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Loving Mr. Wright

Tours, events and inns cater to the many fans of Frank.

Half a century after his death, Frank Lloyd Wright is as notorious and admired as ever.

June is a good time to connect with the architect, who was born June 8, 1867. His eventful life still provides material for bestsellers, most recently the 2007 novel "Loving Frank,'' about his relationship with the ill-fated Mamah Cheney.

Tours

The annual "Wright and Like'' self-drive tour is in Spring Green in 2012. The June 8-10 tour, $45-$50, is sponsored by Wright in Wisconsin, which also offers monthly tours of a Wright-designed American Systems-Built home in Milwaukee.

In Wright's hometown of Spring Green, Wis., Taliesin Preservation holds many special events and offers five different tours of the estate from late April through October.

For more, see Drawn to Spring Green.

In Oak Park, Ill., the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust gives regular tours of Wright's home and studio. And mark your calendars if you want to go on its annual Wright Plus Housewalk — the tour of private homes in Oak Park, Ill., $85-$100, sells out far in advance. Tickets for the June 2, 2012, tour go on sale Oct. 1.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation gives one-hour walking tours to Wright’s Prairie-style buildings in Oak Park on Sundays year-round, $12, as well as bus tours.

In Mirror Lake State Park near the Wisconsin Dells, the 1958 Wright-designed Seth Peterson Cottage is open for tours the second Sunday afternoon of the month year-round, $4.

Tours are free during Wisconsin's annual state-parks open house, the first Sunday of June.

In Cedar Rock State Park, on the Wapsipinicon River near the northeast Iowa town of Quasqueton, the annual Candle Light Walk celebrates Wright's birthday on the first Saturday of June.

The park preserves a 1950 Usonian house Wright designed for businessman Lowell Walter, who left it to the people of Iowa after his death. Wright designed the furniture, selected the carpets, chose the draperies and even picked out the accessories for the house, which overlooks the river from a limestone bluff.

During the luminary-lit tour, the typically inaccessible maid's quarters and boat pavilion will be open and birthday refreshments will be served around a fire on the grounds.

Regular tours are available Tuesdays-Sundays from May through October, $3. 319-934-3572.

In Mason City, Iowa, the 1908 Stockman House is open for tours from late May to October, $10, $5 ages 12-17.

Inns

In Mason City, Iowa, the Historic Park Inn, completed in 1910, is the only Wright-designed hotel left. It's been handsomely restored and reopened. Rooms go for $100-$250.

For more, see Wright in Mason City.

Near the Wisconsin Dells, the blufftop Seth Peterson Cottage in Mirror Lake State Park sleeps four and rents for $225-$275.

In the Lake Michigan town of Two Rivers, Wis., the 1938 Bernard Schwartz House has four bedrooms and rents for $295-$350 for up to six. It offers tours the first Sunday of February, April, June, August, October and December; reserve at 612-250-6965.

In the northeast Illinois countryside near Hampshire, the 1951 Usonian Muirhead Farmhouse B&B rents out its master suite.

Last updated on January 8, 2012