by Callista Meyer

Created on: May 19, 2008

June 1867 brought about a birth of a baby boy named Frank Lincoln Wright; whom later became a famous architect in Richland Center, Wisconsin known as Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank led a regular life with his parents, William Cary and Anna Lloyd. Following his parent's tragic divorce, Frank changed his name to Frank Lloyd. Once reaching 12 years of age, Frank and his family moved to Madison, where he spent his summers working at his uncle's farm. This is where Frank first gathered the notion that he wanted to be an architect. In 1885, Frank left Madison High school without finishing and began working for the Dean of Wisconsin's University Engineering Departmentand studying civil engineering before moving to Chicago in 1887.

Chicago brought Frank a new job working with architect Joseph Silsbee. Here Frank managed to draft the construction of his very first building, which he entitled the Lloyd-Jones family chapel which is sometimes referred to as Unity Chapel. After just one year, Frank left Silsbee and began to work with Adler and Sullivan's firm, working directly under Louis Sullivan. Frank claims that Sullivan was one of his primary influences. Most influential was Sullivan's theory that American architecture should be based on American lifestyle, NOT European traditions.

While working with Sullivan, Frank fell in love with Catherine Tobin, whom he moved to Illinois with and later raised together 5 children. In 1893, Frank and Sullivan stopped working together and Wright opened his own firm in Chicago, where he ran it in operation for 5 years before transferring it to his home in Illinois.

Frank's original houses displayed a special technique in the young man's ability. They took on the impression of a horizontal plane, with no basements or attics, his buildings were made of natural materials and not once were painted. Frank used low roof lines with deep overhangs and walls full of windows to make the buildings look as if they fit into their environments better. Most often, his homes included a large stone or brick fireplace in the home's center and also made the rooms open to each other without the complexity of hallways. These relaxed style homes proved to be an inspiration to the the 'Prairie School', a group of architectures of which Frank later became on of their chief practitioners.

In 1909, problems arose in Frank's home, which made him leave to Germany with a woman named Mamah Cheney. They returned in 1911, to Spring Green, Wisconsin where Frank's mother had

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