /><ref name="Broadway 1994" /> The first part of Taliesin to be restored, the terrace outside Wright's bedroom and study, was finished that October.<ref name="Civil Engineering 1993" /> Workers also shored up parts of the complex that were in danger of collapsing.<ref name="Gould 1995" /> The same year, due to the deterioration of the Taliesin Dam, Wisconsin officials asked the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to either repair or abandon it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Broadway |first=Joel |date=1993-04-April 10, 1993 |title=DNR: No danger but Taliesin dam must be repaired or abandoned |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-dnr-no-danger-b/159882574/ |access-date=2024-11-November 27, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=1}}</ref> TPI also bought the Wright–designed [[Riverview Terrace Restaurant]] nearby and converted it into a visitor center.<ref name="Stephens 1993">{{cite web |last=Stephens |first=Suzanne |date=February 18, 1993 |title=Currents; A Visitors' Center by Wright Himself |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/18/garden/currents-a-visitors-center-by-wright-himself.html |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Goldberger 1994">{{cite web |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=June 2, 1994 |title=Wright's Own Home: A Lifelong Work in Progress |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/02/garden/wright-s-own-home-a-lifelong-work-in-progress.html |access-date=November 27, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=May 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526100412/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/02/garden/wright-s-own-home-a-lifelong-work-in-progress.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The commission held an [[architectural design competition]] for the visitor center, and it selected Tony Puttnam to redesign the structure,<ref name="Stephens 1993" /> which opened in June 1994.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bechtel |first=George H. |date=June 2, 1994-06-02 |title=Stories Live in Wright Family Cemetery |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal/117137497/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=39}}</ref> By then, TPI had raised $1 million from donations.<ref name="Broadway 1994" /> Work continued on Taliesin's restoration during the 1990s, even while it was open to visitors.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Varkonyi |first=Charlyne |date=September 1, 1996-09-01 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's estate open to tours |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-frank-lloyd-wrights/159891381/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wausau Daily Herald |pages=41}}</ref>

Following a severe storm on June 18, 1998, a large oak tree in the courtyard fell down on top of the house.<ref name="O'Connor 1998">{{Cite magazine |last=O'Connor |first=Michael J.  |date=Aug 1998 |title=The Plagues of Taliesin |work=Architecture: The AIA Journal |page=22 |volume=87 |issue=8 |id={{Pq|227765568}}}}</ref><ref name="Gould 1999">{{Cite news |last=Gould |first=Whitney |date=1999-03-March 22, 1999 |title=The Wright Thing to Do |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/saint-john-times-globe-the-wright-thing/159891722/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Saint John Times Globe |pages=12}}</ref><ref name="Louie b2701">{{cite web |last=Louie |first=Elaine |date=July 9, 1998 |title=Currents: Taliesin Damaged; From Fallingwater to Falling Oak |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/09/garden/currents-taliesin-damaged-from-fallingwater-to-falling-oak.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527080105/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/09/garden/currents-taliesin-damaged-from-fallingwater-to-falling-oak.html |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Saemann |first=Karyn |date=1998-06-June 23, 1998 |title=Taliesin, damaged again, girds for another renewal |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin-damaged-agai/159919146/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin/159918677/ 9]}}</ref> The tree had been the last survivor of three that Wright had planted there in 1911,<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 June 21, 1998 |title=Last of oak trees at Frank Lloyd Wright house falls |work=Las Vegas Review – Journal |page=8A |viaagency=Associated Press |id={{PQ|260072975}}}}</ref> and its collapse caused $1 million in damage.<ref name="Louie b2701" /> Ten days afterward, heavy rains caused a [[mudslide]] near the main building,<ref name="O'Connor 1998" /><ref name="n159919291The Oshkosh Northwestern 1999">{{Cite news |date=1999-05-May 31, 1999 |title=Campaign aims to help raise funds for Taliesin |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oshkosh-northwestern-campaign-aims-t/159919291/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=The Oshkosh Northwestern |pages=21}}</ref> exposing a structural support underneath a balcony.<ref name="O'Connor 1998" /> Following these incidents, workers made emergency repairs to the house and repaired damaged interiors and windows.<ref name="Gould 1999" /> By the late 1990s, the complex had about 50,000 visitors per year, far fewer than the 200,000 annual visitors TPI had anticipated. Additionally, TPI earned only about $1 million a year from tourism, which was not enough to repay the WHEDA loan, and TPI missed a $6.5 million payment on the loan in January 1999.<ref name="p391086862">{{Cite news |date=5February Feb5, 1999 |title=Taliesin Behind on Loan Payment Wright's Estate Isn't Attracting as Many Tourists as Was Expected |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-taliesin-behind/159919545/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |page=1C |id={{pq|391086862}} |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The Wisconsin government ended up forgiving most of the loan. That May, the federal government agreed to give Taliesin a $1.15 million matching grant from [[Save America's Treasures]] on the condition that TPI raise an equal amount.<ref name="n159919656Treleven 1999" /><ref name="n159919291The Oshkosh Northwestern 1999" /><ref name="n159919840Saemann 1999">{{Cite news |last=Saemann |first=Karyn |date=26 May 26, 1999 |title=Saving Taliesin Execs Gather for Major Restoration Push |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-saving-taliesin-execs/159919840/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-saving-taliesin-execs/159919876/ 12] |id={{Pq|395141099}}}}</ref> This funding would be used for interior restoration and drainage repairs.<ref name="p260910962">{{Cite news |date=May 23 May, 1999 |title=Taliesin to use grant to fix drainage flaws $1.1 million from federal government to help at aging Wright estate |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |page=3 |id={{pq|260910962}}}}</ref> The same year, TPI began soliciting donations to restore the grounds as part of the Trees for Taliesin program,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Treleven |first=Ed |date=1999-03-March 31, 1999 |title=Restoration to Begin at Taliesin |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-restoration-to-b/159893466/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=17 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and publishing executive Frank Anton announced plans to raise $25 million for the renovation through the Taliesin Restoration Project.<ref name="n159919291The Oshkosh Northwestern 1999" /><ref name="n159919840Saemann 1999" /> At the time, there were plans to repair the studio wing and Tan-y-Deri.<ref name="n159919840Saemann 1999" /> Another storm in late 1999 collapsed a tunnel underneath the studio wing.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gould |first=Whitney |date=1999-10-October 15, 1999 |title=Rebuilding the Wright house |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-salina-journal/1183171/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=The Salina Journal |pages=4 |archive-date=October 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017042825/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-salina-journal/1183171/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the ''[[Wisconsin State Journal]]'', Taliesin's preservation was "fraught with epic difficulties", because Wright never thought of it as a series of buildings with a long-term future.<ref name=":0Martell 2008" /> The studio wing's restoration was completed in August 2000 at a cost of $400,000, three-fourths of which was covered from insurance payouts; private donors paid the rest of the cost.<ref name="n159926866Saemann 2000" /> By 2002, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation estimated that it might cost up to $60 million to refurbish the Taliesin complex.<ref name="n159926222The Sheboygan Press 2002" /> At the time, workers were about to stabilize the hill under the house,<ref name="n159926222The Sheboygan Press 2002">{{Cite news |date=2002-11-November 11, 2002 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's home deteriorating |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sheboygan-press-frank-lloyd-wrights/159926222/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=The Sheboygan Press |pages=3 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref name="p406537968Auer 2002">{{Cite news |last=Auer |first=James |date=29December Dec29, 2002 |title=Wright's grand house at risk ; Taliesin: In Spring Green, Wis., a house that stands for the great American architect the way Monticello stands for Thomas Jefferson, says a Harvard professor, is crumbling. |work=The Baltimore Sun |page=8L |issn=1930-8965 |id={{pq|406537968}}}}</ref> as the hillside was causing Taliesin's walls to slant and its walkways to crack.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2002 b827" /><ref name="p406537968Auer 2002" /> To prevent further water damage, [[Tarpaulin|tarpaulinstarpaulin]]s had been placed on the ground as an emergency measure.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2002 b827" /> TPI had issues raising money due to a weakening of the local economy,<ref name="n159927234Bromley 2002" /><ref name="p406537968Auer 2002" /><ref name="p222105848a">{{Cite magazine |last=Millionis |first=Allison |date=Sep 2005 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation slowly recovering from difficult times |work=Architectural Record |page=40 |volume=193 |issue=9 |id={{pq|222105848}}}}</ref> and many of the complex's structural issues were not readily visible to the public, posing further fundraising difficulties.<ref name="n159927234Bromley 2002" /> Preservationists predicted that the estate would be irreversibly damaged if it were not repaired within five to ten years.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 2002 b827" />

A $900,000 project to improve Taliesin's drainage system was completed in 2004.<ref name="p391384258Wisconsin State Journal 2005" /><ref name="n159938408">{{Cite news |last=Nathans |first=Aaron |date=2004-05-May 26, 2004 |title=Taliesin high and dry after revamp |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin-high-and-dry/159938408/ |access-date=2024-11-November 29, 2024 |work=The Capital Times |pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-taliesin-high-and-dry/159938440/ 12C]}}</ref> The cost of the restoration had increased to $67 million by 2005, of which the main house alone was estimated to cost $26 million.<ref name="p395303950McCrea 2005">{{Cite news |last=McCrea |first=Ron |date=4April Apr4, 2005 |title=Wright Way ; Taliesin Restorers Ride Out Foundation's Storm |work=The Capital Times |page=1A |id={{pq|395303950}}}}</ref> The same year, businessman [[T. Denny Sanford]] donated $425,000 for Taliesin's restoration. These funds, which were matched by part of the Save America's Treasures grant, were used to pay for further repairs to the roof, as well as planning for future repairs.<ref name="p391384258Wisconsin State Journal 2005">{{Cite news |date=26 June 26, 2005 |title=Banker Gives $425,000 for Taliesin; It's the Biggest Cash Donation the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Has Ever Received |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-banker-gives-42/159938503/ |access-date=2024-11-November 28, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |page=D13 |id={{Pq|391384258}} |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> There were also plans to replace a bridge carrying Taliesin's driveway across a creek.<ref name="p395303950McCrea 2005" /> In 2006, the [[Jeffris Family Foundation]] agreed to fund 25% of Tan-y-deriDeri's restoration, which at the time was estimated to cost $828,000.<ref name="n159939353">{{Cite news |last=Morgan |first=Terry |date=2006-11-November 26, 2006 |title=Wright's Tan-y-deri slated for rehab |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-wrights-tan-y-d/159939353/ |access-date=2024-11-November 29, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=27}}</ref> Over $11&nbsp;million was spent on the rehabilitation of Taliesin between 1988 and 2008.<ref name=":0Martell 2008">{{cite news |last=Martell |first=Chris |date=December 8, 2008 |title=Taliesin Restoration Fraught with Epic Difficulties |url=http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/317388 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210053026/http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/317388 |archive-date=December 10, 2008 |access-date=October 18, 2013 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |id={{Pq|391548955}}}}</ref> Financing renovations was stull challenging because of lower-than expected attendance.<ref>{{cite news |title=Restoring Wright: The Difficult Task of Preserving Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin |url=http://www.economist.com/node/18276004?story_id=18276004&fsrc=rss |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=August 14, 2014 |archive-date=August 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814232756/http://www.economist.com/node/18276004?story_id=18276004&fsrc=rss |url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' reported in 2009 that, despite increased attendance over the preceding two years, TPI still needed to raise $50 million to restore the rest of the complex.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Antlfinger |first=Carrie |date=2009-03-March 22, 2009 |title=Attendance Turns at Taliesins |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wisconsin-state-journal-attendance-turns/159966304/ |access-date=2024-11-November 29, 2024 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |pages=13 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> TPI also began reinforcing the house's structure, which had been undermined by the weight of the third-story guestrooms.<ref name=":0Martell 2008" /> The [[World Monuments Fund]] (WMF) added Taliesin to its [[2010 World Monuments Watch]] to bring attention to the complex's remaining structural issues.<ref name="Fazzare g306">{{cite web |last=Fazzare |first=Elizabeth |date=October 9, 2013 |title=Culture at Risk: World Monuments Fund Watch List Includes Palisades, FLW's Taliesin |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2013/10/culture-at-risk-world-monuments-fund-watch-list-includes-palisades-fllws-taliesin/ |access-date=December 1, 2024 |website=The Architect’s Newspaper |archive-date=April 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421234317/https://www.archpaper.com/2013/10/culture-at-risk-world-monuments-fund-watch-list-includes-palisades-fllws-taliesin/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=August 15, 2016 |title=2010 World Monuments Watch Includes Sites From New Orleans to Bhutan |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/2010-world-monuments-watch-includes-sites-from-new-orleans-to-bhutan/ |access-date=December 1, 2024 |website=ArtsBeat}}</ref>

[[Architectural historian]] [[James F. O'Gorman]] compares Taliesin to [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s [[Monticello]], calling it "not a mere building but an entire environment in which man, architecture and nature form a harmonious whole." He continues that the building is an expression of [[Romanticism]] influence in architecture.{{sfn|Barillas|2006|pp=48–49}} William Barillas, in an essay of the Prairie School movement, agrees with O'Gorman's assessment and calls Taliesin "the ultimate prairie house."{{sfn|Barillas|2006|pp=48–49}} ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' wrote in 1985 that, even though the Taliesin complex was not Wright's most elaborate or expensive design, they are still compelling statements about shelter and about nature".<ref name="p397882105">{{cite news |last=Posner |first=Ellen |date=February 5 Feb, 1985 |title=Selling Frank Lloyd Wright, the Wrong Way |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=1 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|397882105}}}}</ref>

Robert Cross wrote for the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' in 2001 that "Everywhere—parlor, bedrooms, garden terraces—the eye falls on beauty. The outside comes in through the windows with gorgeous effect."<ref name="p419421746">{{cite news |last=Cross |first=Robert |date=23September Sep23, 2001 |title=A trek to the shiny brow . . . ; Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin speaks of hubris, scandal and architectural genius |work=Chicago Tribune |page=8.1 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|419421746}}}}</ref> In a 2009 publication for the [[Thoreau Society]], Naomi Uechi notes thematic similarities between the architecture of Taliesin and the concept of simplicity advocated by philosopher [[Henry David Thoreau]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Uechi |first=Naomi |editor-last=Walls |editor-first=Laura Dassow |jstor=23395074 |journal=The Concord Saunterer |volume=17 |pages=73–98 |year=2009 |place=Concord, MA |title=Evolving Transcendentalism: Thoreauvian Simplicity in Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and Contemporary Ecological Architecture}}</ref> Architectural historian [[Neil Levine (art historian)|Neil Levine]] highlighted the [[abstract art|abstract]] nature of the complex, comparing it to the works of [[Pablo Picasso]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Levine |first=Neil |title=Abstraction and Representation in Modern Architecture: The International Style and Frank Lloyd Wright |jstor=29543489 |journal=AA Files |pages=3–21 |number=11 |date=Spring 1986}}</ref> In "House Proud", an article in [[The Boston Globe#Magazine|''Boston Globe Magazine'']] by the [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning–winning architecture critic [[Robert Campbell (journalist)|Robert Campbell]], Taliesin was described as "my candidate for the title of the greatest single building in America."<ref>''Boston Globe Magazine'', December 13, 1992.</ref> Another writer, in ''[[The New York Times]]'', said of Taliesin that "the key idea is horizontality", contrasting with the vertical design elements of skyscrapers that were being built at the same time.<ref name="Solomon w151" />

Several sources have described Taliesin as embodyingan embodiment of Wright's and his architectural philosophy. In ''Taliesin 1911–1914'', a collection of essays about the first house, the authors and editor conclude that Taliesin was "Wright's architectural self-portrait."{{sfn|Menocal|1992|p=ix}} [[Paul Goldberger]], the architectural critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'', similarly wrote in 1994 that "there is no better way into the soul of Frank Lloyd Wright than to tour this house".<ref name="Goldberger 1994" /> The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' wrote the next year that the complex's design provided insight into "the career of a man who reinvented the language of architecture".<ref name="Gould 1995" /> TPI's president Carol McChesney Johnson said in 2011 that Taliesin "was a part of who he was", in contrast to other buildings that he designed but did not occupy.<ref name="n160100586" /> The following year, a writer for the [[Wisconsin Magazine of History|''Wisconsin Magazine of History'']] described Taliesin as "a quintessential example of how architectural history and biography can blend into a single entity".<ref name="Holzhueter l032" />

* {{cite book |last=Alofsin |first=Anthony |year=1993 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright – the Lost Years, 1910–1922: A Study of Influence |place=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-9820-6301-9}}

* {{cite book |last=Barillas |first=William |year=2006 |title=The Midwestern Pastoral: Place and Landscape in Literature of the American Heartland |place=Athens |publisher=Ohio University Press |isbn=978-0-8214-1660-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/midwesternpastor0000bari}}

* {{cite book |last=Drennan |first=William R. |year=2007 |title=Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders |place=Madison |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn= 978-0-299-22210-9}}

* {{cite book |last=Gottlieb |first=Lois Davidson |title=A Way of Life: An Apprenticeship with Frank Lloyd Wright |year=2001 |publisher=The Images Publishing Group |place=Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia |isbn=978-1-86470-096-1}}

* {{cite book |last=Henning |first=Randolph C. |year=2011 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin |place=Madison |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn=978-0-299-28284-4}}

* {{cite book |last=Hoppen |first=Donald W. |year=1997 |title=The Seven Ages of Frank Lloyd Wright |place=Mineola, New York |publisher=[[Dover Publications]] |isbn=978-0-486-29420-9}}

* {{cite book |last=Huxtable |first=Ada |year=2004 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright: A Life |place=New York |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=978-1-4406-3173-3}}

* {{cite book |last=McCrea |first=Ron |year=2012 |title=Building Taliesin: Frank Lloyd Wright's Home of Love and Loss |place=Madison |publisher=[[Wisconsin Historical Society Press]] |isbn=978-0-87020-606-1}}

* {{cite book |last=Menocal |first=Narciso |year=1992 |title=Wright Studies, Volume One: Taliesin 1911–1914 |place=Carbondale |publisher=[[Southern Illinois University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8093-1625-0}}

* {{cite book |editor1-last=Mickelson |editor1-first=David M. |editor2-last=Attig |editor2-first=John W. |title=Glacial Processes: Past and Present |year=1999 |publisher=[[Geological Society of America]] |place=Boulder, Colorado}}

* {{cite book |last1=Packard |first1=Robert T. |last2=Korab |first2=Balthazar |last3=Hunt |first3=William Dudley |year=1980 |title=Encyclopedia of American Architecture |location=New York |publisher=[[McGraw Hill]] |isbn=978-0-07-048010-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofam00pack}}

* {{cite book |last=Secrest |first=Meryle |year=1992 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/franklloydwright00secr |url-access=registration |place=New York |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.]] |isbn=978-0-226-74414-8}}

* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Kathryn |year=1997 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and Taliesin West |place=New York |publisher=[[Harry N. Abrams]] |isbn=978-0-8109-3991-2}}

* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Frank Lloyd |year=1943 |title=Frank Lloyd Wright: An Autobiography |url=https://archive.org/details/franklloydwright0000wrig_g9g9 |url-access=registration |place=New York |publisher=[[Duell, Sloan and Pearce]] |isbn=978-0-7649-3243-4}}

* William{{cite Allinbook |last=Storrer, ''|first=William Allin |title=The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion'', [[|date=2006 |publisher=University of Chicago Press]], IBN:|isbn=978-0-226-77621-27 |publication-place=Chicago}}