John Lloyd Wright (December 12, 1892 – December 20, 1972) was an American
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and toy inventor. Born in
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...
, Wright was the second-oldest son of famed architect
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 ...
. John Lloyd Wright became estranged from his father in 1909 and subsequently left his home to join his brother on the
West Coast. After unsuccessfully working a series of jobs, he decided to take up the profession of his father in 1912. Shortly afterward, he was able to reconnect with his father, who took John under his wing. Differences in opinion regarding the
Imperial Hotel, Tokyo
The is a hotel in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo. It was created in the late 1880s at the request of the Japanese aristocracy to cater to the increasing number of Western visitors to Japan. The hotel site is located just south of the Im ...
caused the pair to again become disunited.
John Lloyd Wright took a break from architecture after this falling-out and focused on designing toys. The most successful of these inventions was
Lincoln Logs in 1916, which would later be one of the original inductees into the
National Toy Hall of Fame
The National Toy Hall of Fame is a U.S. hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years. Criteria for induction include: icon status (the toy is widely recognized, respected, and ...
. In 1923, Wright moved to
Long Beach, Indiana and designed several buildings. His style was characterized by the
Prairie School of architecture with
International Style influences. After marrying a third time in 1946, Wright left Indiana for
Del Mar, California
Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the ...
, where he spent the rest of his life designing houses.
Biography
Early life
John Lloyd Wright was born on December 12, 1892, while his father,
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 ...
, was practicing in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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with
Adler & Sullivan Adler & Sullivan was an architectural firm founded by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Among its projects was the multi-purpose Auditorium Building in Chicago and the Wainwright Building skyscraper in St Louis. In 1883 Louis Sullivan was ...
. He was the second-oldest of the six children of Frank Lloyd and Catherine Wright. They lived in
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...
, in what is now known as the
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio
The Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio is a historic house and design studio in Oak Park, Illinois, which was designed and owned by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. First built in 1889 and added to over the years, the home and studio is furnished ...
. John became estranged from his father in 1909, when Frank abandoned his family to be with
Mamah Borthwick Cheney. John was accepted to the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
shortly after, but soon dropped out. He moved to
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
, to get away from his family. He traveled with his elder brother,
Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. (March 31, 1890 – May 31, 1978), commonly known as Lloyd Wright, was an American architect, active primarily in Los Angeles and Southern California. He was a landscape architect for various Los Angeles projects (192 ...
, to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, where they worked with the
Olmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law O ...
as they prepared for the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...
. He also sold posters designed by his brother and briefly worked a job pressing pants. Destitute and without direction, he decided to take up the profession of his father and become an architect.
Early architecture
While walking in San Diego, he saw a sign calling for a draftsman for the Pacific Building Company. Wright was hired and drew architectural details for
bungalows. He soon realized that he had a talent for the profession and sought out a professional architectural firm. He found a position in the firm of
Harrison Albright
Harrison Albright (May 17, 1866 – January 3, 1932) was an American architect best known for his design of the West Baden Springs Hotel in Orange County, Indiana.
Biography
Born in the Ogontz neighborhood of North Philadelphia, Pennsylva ...
, one of the preeminent architects in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. Originally acting as a clerk, Wright received his first design commission for a house in
Escondido in 1912. The design was heavily borrowed from his father's
Sherman M. Booth House in
Glencoe, Illinois. Pleased with the results, Albright gave Wright the opportunity to design the Workingman's Hotel, a three-story building. During the project, Wright worked closely with sculptor
Alfonso Iannelli
Alfonso Iannelli (February 17, 1888 – March 23, 1965) was an Italian-American sculptor, artist, and industrial designer.
Based in Chicago for most of his life, Iannelli was born in Andretta, Italy on February 17, 1888. He came to America in ...
, whom he would befriend. After the hotel was completed, Wright determined that he should receive formal architectural training. He intended to apprentice with
Vienna Secession
The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austr ...
architect
Otto Wagner
Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...
in exchange for room and board in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
.
![Wright Endo and Hayashi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Wright_Endo_and_Hayashi.jpg)
After John wrote a letter to his father, asking him for money for a ticket to Vienna, Frank wrote back that John was welcome to train with him. He accepted the opportunity, but struggled under the dominating personality of his father. In 1913, upon completion of
Taliesin I, Frank left Chicago for
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and placed John in charge of his Chicago office. John oversaw the construction of
Midway Gardens
Midway Gardens (opened in 1914, demolished in 1929) was a 360,000 square feet indoor/outdoor entertainment facility in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. It was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who also collaborate ...
, utilizing sculpture from his friend Iannelli. John accompanied his father to
Japan to oversee the design of the
Imperial Hotel Imperial Hotel or Hotel Imperial may refer to:
Hotels Australia
* Imperial Hotel, Ravenswood, Queensland
* Imperial Hotel, York, Western Australia
Austria
* Hotel Imperial, Vienna
India
* The Imperial, New Delhi
Ireland
* Imperial Hotel, D ...
. However, an argument over John's salary resulted in his firing and the two again became estranged.
In 1913, John married Jeanette Winters, whom he had met in Los Angeles. He designed a home for them in Chicago they called the Bird Center. Now without an architectural practice, John focused on some of his hobbies, including toys.
It was at this time that he perfected the design for his
Lincoln Logs, an idea he had conceived while in Japan. Construction of the Imperial Hotel required beams to be designed in an interlocking method to make it safe for earthquakes, and John realized that this design could be adapted into a toy version. He used his own funds to bring the idea to market in 1918 as the Red Square Toy Company (so named after his father's famous symbol).
The toys were notched miniature logs about in diameter that could be arranged to build miniature log cabins. Wright received a patent on August 31, 1920, and had the name
registered on August 28, 1923. Wright later sold the patent which became one of the most popular toys ever designed.
Long Beach and Del Mar
In 1920, John and Jeanette divorced; Wright moved back to the Oak Park studio with his mother. He remarried in 1921 to Hazel Lundin, and they had a child,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, in 1922.
John sought out his father's former employer,
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...
, and had a series of conversations which inspired him to practice architecture again.
The next year, he and his family moved to
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, so that he could establish his own, independent practice. Wright also opened a second office in the Warren Building in nearby
Michigan City. His second child, John Lloyd Wright, Jr., was born in 1925. During this time John's designs began to shift from his father's
Prairie School style to the emerging
International Style. This transition was particularly notable following a 1929 trip to Europe. Among the houses he designed were the
Hoover-Timme House (1929),
John and Isabel Burnham House (1934),
Lowell E. and Paula G. Jackson House (1938), and
George and Adele Jaworowski House
George and Adele Jaworowski House, also known as Early Birds, is a historic home located in Michigan Township, LaPorte County, Indiana. It was designed by architect John Lloyd Wright and built in 1945–1946. The house is atop and carved in ...
(1945-1946), all 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 ...
in 2013.
Aside from houses, Wright was also commissioned to build the local elementary school and town hall. Because Long Beach was populated with wealthy vacationers, Wright was able to receive a steady stream of commissions during the
Great Depression. Wright received two
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
commissions during the depression, including the Arcade Cabins Hotel in
Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Ind ...
. In 1939, a fire devastated Wright's house when his automobile caught fire in his garage. The fire destroyed most of his records and designs. Like his father, Wright fell in love with one of his clients, Frances Welsh, and left his family.
During World War II, residential commissions stopped. Wright did manage to receive a commission to design two buildings for the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant 20 miles south of Long Beach. In 1946, Wright published a biography of his father, ''My Father Who Is on Earth''. Wright and Hazel Lundin were divorced in 1942, and Wright married Frances Welsh in 1946. Wright designed a home for him and his third wife in
Del Mar, California
Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the ...
, later that year. He also resumed his architectural toy designs, designing Wright Blocks and Timber Toys. He designed nearly four dozen houses in California until his death on December 20, 1972, eight days after his eightieth birthday.
References
Bibliography
* Wright, John Lloyd. ''My Father Who Is On Earth''. New York: G.P. Putnam's sons, 1946.
External links
John Lloyd Wrightfrom Incredible @rt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, John Lloyd
1892 births
1972 deaths
American residential architects
American inventors
Architects from Illinois
Artists from Oak Park, Illinois
Toy inventors
Frank Lloyd Wright