Child of the Sun is a collection of buildings designed by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

on the campus of the

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

. The twelve original buildings were constructed between 1941 and 1958. Another of Wright's designs, a

Usonian house Usonia () is a word that was used by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to refer to the United States in general (in preference to ''America''), and more specifically to his vision for the landscape of the country, including the planning of ...

originally intended for faculty housing, was completed in 2013, and is now part of the

Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center The Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center is a posthumous addition to Frank Lloyd Wright's Child of the Sun collection at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Wright oversaw the construction of twelve buildings on Florida Southern's c ...

. On March 2, 2012, it was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. The buildings are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, and together form the largest collection of buildings by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Design

Frank Lloyd Wright was retained by Florida Southern President Ludd M. Spivey in 1938 to develop a master plan for the expansion and growth of the college's campus. Wright was given the opportunity to the plan the campus using ideas about organic integration with the environment that the architect had been developing for some years. As basic design blocks for the campus, Wright adopted a plan based on the idea of orange groves, which have evenly spaced trees forming a grid. For construction, Wright used of textile blocks, which he had developed formally a decade before in his "Textile Block" houses in California. The buildings on the Florida Southern campus could be made of concrete blocks of standard size, whose use simplified design and construction of the buildings. Some of these blocks were formed by the college's students using local materials. The basic plan for the campus was based on ideas Wright had conceived as part of his

Broadacre City Broadacre City was an urban or suburban development concept proposed by Frank Lloyd Wright throughout most of his lifetime. He presented the idea in his book ''The Disappearing City'' in 1932. A few years later he unveiled a very detailed twelve- ...

idea of

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center

Opened in 2013, the Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center features a Wright-designed Usonian house and the GEICO Gift Shop. The center offers self-guided, docent-led, and group tours of this collection of the architect's work that Wright himself proclaimed to be among his best. It is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Buildings

The buildings within the district include: * Annie Pfeiffer Chapel first completed Frank Lloyd Wright structure on the campus, dedicated 1941 * Seminars (now the Financial Aid and Business Office) completed 1941 * Buckner Building (original Roux Library) completed 1946 * Watson/Fine Building (Administration Building) completed 1949 * Water Dome partially completed 1949, completed and restored in 2007 to Wright's original plans * Danforth Chapel completed 1955 * Ordway Building (originally called the Industrial Arts Building) completed 1952 * Polk County Science Building (called Polk Science by faculty and students) completed 1958 * The Esplanades various completion times, currently undergoing restoration

Gallery

File:Lakeland FSC Buckner Bldg pano01.jpg, Buckner Building File:Lakeland FSC Danforth Chapel pano01.jpg, Danforth Chapel File:COTSDanforthchapel1.jpg, Danforth Chapel File:COTSDanforthchapel2.jpg, Danforth Chapel File:COTSDanforthchapel3.jpg, Danforth Chapel (original FLW designed pew) File:Lakeland FSC esplanade01.jpg, Esplanade (walkway) File:FSC Esplanade HABS.jpg, Esplanade (walkway) File:COTSEsplanade.jpg, Esplanade (walkway) night File:COTSEsplanadepillar.jpg, Esplanade (walkway) pillar File:Lakeland FSC Ordway Bldg01.jpg, Ordway Building File:COTSOrdwaybuilding1.jpg, Ordway Building File:COTSOrdwaybuilding2.jpg, Ordway Building (interior courtyard) File:COTSOrdwaybuiding3.jpg, Ordway Building File:Pfeiffer Chapel HABS, FLA,53-LAKE,1A-14.jpg, Pfeiffer Chapel, 1941 File:COTSPfeifferchapel1.jpg, Pfeiffer Chapel File:COTSPfeifferchapel2.jpg, Pfeiffer Chapel File:Polkbuilding3.jpg, Polk Science Building (only FLW designed planetarium) File:COTSPolkbuilding2.jpg, Polk Science Building File:Lakeland FSC Seminar Building pano01.jpg, Seminar Building File:Waterdome.jpg, Water Dome (fountain on) File:Lakeland FSC Water Dome pool pano01.jpg, Water Dome pool

References

External links