- We're exploring Taliesin,
home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright,
touring the estate
and learning about their extensive restoration work.
My first stop was to the Hillside Theater
to meet up with Executive Director
Carrie Rodamaker,
and to learn more about the history and preservation
of this 800-acre estate.
- Carrie Rodamaker: Taliesin is Frank Lloyd Wright's home.
This is a place
where his ancestors immigrated from Wales.
He grew to love this area,
and eventually built his own home in 1911.
One of the things that Wright was doing was playing
with the surrounding beauty of the land
and incorporating his buildings into it.
- Beautiful, and so what does that look like
in terms of how they're constructed?
- So, part of it is organic architecture.
So using natural material.
A lot of the limestone was harvested from here.
You'll see a lot of oak.
But you'll also see a lot of new materials,
like plywood.
Because of all of those kind of natural materials,
and this being that laboratory,
that experimental place for Wright,
it poses huge challenges.
It's almost like an archaeological dig,
so we can understand what they were doing
before we can start to figure out
how do we kind of reconstruct
and preserve the historic fabric,
but also making it sustainable for the future.
- Angela: An example of that historic fabric
is this curtain Wright designed
that hangs in Taliesin's theater,
where we chatted with Caroline Hamblen,
Director of Programs.
- Caroline Hamblen: So the Hillside Theater
just reopened last year.
It was designed by Wright to bring lectures,
dance, theater, movies into the space.
And that legacy is something that we're continuing to today.
- Are there other types of programs
or other opportunities
that are available here? - Absolutely.
So, we have our regular tour program.
There is four different variety of tours
that you can come and engage with us
May through October.
We work a lot with schools.
We love working with educators from the region,
bringing their students here.
Then there is workshop opportunities,
and then we have the programming
of the Hillside Theater available as well.
- So lots of opportunities throughout the estate
for all ages throughout the year.
- Yes, absolutely.
And that is really the goal,
that is what Taliesin always has been,
and that's what we want to continue into the future.
All kinds of different ages,
different interests, bringing everybody here
into this UNESCO World Heritage site now.
- Angela: A site that will be preserved
for future generations.
From the stage... - Caroline: Now you can see
how the size of the stage almost doubled.
You notice that part of the stage
is built into the ground.
And that caused a lot
of water infiltration issues.
- Angela: ...to the green rooms.
So this is part of the new space?
- Caroline: We've never had green rooms
for the artists.
The room behind the stage used to be dirt floor.
- Angela: All to honor the world-famous architect
who Carrie Rodamaker says loved Wisconsin
and called it home.
- Carrie: I think we just want to celebrate Wisconsin,
we wanna celebrate this place.
Celebrate Wright for growing up
as a Wisconsin farm kid.
This is where he was really creating
an architecture for America,
and we encourage people to come and see it.
[bright music]