Part 1

Frank Lloyd Wright: MY FATHER TAUGHT ME THAT A SYMPHONY WAS AN EDIFICE OF SOUND.

AND I LEARNED PRETTY SOON THAT IT WAS BUILT BY THE SAME KIND OF MIND IN MUCH THE SAME WAY THAT A BUILDING IS BUILT.

AND WHEN THAT CAME TO ME, I USED TO SIT AND LISTEN TO BEETHOVEN.

HE WAS A GREAT ARCHITECT.

THE TWO MINDS ARE QUITE SIMILAR BECAUSE THEY ARRANGE AND BUILD, PLOT AND PLAN IN VERY MUCH THE SAME WAY.

Man: THERE'S A WONDERFUL PASSAGE FROM EMERSON WHICH SEEMS TO ME TO COME CLOSER TO CAPTURING FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT THAN ANY OTHER IN WHICH HE SAYS, "EVERY SPIRIT BUILDS ITSELF A HOUSE "AND BEYOND ITS HOUSE, A WORLD, "AND BEYOND ITS WORLD, A HEAVEN.

"KNOW THEN THAT THE WORLD EXISTS FOR YOU.

BUILD, THEREFORE, YOUR OWN WORLD."

AND THAT VISION OF THE ROMANTIC GENIUS, THE ARTIST TAKING THE WORLD AND REINVENTING IT, MAKING IT IN ITS OWN RIGHT, FOLLOWING THAT PERSONAL IDIOSYNCRATIC VISION IS UTTERLY WHAT FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT IS ABOUT.

[PIANO PLAYING] ARCHITECTURE IS GOING TO BE OUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE GREAT CIVILIZATION OF THE FUTURE.

I'D LIKE TO HAVE ARCHITECTURE THAT BELONGED WHERE YOU SEE IT STANDING AND WAS A GRACE TO THE LANDSCAPE INSTEAD OF A DISGRACE, WHERE EVERYBODY WOULD HAVE ROOM, PEACE, COMFORT, AND EVERY ESTABLISHMENT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO EVERY MAN.

Narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS THE GREATEST OF ALL AMERICAN ARCHITECTS.

FOR MORE THAN 70 YEARS, HE SHOWED HIS COUNTRYMEN NEW WAYS TO BUILD THEIR HOMES AND SEE THE WORLD AROUND THEM.

HE CREATED SOME OF THE MOST MONUMENTAL AND SOME OF THE MOST INTIMATE SPACES IN AMERICA.

HE DESIGNED EVERYTHING-- BANKS AND BUSINESSES, RESORTS AND CHURCHES, A FILLING STATION AND A SYNAGOGUE, A BEER GARDEN AND AN ART MUSEUM.

Man: TRYING TO FIND THE GENIUS OF A MAN LIKE THAT THAT YOU REALIZE IS A GENIUS WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO HIM AND MORE OF A GENIUS AS YOU GET TO KNOW HIS WORK IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT PROBABLY DOESN'T GO INTO WORDS.

IT'S PROBABLY A MATTER OF HOW MOVED ARE YOU BY HIS WORK AND BY HIS PERSONALITY.

IN THIS CASE, BOTH.

HE, UH...

I HATED HIM, OF COURSE, BUT THAT'S ONLY NORMAL WHEN A MAN IS SO GREAT THAT-- IT'S A COMBINATION OF HATRED.

IT'S A COMBINATION OF ENVY AND CONTEMPT AND MISUNDERSTANDING... ALL OF WHICH GETS MIXED UP WITH HIS GENIUS.

Narrator: WRIGHT WAS CELEBRATED, THEN RIDICULED AND FORGOTTEN, THEN CELEBRATED AGAIN AS NO OTHER AMERICAN ARCHITECT HAS EVER BEEN CELEBRATED.

Woman: ONE CAN LOOK AT HIM AND BE AWED BY THE DIMENSIONS OF THIS PERSONALITY AND THE ACHIEVEMENT, BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING AT SOMETHING WE VERY SELDOM SEE IN REAL LIFE, WHICH IS A GENIUS.

ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHO HE WAS AS A HUMAN BEING, HE WAS SO AT THE MERCY OF HIS EMOTIONS THAT YOU THINK HE'S AT THE OTHER SPECTRUM, HE'S BARELY A HUMAN BEING.

Narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BROKE ALL THE RULES, IN HIS ART AND IN HIS LIFE.

HE WAS CONTROVERSIAL, NOTORIOUS, UTTERLY UNPREDICTABLE.

HE BOASTED OF HIS GENIUS WITH AN ARROGANCE AND BOMBAST THAT OUTRAGED HIS ENEMIES AND BEWILDERED HIS FRIENDS, RISKED HIS CAREER IN A SERIES OF SCANDALOUS AFFAIRS, AND SUFFERED TERRIBLE PERSONAL TRAGEDY, BUT THROUGH IT ALL, HE NEVER STOPPED DREAMING OF NEW WAYS TO BUILD.

HE WAS, ONE OF HIS DRAFTSMEN REMEMBERED, "200% ALIVE."

Man: HE HAD TO BE ONSTAGE, AND NOT ONLY ONSTAGE, BUT HE HAD TO BE IN THE CENTER OF THE STAGE, AND IT WAS ACTUALLY THE CASE THAT WHEN HE WOULD BE DESCRIBED, AS HE OFTEN WAS, AS THE GREATEST LIVING AMERICAN ARCHITECT, HE WOULD SAY, "WHAT'S THAT ABOUT AMERICAN?"

AND HE WOULD SAY, "WHAT'S THAT ABOUT LIVING?"

HE SAID, "I AM THE GREATEST ARCHITECT THAT HAS EVER LIVED.

FORGET AMERICAN.

FORGET LIVING."

HE KNEW OR THOUGHT HE KNEW OR PRETENDED THAT HE KNEW WHERE HIS PLACE WAS GOING TO BE IN THE WORLD.

Man: HE WAS A HUSTLER.

HE WAS A WILD SELF-PROMOTER.

HE EXAGGERATED HIS LIFE STORY, INVENTED ALL KINDS OF DETAILS, BUT HE WAS NO LESS AN ARTISTIC GENIUS FOR HAVING DONE THIS.

HE TRANSFORMED OUR NATURE OF-- OUR SENSE OF WHAT ARCHITECTURE IS AND CAN BE.

HE HAD THIS EXTRAORDINARY REACH AND DEPTH THAT AFFECTED ALL THAT WOULD EVER COME AFTER HIM.

SO WHAT IF HE MADE UP A FEW DETAILS IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY?

I MEAN, SO WHAT IF HE WAS DESPERATE FOR PUBLICITY?

SO WHAT IF HE LIVED THIS MELODRAMATIC LIFE?

HE WAS A TRUE ARTISTIC GENIUS AS WELL.

Mike Wallace: AND NOW TO OUR STORY.

ADMIRERS OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HAIL HIM AS A MAN 100 YEARS AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

NOW 88 YEARS OLD, HE'S STILL DESIGNING HOMES AND BUILDINGS WHICH ARE REVOLUTIONARY, INCLUDING PLANS FOR A MILE-HIGH SKYSCRAPER FOR WHICH HE'S HAD NO BUYERS YET.

I UNDERSTAND THAT LAST WEEK, IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, YOU SAID, "IF I HAD ANOTHER 15 YEARS TO WORK, "I COULD REBUILD THIS ENTIRE COUNTRY.

I COULD CHANGE THE NATION."

I DID SAY THAT, AND IT'S TRUE.

HAVING HAD NOW THE EXPERIENCE GOING WITH THE BUILDING OF 769 BUILDINGS, IT'S QUITE EASY FOR ME TO SHAKE THEM OUT OF MY SLEEVE, AND IT'S AMAZING WHAT I COULD DO FOR THIS COUNTRY.

I'VE BEEN ACCUSED OF SAYING I WAS THE GREATEST ARCHITECT IN THE WORLD, AND IF I HAD SAID SO, I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE VERY...ARROGANT.

[HORSE NEIGHS] Narrator: HE WAS BORN FRANK LINCOLN WRIGHT IN RICHLAND CENTER, WISCONSIN, ON JUNE 8, 1867, JUST TWO YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR.

"YOURS WAS A PROPHETIC BIRTH," HIS MOTHER ANNA TOLD HIM.

SHE BELIEVED HER BOY PREDESTINED TO BE A GREAT MAN, A MASTER BUILDER, AND SHE WOULD TEACH HIM TO BELIEVE IT, TOO.

Man: HIS MOTHER SHAPED HIM.

WHEN SHE BECAME PREGNANT, SHE DECIDED THAT IT WOULD BE A BOY AND THAT HE WOULD BE AN ARCHITECT.

SO TO THAT END, SHE PUT ENGRAVINGS, SO WRIGHT TELLS US, OF THE GREAT CATHEDRALS IN HER ROOM.

THEN WHEN HE WAS BORN AND IT WAS A BOY, SHE PUT THE ENGRAVINGS OF THE GREAT CATHEDRAL IN HIS ROOM.

Narrator: HIS CHILDHOOD WAS TEMPESTUOUS, CHAOTIC, A BY-PRODUCT OF HIS PARENTS' UNHAPPY MARRIAGE.

HIS FATHER, WILLIAM WRIGHT, WAS A HUGELY CHARMING MAN WHO PURSUED ALL KINDS OF CALLINGS-- EDUCATOR, MUSICIAN, POLITICIAN, PREACHER, BUT HE WAS UNWILLING TO STAY AT ANY JOB FOR LONG AND UNABLE EVER TO EARN ENOUGH MONEY TO SATISFY HIS WIFE'S LOFTY ASPIRATIONS.

ALTHOUGH SHE MAY HAVE BEEN BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED IN HER HUSBAND, ANNA WRIGHT LAVISHED LOVE AND ADMIRATION ON HER ONLY SON.

HE WAS MORE THAN A CHILD TO HER, ONE OF HIS SISTERS REMEMBERED.

HE WAS HER PROTEGE.

HE WOULD ACCOMPLISH WHAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND COULD NOT.

SHE BOUGHT HIM A SET OF WOODEN BLOCKS AND ENCOURAGED HIM TO BUILD THINGS.

Meryle Secrest: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WRIGHT OFTEN SAID WAS THAT HE WAS VERY LUCKY TO HAVE HAD THE KIND OF MOTHER HE DID.

SHE HAD THE MOST WONDERFUL QUALITY, THE KIND OF QUALITY THAT THE IDEAL MOTHER HAS, YOU KNOW.

SHE WAS ALL FOR YOU.

Narrator: WHEN FRANK WAS 11, ANNA RELUCTANTLY SNIPPED OFF HIS CURLS AND SENT HIM OFF TO SPEND THE FIRST OF MANY SUMMERS WORKING ON HER FAMILY'S WISCONSIN FARM.

THE LLOYD-JONESES WERE WELSH-- UNITARIAN RADICALS WHO WERE KNOWN LOCALLY AS "THE GOD-ALMIGHTY JONESES" BECAUSE OF THEIR PIETY AND THE EXTREME SERIOUSNESS WITH WHICH THEY TOOK THEMSELVES.

THEIR FAMILY MOTTO WAS "TRUTH AGAINST THE WORLD."

FRANK HATED FARM WORK.

HE LEARNED ONLY "TO ADD TIRED TO TIRED," HE REMEMBERED.

BUT DURING THOSE SUMMER EVENINGS, HE LISTENED EAGERLY TO THE LLOYD-JONESES' LIVELY DINNER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY, AND RALPH WALDO EMERSON'S VISION OF THE AMERICAN FUTURE.

SURROUNDED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE WISCONSIN COUNTRYSIDE, HE DEVELOPED THE LOVE OF NATURE HE WOULD HOLD TO ALL HIS LIFE.

William Cronon: WHAT HE WAS INTERESTED IN WAS A NATURE THAT HUMAN BEINGS INHABITED AND, IN FACT, THAT THEY TRANSFORMED THROUGH THEIR OWN SPIRITUAL USE OF IT.

SO, FOR HIM, WHAT AN ARTIST IS IS A PERSON WHO TRANSFORMS NATURE BY LOOKING AT NATURE, PASSING IT THROUGH THE SOUL, AND IN THE EXPRESSION OF WHAT THE SOUL EXPERIENCES IN NATURE, SOMETHING MORE NATURAL THAN NATURE ITSELF EMERGES, WHICH IS AS CLOSE AS WE GET TO GOD.

[BELL RINGING] Narrator: FRANK'S FATHER MOVED HIS FAMILY FROM TOWN TO TOWN AND STATE TO STATE IN SEARCH OF WORK, EVENTUALLY LANDING IN MADISON, WISCONSIN.

BUT HIS PARENTS' MARRIAGE WAS GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE.

FINALLY, IN 1884, ANNA TOLD HER HUSBAND SHE WOULD NEVER AGAIN SHARE HIS BED.

WILLIAM WRIGHT FILED FOR DIVORCE AND WALKED AWAY FROM HIS FAMILY.

FRANK SIDED WITH HIS MOTHER, CHANGED HIS MIDDLE NAME TO LLOYD IN HONOR OF HER FAMILY, AND REFUSED EVER TO SEE HIS FATHER AGAIN.

BUT THE LEGACY OF WILLIAM WRIGHT WOULD REMAIN STUBBORNLY ALIVE IN HIM-- IN HIS LIFELONG LOVE OF MUSIC, HIS ENORMOUS CHARM, HIS RESTLESSNESS, AND HIS INABILITY EVER TO LIVE WITHIN HIS MEANS.

Brendan Gill: THE FATHER DROPPED OUT OF THE PICTURE, AND FRANK CHOSE TO GO WITH THE MOTHER AND NEVER HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE FATHER AGAIN AND NEVER EVEN ATTENDED THE FATHER'S FUNERAL, NEVER DID ANYTHING ABOUT THE FATHER, BUT THERE WAS THE GREAT CHARACTER WHO REALLY HELPED SO MUCH TO CREATE THE TRUE FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

Narrator: IN 1886, WRIGHT TOOK COURSES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AND LEARNED THE RUDIMENTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DRAFTING, BUT HE ALREADY FELT HIMSELF DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT FROM HIS CLASSMATES AND DRESSED ACCORDINGLY, WEARING A TOP HAT AND STALKING ACROSS THE CAMPUS WITH A CANE.

HE WAS ANXIOUS TO GET AWAY FROM THE SCENE OF HIS FAMILY'S TROUBLES, EAGER TO BE ON HIS OWN IN THE BIG CITY OF CHICAGO.

[STEAM WHISTLE BLOWING] TELLING NO ONE, HE PAWNED A FEW OF HIS FATHER'S OLD BOOKS TO PAY FOR HIS RAIL TICKET AND BOARDED THE TRAIN.

WITH HIM, HE REMEMBERED, HE CARRIED ONLY HIS MOTHER'S MOST PRECIOUS GIFT TO HIM-- A BOUNDLESS FAITH THAT HE WOULD SUCCEED.

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS NOW DETERMINED TO BECOME AN ARCHITECT.

Cronon: THE GREAT THING ABOUT CHICAGO IS THAT AFTER THE 1871 FIRE, WHEN THE WHOLE DOWNTOWN IS BASICALLY ANNIHILATED BY THIS INCREDIBLE FIRE, THE WHOLE DOWNTOWN HAS TO BE REBUILT, AND THERE'S MONEY TO DO THE REBUILDING BECAUSE THE CITY IS CLEARLY GOING TO BOOM TO BE ONE OF THE GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES.

SO ALL THESE ARCHITECTS COME IN, AND THEY HAVE A TABULA RASA.

THEY HAVE A CLEAN SLATE ON WHICH TO DO THEIR WORK, AND SO EMERGES THIS SENSE OF THE ARCHITECT AS THE PERSON WHO CREATES THE UNIVERSE THAT WE INHABIT.

WRIGHT COMES INTO THAT COMMUNITY, AND HE IMBIBES THAT VISION.

Narrator: AN UNCLE HELPED WRIGHT GET A DRAFTSMAN'S JOB WITH A RESPECTABLE FIRM, BUT HE WANTED MORE.

IN 1887, WHEN HE WAS JUST 20 YEARS OLD, HE APPROACHED THE BEST ARCHITECT IN THE CITY, LOUIS SULLIVAN, AND ASKED FOR A JOB.

Gill: SULLIVAN HIMSELF WAS JUST A KID, REALLY.

HE WAS 31, 32 YEARS OF AGE, VERY ARTISTIC, PASSIONATELY DETERMINED TO MAKE GOOD, AND INTO THEIR OFFICE CAME THIS ADORABLE BOY WHO OBVIOUSLY SULLIVAN, IN A PERFECTLY ORDINARY SENSE OF THE WORD, FELL FOR AND THOUGHT, "OH, MY GOD.

THIS IS SOMEBODY THAT I CAN REALLY MOLD AND MAKE INTO A GREAT MAN."

AND FRANK HIMSELF PLAINLY FELT THE SAME WAY ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP.

Narrator: LOUIS SULLIVAN WAS A REVOLUTIONARY, SEEKING A DISTINCTLY AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE.

Cronon: PROBABLY THE SINGLE MOST INFLUENTIAL EVENT OF THE 1890s THAT CHANGES THE WHOLE ARCHITECTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE UNITED STATES IS THE 1893 WORLD'S FAIR.

THE FAIR WAS CAST IN A NEOCLASSICAL REVIVAL MODE IN WHICH ALL THE BUILDINGS HAD A KIND OF FACADE ON THEM THAT LOOKED GREEK OR ROMAN, AND IT WAS CALLED THE WHITE CITY.

IT MOVED THE VISITORS TO THE FAIR MORE THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE THING THAT WAS THERE, AND IT'S THE REASON WHY THE MALL IN WASHINGTON, D.C., IS CAST IN GREEK REVIVAL FORM AND WHY EVERY DOWNTOWN OF EVERY AMERICAN CITY BUILT IN THE 1900s AND 1910s HAVE THIS KIND OF GREEK REVIVAL FORM.

SULLIVAN REACTED VERY NEGATIVELY TO THAT VISION OF THE FAIR, AND SO DID FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, FOLLOWING SULLIVAN.

Narrator: LOUIS SULLIVAN BELIEVED THAT ARCHITECTURAL STYLE MUST EVOLVE IN HARMONY WITH ITS INTENDED USE-- FORM MUST FOLLOW FUNCTION.

HE DESIGNED SOME OF THE WORLD'S FIRST SKYSCRAPERS, AND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HELPED HIM DO THE DRAWINGS.

SOON WRIGHT BECAME WHAT HE CALLED "A GOOD PENCIL IN THE MASTER'S HAND" AND WAS PROMOTED TO CHIEF DRAFTSMAN IN CHARGE OF 49 MEN.

[HORSE NEIGHS] BY THIS TIME, WRIGHT HAD FALLEN IN LOVE WITH A CHARMING 17-YEAR-OLD FROM A PROSPEROUS CHICAGO FAMILY-- CATHERINE TOBIN, WHOM EVERYONE CALLED KITTY.

THEY'D MET AT A CHURCH SOCIAL, WHEN THEY LITERALLY COLLIDED ON THE DANCE FLOOR.

BEFORE LONG, HE ASKED HER TO MARRY HIM.

Secrest: WRIGHT DID WHAT WE ALL DO WHEN WE'RE YOUNG.

HE CONSTRUCTED AN IMAGE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD AND MADE SOMEONE FIT, AND HERE IS THIS ENCHANTING GIRL THAT SORT OF FALLS INTO HIS LAP, AND HE, NATURALLY ENOUGH, SAYS, "THIS IS THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS.

"THIS IS THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO ACCOMPANY ME TO THE GREAT HEIGHTS, AND SHE IS THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO LIVE FOR ME," BECAUSE BEING AN EGOTIST, A NARCISSIST OF THE FIRST WATER, THIS IS THE KIND OF GIRL HE WANTED.

Narrator: AT FIRST, KITTY'S PARENTS OPPOSED THE MARRIAGE.

WRIGHT WAS TOO YOUNG, TOO UNCONVENTIONAL, TOO POOR.

FRANK'S MOTHER WAS ALSO AGAINST THE MATCH AND EMPHASIZED HER UNHAPPINESS BY FAINTING AT THE WEDDING.

TO ENSURE THAT HE AND HIS BRIDE STARTED OUT AMIDST THE LUXURY THAT HE WAS CERTAIN WAS SOMEHOW HIS DUE, FRANK TALKED HIS BOSS INTO GIVING HIM A 5-YEAR CONTRACT THEN PERSUADED SULLIVAN PERSONALLY TO LOAN HIM ENOUGH MONEY AGAINST IT TO BUILD HIMSELF A FINE NEW HOME IN THE FASHIONABLE AND CONSERVATIVE CHICAGO SUBURB OF OAK PARK.

OAK PARK WAS SO SEDATE, SO COMFORTABLE, SO FILLED WITH CHURCHES THAT LOCAL PEOPLE LIKED TO CALL IT "SAINT'S REST."

IT WOULD BE WRIGHT'S HOME AND CENTER OF OPERATIONS FOR TWO DECADES.

Gill: AND SO HE MARRIED AN ADORABLE YOUNG WOMAN, VERY GOOD-LOOKING, VERY FIERY AND SPIRITED, AND A PERFECT CONSORT FOR HIM, AND THEY BEGAN TO HURL CHILD AFTER CHILD AFTER CHILD INTO THE WORLD.

Narrator: THERE WOULD EVENTUALLY BE 6 CHILDREN-- 4 BOYS AND 2 GIRLS.

KITTY LOOKED AFTER THEM, AND WRIGHT LOOKED AFTER HIS CAREER.

WRIGHT LOVED TO CONDUCT TOURS OF HIS OWN HOME, POINTING OUT THE BIG, ECHOING PLAYROOM HE ADDED FOR THE CHILDREN, THE ELEGANT DINING ROOM WITH ITS IMPOSING HIGH-BACKED CHAIRS SPECIALLY DESIGNED BY WRIGHT, AND THE FIREPLACE AT THE CENTER OF THE HOUSE, WHICH HE BELIEVED SYMBOLIZED THE HEART OF THE FAMILY.

ABOVE THE MANTEL WAS CARVED FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S NEW FAMILY MOTTO-- "TRUTH IS LIFE."

THE WRIGHTS LOVED TO SOCIALIZE.

"THERE WERE PARTIES SOMEWHERE ALL OF THE TIME," HIS ELDEST SON REMEMBERED, "AND EVERYWHERE SOME OF THE TIME."

Gill: HE WAS A ROMANTIC FIGURE BEYOND ANYTHING.

THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERE OF A ROOM CHANGED WHEN HE CAME INTO IT-- THE CAPE, THE CANE, ALL THE ACCOUTERMENTS OF A SUPERB ACTOR OF THE 19th CENTURY, AND WOMEN, UNDERSTANDABLY, FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM AT ONCE.

HE WAS A FAR MORE REMARKABLE FIGURE THAN THEIR HUSBANDS, WHO WERE LAWYERS AND DENTISTS AND OTHER ORDINARY FOLK.

Narrator: FROM THE FIRST, WRIGHT LIVED BEYOND HIS MEANS.

HE COLLECTED OLD BOOKS AND JAPANESE PRINTS.

"SO LONG AS WE HAVE THE LUXURIES," HE LIKED TO SAY, "THE NECESSITIES COULD PRETTY WELL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES."

WHEN THEY DIDN'T, HE BETRAYED LOUIS SULLIVAN'S TRUST.

HE BEGAN SECRETLY DESIGNING HOUSES FOR WEALTHY CLIENTS, SOMETIMES UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME.

Gill: WELL, HE WAS IN ALL KINDS OF TROUBLE ALL THE TIME, AND HE SAID THINGS THAT WERE SO REMOTE FROM BEING TRUE AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND HE WOULD BE CAUGHT OUT TELLING SOME REAL WHOPPER, AND HE WOULD ONLY SAY WITH A SMILE, "WELL, THERE YOU ARE."

Narrator: IN 1893, SULLIVAN FOUND OUT THAT WRIGHT WAS MOONLIGHTING AND DISMISSED HIM.

WRIGHT WOULD ALWAYS CLAIM THAT HE HAD QUIT, NOT BEEN FIRED, BUT HE NEVER LOOKED BACK.

HE ADDED AN IMPRESSIVE HIGH-CEILING STUDIO TO HIS HOME, LAUNCHED HIS OWN PRACTICE, AND ATTRACTED A STAFF OF YOUNG, TALENTED ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS WHO WOULD HELP HIM DO THE WORK.

OVER THE NEXT DECADE, HE STRUGGLED TO DEVELOP A STYLE OF BUILDING HOUSES DISTINCTLY HIS OWN.

Man: HE WOULD WORK ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT, AND SOMETIMES HE WOULD GO FOR 3 OR 4 DAYS CONTINUOUSLY, WORKING AND DEVELOPING DRAWINGS FOR JUST ONE PROJECT, DRAWING AFTER DRAWING AFTER DRAWING, AND THIS WOULD GO ON ALL THE TIME CONTINUALLY.

THIS IS WHERE HE WAS DEVELOPING HIS GRAMMAR.

THIS IS IN THE OAK PARK DAYS.

HE WAS REALLY GETTING IT DOWN, GETTING WHAT IT WAS THAT HE WANTED TO DO, HOW HE WANTED TO MOVE WITH ARCHITECTURE.

Narrator: FOLLOWING THE WISHES OF HIS OAK PARK CLIENTS, HE FIRST INCORPORATED ELEMENTS DRAWN FROM EVERY SORT OF EUROPEAN STYLE, INCLUDING AN ODD HYBRID HE CALLED HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, BUT HE WAS NOT SATISFIED.

IT WAS A UNIQUELY AMERICAN STYLE THAT WRIGHT WAS AFTER, BASED NOT ON MODELS IMPORTED FROM THE OLD WORLD, BUT GROWING NATURALLY OUT OF LOCAL CONDITIONS IN THE NEW.

Gill: EVERY GREAT COUNTRY, AS IT EMERGES INTO GREATNESS, DEVELOPS ITS OWN ARCHITECTURE.

IT GOES BEYOND STYLE, IT GOES BEYOND FASHION, WHICH ARE COMMON PLACES OF CHANGE.

IN PRINCIPLE, THERE OUGHT TO BE SOMETHING AUTOCHTHONOUS, THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING COMING OUT OF THE GROUND THAT SAYS, "THIS IS THE WAY WE BUILD IN THIS PARTICULAR CULTURE."

FRANK WAS TRYING TO SAY, "WE DESERVE AN AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE."

Man: WHEN WRIGHT BEGAN TO BE AN ARCHITECT, THE TYPICAL HOUSE, SAY, IN OAK PARK, WHERE HE LIVED, WAS ON A RELATIVELY NARROW LOT, MAYBE 60 OR 70 FEET WIDE, MAYBE 100 OR 125 FEET DEEP.

IT HAD A FRONT PORCH WHERE PEOPLE COULD GATHER IN A KIND OF SEMI-PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP TO THE STREET.

WRIGHT TOOK THAT MODEL, AND RECOGNIZING IN PART THAT THE AUTOMOBILE CHANGED THE NATURE OF STREET LIFE AND THAT WHILE YOU SAT ON A PORCH AND TALKED TO PEOPLE WALKING BY OR IN A SLOW-MOVING CARRIAGE, AN AUTOMOBILE DESTROYED THAT RELATIONSHIP.

SO, HE RECOGNIZED THAT, AND HE TURNED THE HOUSE 90 DEGREES TO THE STREET.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, WRIGHT THREW AWAY THE PORCH AND, IN FACT, ALWAYS CONCEALS HIS ENTRANCE IN SOME OBSCURE WAY.

Narrator: SOME ELEMENTS OF WRIGHT'S RADICAL NEW STYLE WERE BORROWED FROM BUILDERS OVERSEAS-- THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT IN BRITAIN, THE SECESSIONIST SCHOOL IN VIENNA, AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF JAPAN, BUT NO ONE HAD EVER DRAWN UPON ALL OF THEM AS HE DID.

WRIGHT'S HOUSES WERE HORIZONTAL RATHER THAN VERTICAL TO FIT INTO THE FLAT MIDWESTERN LANDSCAPE, AND THEY FEATURED SHELTERING OVERHANGS, LOW TERRACES, AND SEQUESTERED, PRIVATE GARDENS.

THEY WOULD BE SET BACK FROM THE STREET TO ENSURE GREATER PRIVACY.

THEY WOULD BE STRIPPED OF THE DECORATIVE DETAIL WRIGHT CONSIDERED SUPERFLUOUS.

THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE, HE SAID, WAS THERE CHIEFLY BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE.

IN WRIGHT'S HOUSES, ROOMS WERE NO LONGER TO BE "BOXES BESIDE BOXES."

INSTEAD, THE WHOLE LOWER FLOOR WAS TO BE ONE ROOM, ITS MANY DIFFERENT USES SUGGESTED BY SCREENS RATHER THAN CLOSED OFF WITH WALLS.

"EVERYTHING WAS TO BE A UNIFIED WHOLE," WRIGHT LIKED TO SAY.

"ORDER OUT OF CHAOS."

Paul Goldberger: IT'S ALL COMING OUT, STILL, OF THE STRAIGHT-LACED, TIGHT VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN PERIODS WHERE FORMALITY, ENCLOSED, DISCREET ROOMS, PARLORS WITH DOUBLE DOORS THAT CLOSED SHUT AND WERE USED FOR THIS FORMAL PURPOSE OR THAT FORMAL PURPOSE AND SO FORTH.

WRIGHT'S DESIRE TO MAKE EVERYTHING OPEN AND FLOWING WAS A REVOLUTION AT THAT TIME.

IT JUST EXPLODED THE WHOLE IDEA OF WHAT THE HOUSE HAD BEEN.

Narrator: THE HOMES HE BUILT FOR THE COONLEYS, THE LITTLES, THE BLOSSOMS, AND THE ROBIES-- THE PRAIRIE HOUSES, AS HE CALLED THEM-- WOULD ONE DAY MAKE FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT ONE OF THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT FIGURES IN THE WORLD OF ARCHITECTURE AND INFLUENCE A WHOLE GENERATION OF YOUNG BUILDERS IN EUROPE.

BETWEEN 1900 AND 1909, WRIGHT'S PRACTICE BOOMED.

HE DESIGNED 135 PRAIRIE HOUSES, MOSTLY IN THE NEW SUBURBS THAT WERE RAPIDLY GROWING UP AROUND CHICAGO.

TO HIS WELL-TO-DO CLIENTS, HIS HOUSES OFFERED WHAT ONE CRITIC CALLED, "A SAFE AND SECURE HARBOR TO THE FAMILY BATTERED ABOUT ON THE UNCHARTED SEAS OF MODERN LIFE."

Man: THERE REALLY IS NO ENVIRONMENT THAT I KNOW THAT IS AS SERENE AS A GREAT WRIGHT SPACE.

PARTLY, YOU SEE, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S BOTH FIRMLY ORGANIZED, BUT IT SEEMS TO HAVE NO BOUNDARIES.

IT SEEMS TO GO ON FOREVER.

AND THAT'S ONE REASON FOR THE LOW CEILING, SO YOU WILL ASSOCIATE YOURSELF PHYSICALLY WITH THAT HORIZONTAL EXPANSION.

AND THE OTHER THING IS THE COLOR.

THEY'RE THE COLORS OF THE HARVEST.

IT'S GOLDEN--GREEN AND GOLDEN AND GENTLE BROWNS IN THERE.

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE IT FOR A SENSE OF SERENITY AND BELONGING.

ALWAYS WONDERFUL AUTUMN IN WRIGHT'S HOUSES.

Cronon: WRIGHT CONSIDERED ARCHITECTURE TO BE THE MASTER ART FORM, THE ART FORM THAT SUBORDINATED ALL OTHER ART FORMS... BECAUSE CONTAINED WITHIN IT WERE THE VISUAL ARTS, THE PLASTIC ARTS, SCULPTURE.

AND SO WHAT HE TRIED TO DO WAS TO BRING IN ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS, CONTROL THEM ALL, SUBORDINATE THEM TO HIS VISION AS A WAY OF CREATING A PERFECT REALIZATION OF BEAUTY... AND HIS VISION OF WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO LIVE WITHIN THAT BEAUTIFUL SPACE WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD BE GENUINELY TRANSFORMATIVE.

IT WOULD MAKE THE PEOPLE DIFFERENT WHO INHABITED THAT SPACE.

Narrator: "EVERY HOUSE IS A MISSIONARY," FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT ONCE SAID.

"I DON'T BUILD A HOUSE WITHOUT PREDICTING THE END OF THE PRESENT SOCIAL ORDER."

[HAMMERING] Robert Stern: THE HOUSES ARE FABULOUS, BUT REALLY, AMERICAN ARCHITECTS ARE THE ONLY ARCHITECTS IN THE WORLD WHO MAKE CAREERS OUT OF HOUSES.

THIS IS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT CONTINUALLY BUILDS HOUSES, BUT IN THE WORLD SPECTRUM, IT'S PUBLIC BUILDINGS THAT ARE THE BUILDINGS THAT MAKE A CAREER.

Narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HAD EARNED A REPUTATION AS A BUILDER OF HANDSOME AND INNOVATIVE PRIVATE HOUSES, BUT HE STILL LONGED FOR THE KIND OF LARGE-SCALE COMMISSIONS PRIZED BY EVERY ARCHITECT.

HE GOT THE CHANCE IN 1902, WHEN A GENEROUS-HEARTED BUSINESSMAN NAMED DARWIN MARTIN ARRANGED FOR HIM TO DESIGN A NEW ADMINISTRATION BUILDING FOR A LARGE MAIL-ORDER BUSINESS IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK-- THE LARKIN COMPANY.

TO GET THE JOB, WRIGHT CLAIMED THAT HE, AND NOT LOUIS SULLIVAN, HAD DESIGNED SEVERAL OF SULLIVAN'S BEST-KNOWN BUILDINGS.

IT WASN'T TRUE, BUT MARTIN BELIEVED HIM, AND WRIGHT ENTHUSIASTICALLY STARTED WORK ON THE LARGEST COMMISSION HE'D EVER HAD.

[HAMMERING] THE LARKIN BUILDING, WRIGHT SAID, WAS INTENDED TO TRANSFORM BUSINESS LIFE.

IT WAS A HUGE, AUSTERE, FIREPROOF VAULT FILLED WITH MODERN, SPECIALLY DESIGNED, STEEL FURNITURE AND HERMETICALLY SEALED TO KEEP OUT THE NOISE AND FUMES OF THE NEARBY FACTORIES.

"IT WAS AN ESSAY," WRIGHT WROTE LATER, "IN THE THIRD DIMENSION, "A GENUINE EXPRESSION OF POWER DIRECTLY APPLIED TO PURPOSE "IN THE SAME SENSE THAT THE OCEAN LINER, THE PLANE, OR THE CAR IS SO."

Vincent Scully: THE LARKIN BUILDING WAS LIKE A MODERN CATHEDRAL, AND IF YOU CONSIDER THOSE ENGRAVINGS OF THE GREAT CATHEDRALS THAT HIS MOTHER HAD PUT IN HIS ROOM, IF YOU IMAGINE THE CATHEDRAL FACADE WITH THE VERTICAL TOWERS AND THE HORIZONTALS WEAVING THROUGH, THAT'S WHAT THE LARKIN BUILDING IS, ONLY ABSTRACTED WITH NO DECORATION.

Man: WHAT WRIGHT WAS TRYING TO DO IN THAT WAS TO CREATE A MODERN BUILDING THAT WOULD GIVE THE WORKERS A SENSE OF WHAT HE CALLED A FAMILY GATHERING.

THE INTERIOR IS OPENED UP INTO WHAT TODAY WE WOULD CALL AN ATRIUM-LIKE SPACE, WHICH, IN EFFECT, DOES FOR THE OFFICE BUILDING WHAT THE HEARTH OR THE FIREPLACE DID FOR THE FAMILY HOME-- THAT'S TO SAY, PROVIDE A SENSE OF FOCUS.

ALL THE WOMEN ARE SITTING THERE TYPING ON THE TABLES THAT HE DESIGNED, AND EVERYTHING FITS IN TOGETHER, AND THE MOTTOES OF EARLY INDIVIDUALISTIC CAPITALISM WERE UP THERE SAYING, "WORK HARD AND YOU'LL BE REWARDED," AND SO ON.

Narrator: WRIGHT WENT WAY OVER BUDGET, BUT THE DIRECTORS OF THE LARKIN COMPANY AND HIS NEW FRIEND DARWIN MARTIN LOVED THEIR BUILDING.

LOOKING BACK MANY YEARS LATER, WRIGHT SAID, "I WAS A REAL LEONARDO DA VINCI WHEN I BUILT THAT BUILDING.

EVERYTHING IN IT WAS MY INVENTION."

BUT THE CRITICS, ACCUSTOMED TO MORE CLASSICAL FORMS, WERE NOT IMPRESSED.

Man: "THE LOVER OF ARCHITECTURE "WHO LOOKS, PERHAPS FOR THE FIRST TIME, "AT A BUILDING SO ENTIRELY REMOVED "FROM THE TRADITIONAL STYLES AND SCHOOLS "FEELS A SHOCK OF SURPRISE "WHICH IS THE REVERSE OF PLEASURE.

"FEW PERSONS WHO HAVE SEEN THE GREAT MONUMENTS OF THE PAST "AND WHO HAVE LOVED THEM "WILL FAIL TO PRONOUNCE THIS MONUMENT "AN EXTREMELY UGLY BUILDING.

IT IS, IN FACT, A MONSTER OF AWKWARDNESS."

RUSSELL STURGESS, THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.

Stern: I WAS TOLD A STORY OF TWO TEACHERS WITH A HOUSE IN SOUTH CAROLINA, AND ONE DAY A VASE ARRIVED AT THEIR HOUSE, AND THEY OPENED IT, AND IT HAD A LITTLE CARD, AND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HAD WRITTEN SOMETHING LIKE, "I THOUGHT THIS WOULD LOOK PERFECT OVER THE FIREPLACE," AND INDEED IT DID.

A FEW WEEKS LATER, A BILL CAME FOR THE VASE.

THEY HAD THOUGHT IT WAS A GIFT, AND SUDDENLY THEY WERE STUCK WITH THE BILL.

[CHILDREN SHOUTING] Narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT EXPECTED ALL OF HIS CLIENTS, BIG AND SMALL, TO GIVE HIM THEIR GRATEFUL COOPERATION.

"IT'S THEIR DUTY," HE SAID, "TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE AND CONFORM INSOFAR AS POSSIBLE, TO THE IDEA OF THE HOUSE."

HE WOULD TELL ONE CLIENT THAT ALL HIS FAMILY'S POSSESSIONS WERE PREHISTORIC AND HAD TO GO AND OFTEN INSISTED ON DESIGNING ALL THE FURNISHINGS, RIGHT DOWN TO THE NAPKIN RINGS USED AT HIS DINNER TABLE.

AT LEAST ONCE, HE DESIGNED THE GOWN THE HOSTESS WAS TO WEAR AS WELL, AND WHEN SHE DARED REARRANGE THE FURNITURE BEFORE HE CAME TO CALL, HE DRAGGED IT ALL BACK TO WHERE HE'D MEANT IT TO BE.

HE CAN BE VERY OVERBEARING BECAUSE YOU WALK INTO ONE OF HIS HOUSES, AND YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN HIS HEAD.

YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN HIS IMAGINATION.

IT'S IN THE FURNISHINGS THAT YOU GET THIS IDEA OF HOW MUCH CONTROL HE DEMANDED OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE TO LIVE IN HIS HOUSES.

I THINK HE WAS ONE OF THE MORE CONTROLLING ARCHITECTS YOU COULD HAVE EVER MET.

Narrator: PEOPLE PUT UP WITH IT ALL BECAUSE OF WRIGHT'S ENORMOUS CHARM AND HIS ABILITY TO INFUSE THEM WITH THE EXCITEMENT HE SEEMED ABLE TO SUMMON UP FOR EVERY PROJECT.

HE BELIEVED HIS CLIENTS WERE PRIVILEGED TO BE WORKING WITH HIM AND SOMEHOW MADE THEM BELIEVE IT, TOO, EVEN THOUGH HIS BUILDINGS WOULD COST FAR MORE THAN HIS ORIGINAL ESTIMATES.

Gill: THEY WOULD HAVE TO FORGIVE HIM.

THEY HAD NO CHOICE.

AND, OF COURSE, HE WAS PERFECTLY CONSCIOUS OF HOW SPELLBINDING HE WAS IN BEING ABLE TO SELL A PROJECT, BUT HE ALSO WAS GIVING FULL VALUE.

Narrator: WRIGHT'S PRACTICE WAS BRINGING IN A LOT OF MONEY, BUT HE WAS SPENDING STILL MORE.

THE SHERIFF OF OAK PARK ONCE HAD TO SPEND THE NIGHT IN HIS KITCHEN FOR FEAR WRIGHT WOULD LEAVE TOWN BEFORE ONE OF HIS CHECKS HAD SAFELY CLEARED.

"IT WAS MY MISFORTUNE," WRIGHT ONCE COMPLAINED, "THAT EVERYBODY WAS WILLING TO TRUST ME."

Gill: HE NEVER FELT ALTOGETHER CONTENT EXCEPT WHEN HE WAS DESPERATELY IN DEBT, AND HIS SON WROTE ABOUT THE TIME WHEN HIS FATHER, BORROWING MONEY FROM A FRIEND, THEN WENT OUT AND BOUGHT 2 OR 3 GRAND PIANOS SO AS TO BE DEEPLY IN DEBT AGAIN, ALL WITHIN 8 OR 9 HOURS, YOU KNOW.

HE FELT SO GOOD ON THE EDGE.

THE EDGE WAS WHAT GAVE HIM THE STIMULUS.

PLAINLY, HIS ADRENALINE WAS FILLING HIM UP TO THE BRIM WHEN HE WAS IN DESPERATE TROUBLE OF THAT KIND.

Cronon: HE'S, IN A SENSE, A MAN WHO NEVER GREW UP.

HE REMAINED A KIND OF GOLDEN BOY ALL OF HIS LIFE.

BOTH HIS GREATEST STRENGTHS AND HIS GREATEST WEAKNESSES COME FROM HIS CHILDISHNESS.

HE'S SO PLAYFUL.

HE'S SO SUPPLE.

HE'S SO MALLEABLE.

HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS AND GET AWAY WITH IT.

HE'S USED TO GETTING AWAY WITH THINGS, AND IT MEANS THAT HE CAN PLAY WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY LIKE A CHILD, NOT WORRYING ABOUT EVER PAYING HIS DEBTS.

Narrator: "BETTER BE VERY CAREFUL IN YOUR DEALING WITH HIM," ONE BATTERED CLIENT WARNED ANOTHER.

"IF HE IS SANE, HE IS DANGEROUS."

Wallace: I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ATTEND NO CHURCH.

Frank Lloyd Wright: I ATTEND THE GREATEST OF ALL CHURCHES.

I PUT A CAPITAL "N" ON NATURE AND CALL IT MY CHURCH.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CHURCH ARCHITECTURE IN THE UNITED STATES?

I THINK IT'S, OF COURSE, A GREAT SHAME.

BECAUSE IT IMPROPERLY REFLECTS THE IDEA OF RELIGION?

BECAUSE IT IS A PARROT AND MONKEY REFLECTION AND NO REFLECTION OF RELIGION.

[BELL DINGING] Narrator: IN 1905, THE UNITARIAN CHURCH OF OAK PARK BURNED TO THE GROUND.

ITS PROGRESSIVE MINISTER AND MOST OF HIS CONGREGATION WANTED TO REPLACE IT WITH A BOLD NEW ARCHITECTURAL STATEMENT.

THEY GAVE THE CONTRACT TO ONE OF THEIR OWN MEMBERS-- FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

"WHY HAVE THE STEEPLE OF THE LITTLE WHITE CHURCH?"

HE SAID.

"WHY POINT TO HEAVEN?

WHY NOT BUILD A TEMPLE TO MAN APPROPRIATE TO HIS USES AS A MEETING PLACE?"

THE EXTERIOR OF HIS UNITY TEMPLE WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER CHURCH ANYWHERE.

SOME DISAPPOINTED WORSHIPPERS COMPARED IT TO A PRISON GATEHOUSE, AN ICE FACTORY, A MAYAN HANDBALL COURT.

BUT THE INTERIOR WAS SOMETHING ELSE AGAIN.

Philip Johnson: YOU COME IN THE BACK DOOR OF THAT CHAPEL.

YOU COULD HEAR THE CHURCH, BUT YOU COULDN'T SEE, AND THEN YOU MADE THE 3 TURNS.

EVERY TURN IS A VERY DIFFICULT THING.

A RIGHT-ANGLE TURN IS A WRENCH, BUT HE KNEW YOU DIDN'T GO VERY FAR.

IT'S A SMALL CHURCH, AND THEN BEING FORCED TO TURN MAKES YOU START OVER A NEW LIFE.

AND BY SLOWING YOU DOWN WITH A RIGHT-ANGLE TURN, HE PREPARED YOU INTENTIONALLY FOR THE SURPRISE OF THE RELIGIOUS FEELING.

Neil Levine: WHEN YOU COME INTO THE CHURCH, YOU COME IN UPSTAIRS ONTO THE AUDITORIUM FLOOR WHICH IS LIKE A RAISED PLATFORM, WHICH THEREFORE COMES TO BE A SPIRITUAL PLANE.

IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S AS IF YOU'VE RISEN UP TO A PLANE WHICH IS FLOATING LITERALLY IN AIR BECAUSE IT'S SURROUNDED BY THESE DEPRESSED CLOISTERS ON ALL 4 SIDES, STANDING ON THIS RAISED PLANE WITH SPACE DROPPING AWAY FROM YOU ON EVERY SIDE.

IT'S LIKE BEING ON A KIND OF PLATEAU OR MOUNTAINTOP OUT ON THE LANDSCAPE, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT GIVES IT ITS SPIRITUALITY.

Scully: IT'S NOT A BIG BUILDING, BUT I THINK IT'S THE BIGGEST SPACE IN AMERICA.

IT'S A SQUARE INSIDE LIKE THE OLD MEETINGHOUSES, AND AS IN THE OLD MEETINGHOUSES, THE PREACHER IS ON ONE SIDE, AND THEN PEOPLE ARE ON THE OTHER 3 SIDES, AND THEY'RE LOOKING INTO EACH OTHER'S FACES AS WELL AS INTO HIS.

SO THERE'S AN ENORMOUS SENSE OF COMMUNITY.

Goldberger: IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY BUILDING BECAUSE IT HAS STAGGERING CIVIC DIGNITY TO IT, AND WHAT WRIGHT WANTED TO DO WAS SHOW THAT YOU CAN MAKE A MODERN MONUMENTAL PUBLIC PLACE.

THAT WAS THE REAL IMPORTANCE OF UNITY TEMPLE.

Eric Lloyd Wright: I ALWAYS REMEMBER MY FATHER TALKING ABOUT HOW MY GRANDFATHER WOULD WORK LATE INTO THE NIGHT.

HE'D HEAR HIM PLAYING THE PIANO.

IT WOULD BE 12:00, 1:00 AT NIGHT THAT HE'D COME IN FROM THE OFFICE.

I THINK A LOT OF MY FATHER'S LOOKING BACK WAS A GREAT DEAL OF NOSTALGIA, I THINK YEARNING TO HAVE HAD MORE OF A RELATIONSHIP.

I OFTEN WONDER JUST HOW HAPPY THINGS WERE.

Narrator: BY 1909, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT SEEMED TO HAVE EVERYTHING AN AMBITIOUS ARCHITECT COULD WANT-- A SUCCESSFUL CAREER, A COMFORTABLE HOME, A LOVING WIFE AND FAMILY.

BUT APPEARANCES WERE DECEIVING.

HIS PRACTICE WAS FLOURISHING, BUT HE HAD NO PROSPECTS FOR ANY MORE BIG JOBS, AND HE FELT THAT HE HAD DONE ALL HE COULD DO WITH THE PRAIRIE STYLE.

"I WAS LOSING MY GRIP ON MY WORK," WRIGHT REMEMBERED, "AND EVEN MY INTEREST IN IT.

I COULD SEE NO WAY OUT."

Levine: HE WAS NOT GETTING THE KIND OF RECOGNITION THAT HE FELT HE DESERVED, AND, AS A RESULT, WAS NOT GETTING THE KIND OF LARGE-SCALE BUILDING PROJECTS THAT HE DESERVED.

Stern: HERE HE WAS PUSHING 40 AT THAT TIME, AND HE HAD NOT HAD, EXCEPT FOR THE UNITY TEMPLE AND THE LARKIN BUILDING, A MAJOR COMMISSION.

HOW MANY 3-BEDROOM HOUSES CAN YOU DO?

HOW MANY DIFFERENT WAYS CAN YOU DO THEM?

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU MEET WITH MRS. JONES OR MRS. SMITH AND TALK ABOUT HER CLOSETS WITHOUT GOING NUTS?

Narrator: AND THERE WAS TROUBLE AT HOME, TOO.

HE AND KITTY WERE GROWING APART.

HE WAS AN ARCHITECT, HE ONCE EXPLAINED.

HER PROFESSION WAS MOTHERHOOD, AND HE GREW TO RESENT THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION SHE PAID TO THE CHILDREN.

HE HATED BEING CALLED PAPA, REFUSED TO PLAY ANY PART IN DISCIPLINING HIS CHILDREN, COMPLAINED WHEN THEY INTERRUPTED HIS WORK.

WRIGHT WAS NEVER A FATHER IN THE CLASSIC SENSE.

THERE ARE PICTURES OF HIM WITH HIS FAMILY.

HE'S ALWAYS SITTING A LITTLE BIT TO ONE SIDE.

HE'S NOT REALLY THEIR FATHER.

HE'S MORE LIKE A KID AMONG ALL THESE OTHER KIDS AND, IN A WAY, JUST AS COMPETITIVE FOR THE AFFECTION OF MOTHER, BUT I THINK THAT WRIGHT NEVER EVER WAS A REAL FATHER.

[CHILDREN SHOUTING] Narrator: "I HAVE HAD THE FATHER FEELING FOR A BUILDING," HE ONCE SAID, "BUT I NEVER HAD IT FOR MY CHILDREN."

A FEW BLOCKS AWAY, IN A HANDSOME HOUSE WRIGHT HAD DESIGNED FOR THEM, LIVED EDWIN CHENEY AND HIS WIFE, MAMAH BORTHWICK CHENEY.

THEY WERE GOOD FRIENDS OF BOTH THE WRIGHTS, BUT NOW WRIGHT'S RELATIONSHIP WITH MAMAH RIPENED INTO SOMETHING ELSE.

SHE WAS VIVACIOUS, INTELLECTUAL, ARTISTIC, AND UNSATISFIED WITH THE TRADITIONAL ROLE OF WIFE AND MOTHER.

Secrest: SHE WAS A WRITER.

SHE WAS AN EARLY FEMINIST.

SHE WAS NOT YOUR ORDINARY, RUN-OF-THE-MILL KIND OF SUBURBAN HOUSEWIFE.

Narrator: THEIR AFFAIR BEGAN WITH LONG RIDES IN WRIGHT'S BRIGHT YELLOW ROADSTER.

SOON THEY BECAME THE TALK OF OAK PARK.

WRIGHT DIDN'T CARE.

HE WAS CAPTIVATED WITH HIS NEW LOVE.

Secrest: I THINK THE CLUE HERE IS THAT SHE WAS ALL FOR HIM IN A WAY THAT KITTY WAS NO LONGER.

KITTY WAS MUCH TOO INVOLVED IN THOSE 6 CHILDREN TO PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO FRANK, AND MAMAH WAS-- NEVER MADE THAT MISTAKE.

Narrator: EVENTUALLY, KITTY DISCOVERED WHAT WAS HAPPENING BUT DECIDED TO IGNORE HER HUSBAND'S INFIDELITY IN THE HOPE THAT IT WAS AN INFATUATION THAT WOULD NOT LAST, BUT IT DID LAST.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1908, WRIGHT ASKED KITTY FOR A DIVORCE.

SHE REFUSED.

A YEAR LATER, HE ASKED HER AGAIN.

AGAIN SHE SAID NO.

THEN, IN OCTOBER OF 1909, WITH NO WARNING TO ANYONE, WRIGHT CLOSED HIS STUDIO, ABANDONED KITTY AND THEIR 6 CHILDREN, AND RAN OFF TO EUROPE WITH MAMAH CHENEY, WHO LEFT HER HUSBAND AND CHILDREN BEHIND TO JOIN HIM.

"ALL HE LEFT," WRIGHT'S SON DAVID REMEMBERED, "WERE BILLS TO BE PAID."

AS I SAID, WHEN HE LEFT HOME, HE LEFT MY MOTHER WITH A GROCERY BILL OF OVER $900, WHICH WAS PRETTY HIGH AT THAT TIME.

THE BUTCHER SHOPS AND THE GROCERY SHOPS WERE VERY KIND TO US THERE ON CHICAGO AVENUE.

Narrator: FRANK HAD NEVER FORGIVEN HIS FATHER FOR DESERTING HIS FAMILY.

NOW, AT AGE 42, AFTER NEARLY TWO DECADES OF MARRIAGE, HE HAD DONE PRECISELY THE SAME THING.

Eric Lloyd Wright: THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF TENSION, ESPECIALLY WHEN MY GRANDFATHER LEFT THE FAMILY.

THERE WAS ACTUALLY PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, AND MY FATHER ATTACKED MY GRANDFATHER WHEN HE WAS LEAVING, AND, UM...

SO THERE WAS, UH...

THERE WAS TENSION THERE.

Narrator: "I WENT OUT INTO THE UNKNOWN," WRIGHT WROTE LATER, "TO TEST FAITH IN FREEDOM, TEST FAITH IN LIFE, AS I HAD ALREADY TESTED FAITH IN WORK."

AT FIRST, KITTY REFUSED TO BLAME HER HUSBAND.

HER OLD FRIEND MAMAH CHENEY, SHE TOLD A REPORTER, WAS A VAMP.

David Wright: SHE WAS VERY MUCH IN LOVE WITH HIM.

SHE WOULDN'T GIVE HIM A DIVORCE FOR SEVERAL YEARS AFTER HE LEFT HOME.

SHE WAS ALWAYS HOPING THAT HE WOULD COME BACK, BUT HE NEVER DID.

Narrator: NOW A PUBLIC SCANDAL ERUPTED.

NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED EDITORIALS CONDEMNING THE COUPLE.

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HELD WRIGHT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT IT CALLED "AN AFFINITY TRIANGLE UNPARALLELED EVEN IN THE HISTORY OF SOUL MATING."

IN OAK PARK, THE PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER PREACHED THAT "SUCH A MAN AS WRIGHT "HAS LOST ALL SENSE OF MORALITY AND RELIGION AND IS DAMNABLY TO BE BLAMED."

THE COUPLE TRAVELED TO BERLIN, WHERE HE PREPARED A PORTFOLIO OF HIS OWN WORK FOR PUBLICATION, AND THEN TO ITALY, WHERE HE DRANK IN ALL THE ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY HE COULD.

THEY STAYED ABROAD FOR A YEAR.

WRIGHT CALLED IT "VOLUNTARY EXILE."

Secrest: FRANK HAD REALLY CONSTRUCTED AN IDEA OF HIMSELF AS A SUPERIOR BEING.

HE WAS A CREATIVE ARTIST, AND HE REALLY, I THINK, INNOCENTLY THOUGHT THAT EVERYBODY ELSE WOULD THINK HE WAS A CREATIVE ARTIST, THEREFORE OUTSIDE THE BOUNDS OF CONVENTIONAL MORALITY.

Narrator: IN 1910, WRIGHT ABRUPTLY RETURNED TO OAK PARK.

HE WAS OUT OF MONEY AND ANXIOUS TO SEE HIS CHILDREN, WHO HAD BEEN SENDING LETTERS BEGGING HIM TO COME HOME.

MAMAH STAYED IN EUROPE.

KITTY DESPERATELY HOPED FOR A RECONCILIATION, BUT WRIGHT WAS LIVING APART FROM HIS WIFE NOW AND, USING BORROWED FUNDS, HAD BEGUN BUILDING ANOTHER HOME ON A HILLSIDE IN SPRING GREEN, WISCONSIN.

HE CALLED IT TALIESIN, WELSH FOR "SHINING BROW."

HE TOLD EVERYONE IT WAS TO BE A NEW HOUSE FOR HIS MOTHER, BUT HE REALLY MEANT TO SHARE IT WITH MAMAH ONCE SHE OBTAINED A DIVORCE.

Eric Lloyd Wright: HE, OF COURSE, COULD NO LONGER LIVE IN OAK PARK, AND EVEN CHICAGO WAS DIFFICULT.

HE HAD TO MOVE AWAY FROM THERE.

HE HAD TO HAVE A REFUGE, AND SO HE WENT BACK TO THE VALLEY OF HIS ANCESTORS, THE LLOYD JONES, AND THERE, OF COURSE, ON THIS HILLSIDE, HE WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS WONDERFUL TALIESIN.

Frank Lloyd Wright: IT MEANS "SHINING BROW," AND TALIESIN IS BUILT LIKE A BROW ON THE EDGE OF THE HILL, NOT ON TOP OF THE HILL, BECAUSE I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD NEVER BUILD ON TOP OF ANYTHING DIRECTLY.

IF YOU BUILD ON TOP OF THE HILL, YOU LOSE THE HILL.

Narrator: WRIGHT'S PLANS FOR TALIESIN WERE PARTIALLY INSPIRED BY THE VILLAS HE AND MAMAH HAD VISITED IN ITALY, BUT ITS MEANDERING DESIGN WAS HIS ALONE.

SO WAS ITS RELATION TO THE LAND.

THE OUTSIDE WALLS AND CHIMNEYS WERE BUILT FROM ROUGH LIMESTONE QUARRIED A FEW MILES AWAY.

INNER WALLS WERE COVERED WITH PLASTER MADE FROM SAND FROM THE BANKS OF THE WISCONSIN RIVER.

THE ROOF'S WEATHERED CEDAR SHINGLES WERE MEANT TO BE THE COLOR OF TREE TRUNKS AT DUSK.

"I WISH TO BE PART OF MY BELOVED WISCONSIN," HE WROTE.

"MY HOUSE IS MADE OUT OF THE ROCKS AND TREES OF THE REGION.

IT IS PART OF THE HILL ON WHICH IT STANDS."

Eric Lloyd Wright: IT WAS, TO HIM, A RETREAT.

THIS WAS A SANCTUARY.

IT WAS A MEETING POINT THERE OF THE SPIRIT AND THE SOUL, OF NATURE AND OF HUMAN BEINGS COMING TOGETHER, AND TO HIM, IT WAS A SACRED THING THAT WAS HAPPENING HERE.

Gill: LIKE ANY ARCHITECT, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WANTED TO MAKE HIS OWN HOUSE AN EPITOME OF EVERYTHING HE STOOD FOR EMOTIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY, TECHNICALLY, AND SO HE BUILT THIS GREAT LONG, RAMBLING, BEAUTIFUL, HUGGING-THE-GROUND HOUSE, AND IT WAS GOING TO BE HIS STATEMENT TO THE WORLD.

AND HE KEPT LOSING IT-- MORTGAGES UNPAID, BANK WOULD TAKE IT, HE'D GET IT BACK, HE'D INCORPORATE HIMSELF AND FOUND A NEW METHOD OF OUTWITTING EVERYBODY AROUND HIM, AND HE HUNG ONTO THAT TO HIS DYING DAY.

IT WAS PERFECTLY WONDERFUL HOW HE MANIPULATED EVERYBODY TO PRESERVE HIS HOUSE, BUT THE HOUSE ITSELF WAS AND IS A WONDER.

Levine: TALIESIN IS, I THINK, THE MOST IMPORTANT BUILDING WRIGHT EVER DID.

I THINK IT WAS THE BUILDING THAT WRIGHT PUT MORE INTO THAN ANY OTHER, NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF PERSONAL PHYSICAL LABOR, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF THINKING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE.

Narrator: TO WRIGHT, TALIESIN WAS THE PERFECT EMBODIMENT OF WHAT HE LIKED TO CALL "ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE."

Cronon: I THINK WE'RE VERY LIKELY TO MISUNDERSTAND WRIGHT WHEN HE USES THAT WORD "ORGANIC" BECAUSE WHAT WE THINK, WE MEAN WHEN WE USE THE WORD "ORGANIC" IS SOMETHING THAT'S JUST TAKEN RIGHT OUT OF PRISTINE, PURE NATURE AND USED IN A NATURAL WAY.

THAT'S NOT WHAT WRIGHT MEANT BY "ORGANIC" OR "NATURAL" AT ALL.

WHAT HE MEANT WAS THINGS TAKEN FROM NATURE THAT INSPIRE THE ARTIST TO SEE BEYOND THOSE NATURAL FORMS TO SOME IDEAL, ALMOST DIVINE FORM THAT LAY BEHIND THAT NATURAL FORM.

AND SO IT WAS THE JOB OF THE ARTIST TO CREATE A VISION OF NATURE THAT WAS MORE NATURAL THAN NATURE ITSELF.

Narrator: MAMAH CHENEY RETURNED FROM EUROPE AND FINALLY GOT HER DIVORCE IN THE SUMMER OF 1911, AND WHEN KITTY WRIGHT AGAIN REFUSED EVEN TO CONSIDER GRANTING ONE TO FRANK, HE MOVED TO TALIESIN ANYWAY TO BE WITH MAMAH.

THE SCANDAL WAS REBORN.

A REPORTER NOTED THAT WRIGHT HAD BEEN SPOTTED CARRYING CHENEY ACROSS A STREAM AND THAT SHE HAD EXHIBITED "A GOOD DEAL OF LINGERIE "OF A QUALITY NOT OFTEN ON DISPLAY IN THAT PART OF WISCONSIN."

ON CHRISTMAS DAY, 1911, A DEFIANT WRIGHT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE TO EXPLAIN HIS ACTIONS TO THE WORLD.

"THE ORDINARY MAN CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT RULES TO GUIDE HIS CONDUCT," HE SAID.

HE, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, WAS NOT ORDINARY.

Eric Lloyd Wright: MY GRANDFATHER ALWAYS SAID, "YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN THE NOW.

WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING," AND I THINK HE REALLY LIVED THAT WAY, AND HE DIDN'T LOOK BACK.

Narrator: MAMAH AND FRANK WOULD LIVE TOGETHER AT TALIESIN FOR 3 YEARS, DOING THEIR BEST TO IGNORE THE ENDLESS GOSSIP.

SHE WORKED ON A BOOK, RAN THE HOUSEHOLD, AND ENJOYED HER CHILDREN'S OCCASIONAL VISITS.

HE TRIED TO MAKE AMENDS WITH HIS OWN CHILDREN AND STRUGGLED TO REBUILD HIS PRACTICE, NEARLY DESTROYED BY THE SCANDAL.

WRIGHT MANAGED TO LAND THE COMMISSION FOR THE MIDWAY GARDENS ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE, A WHOLE BLOCK TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO A EUROPEAN-STYLE PLEASURE GARDEN.

ASSISTED NOW BY HIS SON JOHN, WRIGHT HURLED HIMSELF INTO THE CONSTRUCTION, RETURNING TO TALIESIN EACH WEEKEND TO BE WITH HIS MISTRESS.

Secrest: IN AUGUST OF 1914, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS IN CHICAGO WORKING ON THE MIDWAY GARDENS, AND HE HAD LEFT MAMAH BORTHWICK IN TALIESIN.

SHE WAS THERE FOR THE WEEKEND, AND SHE HAD HER TWO CHILDREN.

HER BOY AND A GIRL WERE THERE.

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OTHER WORKMEN THERE, AND THEY WERE ALL HAVING LUNCH ONE DAY WHEN SOMETHING SO AWFUL HAPPENED THAT I THINK IT'S THE GREATEST TRAGEDY OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S LIFE.

Narrator: WRIGHT HAD HIRED A WEST INDIAN NAMED JULIAN CARLTON TO SERVE AS BUTLER AND HANDYMAN AT TALIESIN.

CARLTON'S WIFE WAS TO BE THE COOK, BUT SOMETHING WENT WRONG.

NO ONE WOULD EVER KNOW WHAT IT WAS, AND MAMAH MAY HAVE TOLD THEM THEY WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE.

Secrest: THE FINAL MEAL THAT THEY WERE TO SERVE WAS LUNCH ON SATURDAY.

JULIAN CARLTON APPEARED IN HIS WHITE JACKET AND SERVED LUNCH AS USUAL, AND HE THEN ASKED PERMISSION TO CLEAN SOME CARPETS WITH GASOLINE.

HE WAS GIVEN THAT PERMISSION.

HE WENT OUTSIDE, AND INSTEAD OF POURING IT ON THE CARPETS, POURED IT ALL THE WAY AROUND THE OUTSIDES OF THE WINDOWS AND DOORS.

Narrator: AS MAMAH AND THE OTHERS WERE EATING THEIR LUNCH, CARLTON QUIETLY BOLTED THE WINDOWS AND ALL BUT ONE OF THE DOORS.

THEN HE LIT THE GASOLINE.

IN SECONDS, THE HOUSE WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES.

WHEN THOSE INSIDE TRIED TO FLEE, CARLTON HACKED THEM TO DEATH WITH AN AX.

Secrest: IF YOU CAN IMAGINE, THIS ALL HAPPENED IN A FRACTION OF A SECOND.

HE HAD KILLED MAMAH BORTHWICK BY SPLITTING HER SKULL.

HE ALSO DID THE SAME WITH HER SON.

HE ATTACKED HER DAUGHTER.

EVERYTHING WAS IN DISARRAY.

PEOPLE WERE SCREAMING, TRYING TO JUMP OUT OF WINDOWS.

THEY WERE A STORY AND A HALF ABOVE THE GROUND.

ONE MAN JUMPED OUT, BROKE HIS ARM, AND WAS IN FLAMES, WAS ROLLING ON THE GROUND.

OTHER MEN WERE BEING BUTCHERED.

Narrator: WRIGHT WAS IN CHICAGO WHEN THE NEWS CAME.

FRANK WAS CALLED TO THE TELEPHONE, AND HE CAME BACK IN THE ROOM, AND JOHN, HIS SON, SAID, "WHO WAS THAT?"

AND HIS FATHER DIDN'T REPLY, AND HE TURNED AROUND AND LOOKED AT HIS FATHER, AND HIS FATHER WAS STAGGERING AGAINST THE TABLE.

HIS FACE WAS ASHEN, YOU KNOW, JUST ASHEN.

OF THE 9 PEOPLE WHO HAD SAT DOWN TO DINNER, 7 WERE DEAD OR DYING.

[CROW CAWING] Narrator: IN HIS GRIEF, HE REFUSED TO LET THE UNDERTAKER TOUCH THE BODY OF THE WOMAN HE HAD LOVED.

INSTEAD, HE HAD HIS OWN CARPENTERS FASHION A SIMPLE WOODEN BOX FOR HER.

THERE WAS NO FORMAL FUNERAL, EITHER.

THE COFFIN WAS PLACED ABOARD A PLAIN FARM WAGON COVERED WITH FLOWERS AND DRAWN BY HORSES.

WRIGHT'S ELDEST SON AND TWO COUSINS HELPED HIM BURY HER IN THE LITTLE CEMETERY BEHIND HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY CHAPEL.

"I WANTED TO FILL THE GRAVE MYSELF," WRIGHT REMEMBERED.

"NO MONUMENT MARKS THE SPOT WHERE MAMAH WAS BURIED.

WHY MARK THE SPOT WHERE DESOLATION ENDED AND BEGAN?"

Secrest: I SUPPOSE SOMEONE YOU HAVE LOST, AS FRANK LOST MAMAH BORTHWICK, IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE ONE YOU FANTASIZE ABOUT.

AND I SOMETIMES THINK THAT HAD MAMAH LIVED, FRANK'S LIFE MIGHT HAVE TAKEN AN ENTIRELY OTHER TACK.

I THINK SHE WOULD HAVE STABILIZED HIM, AND I THINK HE NEVER FORGOT HER.

Narrator: "THERE IS RELEASE FROM ANGUISH IN ACTION," FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WROTE LATER, AND HE CONSOLED HIMSELF THE ONLY WAY HE KNEW HOW-- BY LOSING HIMSELF IN HIS WORK.

HE COMPLETED MIDWAY GARDENS, BEGAN TO REBUILD A NEW TALIESIN ON THE ASHES OF THE OLD, LOBBIED FOR NEW COMMISSIONS.

Gill: IT WASN'T IN HIS NATURE TO SUFFER PROLONGED BOUTS OF WHATEVER CAUSE.

HE BOUNCED BACK.

HE LIKED TO BE ON THE EDGE, AND THIS WAS ANOTHER CASE WHERE TRAGEDY PROVIDED AN EDGE, AND THEN HE CAME BACK AND STARTED LIFE OVER.

Narrator: IN 1916, WRIGHT SAILED FOR JAPAN TO BEGIN WORK ON A PROJECT THAT WOULD DWARF EVERYTHING HE HAD EVER DONE BEFORE.

THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN HAD DECREED THAT THERE SHOULD BE A MONUMENTAL, WESTERN-STYLE HOTEL IN TOKYO TO ATTRACT INVESTORS FROM ABROAD.

WRIGHT HAD ALWAYS LOVED JAPANESE ART AND CULTURE AND HAD FOUGHT HARD TO GET THE COMMISSION.

HE WOULD SPEND MOST OF THE NEXT 6 YEARS IN TOKYO, OVERSEEING ITS DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

Levine: THE IMPERIAL HOTEL WAS SOMETHING THAT WRIGHT, I THINK, REALLY, REALLY WANTED BADLY.

FIRST OF ALL, HE HAD NEVER GOTTEN A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION, AND HE HAD NEVER DONE A BUILDING OF THAT SCOPE.

Narrator: THE VAST HOTEL WOULD CONTAIN 285 GUEST ROOMS AND WOULD COST MORE THAN $4 MILLION.

WRIGHT DESIGNED EVERYTHING, EVEN THE DINNER PLATES AND HOTEL STATIONERY.

Levine: AND THE PROBLEM HE FACED WAS TO DESIGN A HOTEL THAT WOULD REFLECT BOTH JAPANESE ATTITUDES AND, OF COURSE, WESTERN ATTITUDES BECAUSE IF IT WASN'T TO REFLECT WESTERN ATTITUDES, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE ASKED HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE.

HE WAS INTERESTED IN CREATING A BUILDING, AS HE SAID, "THAT WOULD BRING THE JAPANESE TO THEIR FEET."

Narrator: WRIGHT WORKED HARD TO ENSURE THAT THE BUILDING WOULD BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE EARTHQUAKES JAPAN WAS FAMOUS FOR.

HIS DESIGN CALLED FOR THE HOTEL'S WALLS TO BE THICKER AT THE BOTTOM THAN AT THE TOP AND TO MOVE INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER.

HE SPECIFIED A COPPER ROOF INSTEAD OF THE TRADITIONAL TILES AND AN UNUSUAL FOUNDATION OF CONCRETE POSTS THAT WOULD ANCHOR THE BUILDING IN THE UNSTABLE MUD THAT LAY BENEATH IT.

Goldberger: WE THINK OF WRIGHT AS THIS TRIUMPHANT CREATOR OF BRILLIANT AESTHETIC OBJECTS, WHICH INDEED HE WAS, BUT HE WAS ALSO A GREAT ENGINEER.

HE DID PHENOMENALLY INTERESTING THINGS FROM AN ENGINEERING STANDPOINT, AND HE NEVER FORGOT A SENSE THAT ARCHITECTURE IS CONSTRUCTION AS MUCH AS IT'S ART.

Narrator: COVERED WITH ORNATE STONE CARVINGS, THE IMPERIAL HOTEL WAS ONE OF THE LAST GREAT HANDCRAFTED BUILDINGS OF THE 20th CENTURY.

WHEN THE IMPERIAL WAS FINALLY COMPLETED, WRIGHT'S JAPANESE CLIENTS WERE DELIGHTED.

NOT LONG AFTERWARD, A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE LEVELED TOKYO.

WRIGHT, BACK IN THE UNITED STATES, WAITED ANXIOUSLY TO LEARN THE FATE OF HIS HOTEL.

Man: SEPTEMBER 8, 1923.

DEAR MR. WRIGHT...

THE FIRST SHOCK WAS ENOUGH TO LAY MANY BUILDINGS FLAT, AND THE SECOND SHOCK EASILY LEVELED WHAT THE FIRST HAD LOOSENED.

FIRE BILLOWED FROM EVERY HOUSE, AND THOSE PEOPLE WHO SURVIVED THE CRUSH AND SOUGHT PLACES OF SAFETY OUT IN THE OPEN WERE KILLED BY THE SMOKE AND SCORCHING HOT AIR, ROASTED BY HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS.

ALL STEEL BUILDINGS PROVED FATAL...

ENOUGH TO SHOW THAT OUR ARCHITECTS WERE FOOLS.

WHAT A GLORY IT IS TO SEE THE IMPERIAL STANDING AMIDST THE ASHES OF A WHOLE CITY.

GLORY TO YOU.

SINCERELY, ARATA ENDO.

Narrator: MANY OTHER BUILDINGS SURVIVED AS WELL, BUT THE LEGEND GREW, ENCOURAGED BY WRIGHT, THAT HIS HOTEL ALONE HAD SURVIVED.

NOW HE WAS SURE HE WOULD BE SEEN AS AN ENGINEERING GENIUS AS WELL AS A GREAT ARCHITECT.

Woman: DECEMBER 12, 1914.

MY DEAR SIR, BECAUSE I STAND AGHAST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF YOUR SORROW, BECAUSE MY OWN SOUL HAS BEEN CHASTENED BY GRIEF... Narrator: SHORTLY AFTER THE DEATH OF MAMAH CHENEY, WRIGHT HAD RECEIVED A SYMPATHY LETTER FROM A WOMAN WHO ASKED TO SEE HIM.

SHE, TOO, WAS AN ARTIST, SHE SAID, A SCULPTRESS, AND HAD SUFFERED TERRIBLE LOSSES-- FIRST, THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND, THEN ABANDONMENT BY A LOVER.

Woman: ...AND FEEL THAT LAST TOUCH IN THE ALLNESS OF THE UNIVERSE.

SINCERELY, MADAM NOEL.

Narrator: MIRIAM NOEL WAS CULTURED, WEALTHY, THEATRICAL, AND SHE WAS INFATUATED WITH WRIGHT, WHOM SHE CALLED "LORD OF MY WAKING DREAMS."

Secrest: SHE WAS A SOUTHERNER WHO HAD SOMEHOW GOTTEN HERSELF TO PARIS, YOU KNOW, AND HAD SET UP A SALON THERE AND CLAIMED TO KNOW LEON TROTSKY AND CLAIMED TO HAVE ALL KINDS OF IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS.

Narrator: SOON WRIGHT HAD MOVED NOEL INTO THE REBUILT TALIESIN AND THEN TOOK HER WITH HIM TO JAPAN WHILE HE WORKED ON THE IMPERIAL HOTEL.

IT WOULD PROVE A DISASTROUS MISTAKE.

MIRIAM WAS VIOLENT, UNSTABLE, AND ADDICTED TO MORPHINE.

THEY QUARRELED FROM THE FIRST.

HE DENOUNCED THE FOOD SHE COOKED, THE CLOTHES SHE WORE.

SHE ACCUSED HIM OF INFIDELITY, OF BEING TOO MUCH UNDER THE THUMB OF HIS MOTHER, WHO HATED HER.

STILL, THEY WOULD STAY TOGETHER FOR MORE THAN 8 CONTENTIOUS YEARS.

THEN, IN 1923, KITTY WRIGHT FINALLY GRANTED FRANK A DIVORCE.

THAT SAME YEAR, HIS MOTHER DIED, AND DESPITE ALL THE TENSION WITH MIRIAM, HE AGREED TO MARRY HER "IN AN EFFORT TO CALM HER," HE WOULD SAY LATER.

IT DIDN'T WORK.

Man: HE DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT HE WAS GETTING INTO.

HE DIDN'T REALIZE THAT SHE HAD A PROBLEM WITH ALCOHOL AND WITH MORPHINE.

HE DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE LIFE THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE WAS GOING TO BE A LIFE OF ABSOLUTE AGONY.

IT WAS JUST A DOOMED RELATIONSHIP FROM THE BEGINNING.

Narrator: WRIGHT FOUND SOME COMFORT IN 4 SMALL COMMISSIONS HE DRUMMED UP IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

THERE HE EXPERIMENTED WITH PATTERNED CONCRETE FORMS, WHICH HE CALLED TEXTILE BLOCKS.

DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM ANCIENT MAYAN ARCHITECTURE, WRIGHT WANTED TO CREATE THOROUGHLY MODERN HOUSES THAT WERE AFFORDABLE, EASY TO MAINTAIN, AND FIREPROOF.

Stern: WRIGHT'S GENIUS IS TO CARRY IDEAS TO THEIR EXTREMES, TO DO THEM WITH A DISCIPLINE, A RIGOR, A SENSE OF THE PLAY OF LIGHT AND SHADE, THE SENSE OF THE SENSUOUSNESS OF SURFACE WHEN HE CHOSE TO DO THAT, AS IN THE TEXTILE BLOCKS, THAT IS MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE.

IT'S NOT THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE A GREAT GENIUS.

HE HAS A TOTAL GENIUS.

HE CAN MAKE US SEE ALL OF HISTORY AFRESH.

Narrator: ONE OF HIS CALIFORNIA HOUSES WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN SO ADMIRED BY ITS UNHAPPILY MARRIED OWNERS THAT NEITHER WOULD EVER AGREE TO A DIVORCE FOR FEAR OF HAVING TO MOVE OUT.

[HAMMERING] BUT THE CALIFORNIA HOUSES WERE PLAGUED WITH DIFFICULTIES.

THERE WERE COST OVERRUNS, LEAKY ROOFS AND WALLS, AND THE TEXTILE BLOCKS PROVED DIFFICULT TO FABRICATE, AND WRIGHT ESTRANGED HIMSELF FOR A TIME FROM HIS ELDEST SON, LLOYD, WHO HAD BEEN SUPERVISING THE CONSTRUCTION AND WHOM HE UNFAIRLY BLAMED FOR EVERYTHING THAT WENT WRONG.

"YOU ARE NOT REALLY RELIABLE," HE TOLD HIS SON.

"YOU WILL BUY WHEN YOU CAN'T PAY.

"YOU WILL ATTEMPT ANYTHING AND BLAME FAILURE ON OTHERS.

YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY THE WORST-MANNERED YOUNG MAN I KNOW."

Eric Lloyd Wright: MY GRANDFATHER-- AND MY FATHER WAS THE SAME WAY-- THEY WOULD GET INTO TERRIBLE TEMPER TANTRUMS AND JUST BLOW UP ABOUT SOMETHING AND JUST LAY EVERYBODY TO WASTE.

A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, THEY'D COME IN AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED, YOU KNOW.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAD ABOUT?"

OR "WHY ARE YOU NOT TALKING TO ME?"

AS IF NOTHING HAD BEEN HAPPENING, LIKE THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THE OUTBURST-- WHAT IT HAD CAUSED AND THE EMOTIONAL STRESS, AND THEY HAD MOVED ON, AND EVERYTHING WAS OK AGAIN.

Narrator: MEANWHILE, THERE WERE MORE QUARRELS BETWEEN WRIGHT AND MIRIAM AND MORE ACCUSATIONS.

SHE THREATENED HIM WITH A KNIFE, FINALLY STORMED OUT OF THE HOUSE IN THE SPRING OF 1924, VOWING NO OTHER WOMAN WOULD EVER HAVE HIM, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER WOMAN.

OLGIVANNA IVANOVA MILANOV HINZENBERG WAS JUST 26, LESS THAN HALF WRIGHT'S AGE.

BORN IN EASTERN EUROPE AND SEPARATED FROM HER GERMAN HUSBAND, SHE WAS A DISCIPLE OF GEORGEI IVANOVICH GURDJIEFF, A CHARISMATIC RUSSIAN MYSTIC WHO HAD ATTRACTED A LARGE INTERNATIONAL FOLLOWING TO HIS TEACHINGS THAT COMBINED EASTERN AND WESTERN PHILOSOPHY.

Secrest: HIS IDEA OF LIFE WAS THAT MOST PEOPLE WALKED AROUND ASLEEP AND THEY REALLY WEREN'T AWARE OF THEMSELVES AND AWARE OF THE LIFE AROUND THEM.

Narrator: WRIGHT MET OLGIVANNA BY CHANCE AT A BALLET PERFORMANCE IN CHICAGO.

Secrest: AND FRANK SAID SOMETHING TO HER ABOUT THE BALLET DANCERS, YOU KNOW, WHO WERE DOING SOME KIND OF CLASSICAL DANCE, AND HE SAID TO HER SOMETHING ABOUT, "WELL, MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE DANCING AS THOUGH THEY ARE ASLEEP."

SHE LOOKED AT HIM, AND SHE THOUGHT, "MY GOODNESS, HERE IS SOMEBODY WHO REALLY SEES WHAT'S GOING ON IN LIFE."

WOMEN IN THE TWENTIES ARE ALL DOLLED UP WITH LITTLE TIGHT CURLS AND LIPSTICK AND EVERYTHING, AND HERE WAS A PERSON WITH A VERY PLAIN, BEAUTIFUL, SLIGHTLY TANNED COMPLEXION, HAIR BROUGHT BACK VERY SIMPLY.

HER BEAUTY WAS SUCH OF NATURAL NATURE THAT IT APPEALED TO HIM BECAUSE HE LOVED THINGS THAT WERE NATURAL, AND THEIR LIFE BEGAN THERE-- BOTH MARRIED, BOTH SEEKING DIVORCES, BUT HE INVITED HER, A FEW WEEKS AFTER, TO COME UP TO TALIESIN, AND HE SAID TO HER, "COME WITH ME, OLGIVANNA, AND THEY WON'T SEE US FOR THE DUST."

Narrator: OLGIVANNA MOVED INTO TALIESIN.

SOON, SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH WRIGHT'S CHILD.

A WHOLE NEW ERA OF SCANDAL BEGAN.

MIRIAM, ENRAGED BY OLGIVANNA'S PRESENCE, WENT TO THE NEWSPAPERS, BROKE INTO THE HOUSE, THREATENED TO SHOOT THE LOVERS.

Secrest: AND SHE PURSUED THEM LIKE A VENGEFUL BAT OUT OF HELL.

SHE HOUNDED HIM UNTIL HE WAS BROKE.

SHE HOUNDED POOR OLGIVANNA UNTIL OLGIVANNA DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER SHE WAS ALIVE OR DEAD.

SHE THREW LAWSUITS AT THEM.

SHE STALKED THEM FROM ONE TOWN TO THE NEXT, FROM ONE STATE TO THE NEXT.

SHE DROVE THEM MAD FOR THE NEXT 3 OR 4 YEARS.

Narrator: OLGIVANNA'S EX-HUSBAND PURSUED THEM, TOO.

FINALLY, THE LOVERS FLED TO THE MINNESOTA WOODS, WHERE THEY HID OUT UNDER ASSUMED NAMES WHICH THEY COULD NEVER QUITE REMEMBER.

THE LOCAL SHERIFF ARRESTED WRIGHT.

HE WAS CHARGED WITH VIOLATING THE FEDERAL MANN ACT, WHICH MADE IT ILLEGAL TO CARRY A WOMAN ACROSS STATE LINES FOR "IMMORAL PURPOSES."

WRIGHT SPENT TWO NIGHTS IN JAIL BEFORE HIS LAWYERS COULD GET HIM OUT ON BAIL.

HE WAS BLAMELESS, HE TOLD THE PRESS.

THE ONLY SIN TO WHICH HE PLED GUILTY WAS WHAT HE CALLED "THE DEADLY SIN IN A DEMOCRACY OF HAVING IDEAS."

EVEN MEMBERS OF WRIGHT'S OWN FAMILY TURNED AGAINST HIM.

Man: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT WAS AN EMBARRASSING RELATIVE.

FOR MY FATHER, IN HIGH SCHOOL, HE WAS A TORMENT BECAUSE HERE WAS THIS GUY WHO WAS NOTORIOUS RATHER THAN-- HE WASN'T CELEBRATED AS THE GREAT AMERICAN GENIUS IN THE TWENTIES.

HE WAS REGARDED AS KIND OF A DANGEROUS MORAL INFLUENCE AND A MAN OF GREAT TALENT WHO WAS SQUANDERING HIS TALENT ON SALACIOUS ROMANTIC EPISODES AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.

Narrator: IN 1925, A FIRE DESTROYED THE SECOND TALIESIN, AND WHILE WRIGHT WAS REBUILDING IT, THE LOCAL BANK FORECLOSED ON THE MORTGAGE.

FRIENDS HAD TO BAIL HIM OUT.

BAD LUCK SEEMED TO HAUNT WRIGHT'S WORK AS WELL.

ALTHOUGH HUNDREDS OF SKYSCRAPERS WERE GOING UP IN CITIES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, FEW OF THE CORPORATIONS THAT WERE BUILDING THEM WERE WILLING TO TAKE A CHANCE ON THE NOTORIOUS FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT.

HE DID MANAGE TO WIN COMMISSIONS FOR AN EXTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS, A SUMMER COLONY AT LAKE TAHOE, AND A STEEL CATHEDRAL THAT WOULD SEAT ONE MILLION WORSHIPPERS IN NEW YORK CITY, BUT NONE OF THEM WERE EVER BUILT.

IT'S ODD THAT WHEN THE COUNTRY WAS FLOURISHING, WRIGHT WAS NOT.

DURING THE BOOM TIME OF THE TWENTIES, HIS CAREER WAS AT ROCK BOTTOM.

WHEN HE WAS IN HIS 50s, THERE WERE ARTICLES ABOUT HOW THIS QUITE INTERESTING ARCHITECT BUT NOW A HAS-BEEN WAS BASICALLY WASHED UP.

HE HADN'T BUILT A BUILDING OF ANY CONSEQUENCE IN YEARS.

Narrator: IN AUGUST OF 1927, MIRIAM RELENTED AND GAVE HIM A DIVORCE, BUT WRIGHT WAS NOW PENNILESS.

FRIENDS AND FORMER CLIENTS AGREED TO PAY HIS ALIMONY FOR HIM.

HE AND OLGIVANNA WERE MARRIED ONE YEAR LATER AND RETURNED TO TALIESIN.

THEN CAME THE CRASH OF 1929, DESTROYING WRIGHT'S HOPE THAT HIS ONE REMAINING COMMISSION, AN ELABORATE RESORT IN THE ARIZONA DESERT, WOULD EVER BE BUILT.

Bruce Pfeiffer: IT WAS A TERRIBLE TIME.

IN A LETTER HE WROTE TO ONE OF HIS CLIENTS, HE SAID, "WE'RE CUTTING UP BED SHEETS TO MAKE HANDKERCHIEFS.

WE HAVEN'T BOUGHT ANY NEW CLOTHES IN 4 YEARS."

HIS SISTER MAGINEL LIVED IN NEW YORK AND GAVE MRS. WRIGHT A WARM WINTER WOOL COAT, A SECONDHAND DOWN COAT.

IT WAS LIKE GOLD TO HER.

Gill: EVERYTHING HE STRUGGLED TO DO TURNED TO DUST AND ASHES FOR A PERIOD OF MANY YEARS.

VERY FEW PEOPLE HAVE EVER SUCCEEDED IN RECOVERING FROM THAT DEGREE OF FAILURE, PERSISTENT FAILURE, AND NOT ALTOGETHER, FOR ONCE, HIS OWN FAULT.

Secrest: THE KINDS OF BUILDINGS THAT HE'D BEEN BUILDING AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY IN 1905, 1910, WERE SO FAR INTO THE PAST.

THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THINGS HE DID 20 YEARS BEFORE.

NOBODY WAS INTERESTED IN THE KINDS OF IDEAS THAT ARCHITECTURE OUGHT TO REFLECT THE NOBLEST VISION OF SOCIETY, YOU KNOW.

NOBODY WAS INTERESTED IN THAT CONCEPT ANYMORE.

WRIGHT'S POSITION, REALLY, AS HE WENT INTO HIS 60s, WAS PROBABLY THE MOST DESPERATE MOMENT OF HIS LIFE.

Narrator: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S CAREER LAY IN RUINS, A VICTIM OF CHANGING TIMES AND CHANGING FASHION, OF PERSONAL SCANDAL AND THE EXCESSES OF HIS OWN EGO.

HIS CRITICS WROTE HIM OFF AS OUT-OF-DATE, OLD-FASHIONED, BUT THEY HAD UNDERESTIMATED HIM.

IN THE YEARS TO COME, HE WOULD ECLIPSE EVERYTHING THAT HAD GONE BEFORE.