June 8, 2024
Twilight tour
Special twilight tour to celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday.
June 22, 2024
“Growing up wright”
Lecture by Lonnie Lovness on the FLW Lovness Estate in Stillwater, Minnesota, developed by her parents and Frank Lloyd Wright. Lonnie is the author of the new book, Growing Up Wright.
Our Spring Lecture will feature John Waters, architect and preservation programs manager at the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. Mr. Waters’ talk will focus on the Usonian house, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s great contributions to 20th-century architecture. With the Usonian house, Wright created a system of building that he would use, in one form or another, in all his residential designs from the 1930s to the late 1950s. Mr. Waters will discuss the unusual features of the Usonian house and illustrate how the Laurent House, an important example of this type of architecture, is, thanks to Ken and Phyllis Laurent’s unique requirements, both similar and different from other Usonian houses.
Join us for our annual fundraiser to support the ongoing preservation of the Laurent House by Frank Lloyd Wright.
October 19, 2024
The Laurent House and Pettit Chapel—both designed by Frank Lloyd Wright—present Ellie Carlson as the ghost of Mamah Bouton Borthwick, the great love of Frank Lloyd Wright’s life. Mamah, for whom Taliesin was built, was brutally murdered, along with her children, at Taliesin in 1914. Ms. Carlson presents Mamah as a ghost at the moment of her death to tell the story of her life with Frank Lloyd Wright.
October 25-27, 2024
advanced photo workshop with andrew pielage
Three-day photography workshop with renowned FLW photographer Andrew Pielage. Dive deeper into photography while exploring the FLW Laurent House, the FLW Penwern Estate, and the internationally-renowned Anderson Japanese Gardens.
Our Fall Lecture Series will feature Laurent House docents Gregory M. Brewer and Mollie Singh. Greg is currently working on a book about the Galesburg Country Homes and Parkwyn Village. Mollie grew up in Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1948 Pratt house, commissioned by her parents Eric and Pat Pratt.
From the 1930s onward, Frank Lloyd Wright viewed his work as part of a single great undertaking: the realization of Broadacre City, his all-encompassing vision for the reform of American cities and society. Wright’s designs for the cooperative communities of Parkwyn Village and the Galesburg Country Homes are perhaps his most fully realized expression of the Broadacre ideal. Greg will discuss the history and design of both two projects. Mollie will share her firsthand experience of growing up in the Pratt house. Following her talk, Mollie will be signing copies of her parents’ book, The Pratt House and Frank Lloyd Wright: Building in a Cooperative Community, 1947-1979.
Enjoy the beauty of the Laurent House and Visitor Center, both decorated for the holidays with the Laurents’ personal collection of ornaments, as well as many mid-century Christmas decorations. Each guided tour will end with holiday refreshments (Swedish Christmas cookies and hot chocolate) at our Visitor Center.