As September draws to a close, it occurs to me that many, many stories are left untold from my Labor Day trip to Pennsylvania. Today we will start at the Hagen History Center which serves Erie County, Pa. They have two campuses and we visited the one on Erie’s Millionaire’s Row.
The campus includes two historic mansions, a new building for exhibit space and a historic carriage house which is home to a gift shop and library/reading room. This is where you buy your tickets.
My friend had already been there and was excited for me to see a specific exhibit but she held her cards close. She didn’t show her hand until we were in the room and compared it to throwing me a surprise party.
What was so special?
They have Frank Lloyd Wright’s office.
You read that right. The walls, floors, furniture, typewriters, pencils and protractors. They have it all. It even has a unique smell that I couldn’t quite identify- aged wood, pipe tobacco, and brilliance?
And that remark about this being like a surprise party? This was way better than a party.
This is Frank Lloyd Wright’s San Francisco field office which he used while working on California projects. It was disassembled and sold to a private collector long ago before spending some time behind glass at the Heinz Architectural Center at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
Now at the Hagen in Erie, the office is no longer behind glass – you can walk through it! This is his desk! The office is relatively small with room for a desk, two guest chairs and a couch.
Those guest chairs, if you want to call them that, look rather unwelcoming to me.
This is the workroom. Notice the windows feature the image of the actual San Francisco view.
The view as you enter.
The secretary’s typewriter.
And her desk with the view.
And here’s the man himself keeping a sharp eye on visitors.
Walking through this space was near magical and I recommend going to see it if you are a fan of his work. Want to visit? Get more info here.
Also, come back tomorrow and we will have a look at his car!!!! It’s absolutely fabulous.
I LOVE this! We have visited many Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, but I never knew his office was on display anywhere. I would bet he picked out those guest chairs on purpose. I would propose he didn’t want to spend a lot of time listening to other people’s ideas, so he didn’t want his guest to be too comfortable. He wanted to work! Thanks for your post!
My thoughts exactly! I mean, the man didn’t like it if you moved the furniture in your own home if he was the designer. He certainly wasn’t interested in talking to anyone.
How interesting! Can you imagine how busy this area was at one time!
I could almost feel remnants of the energy around me when I closed my eyes. So cool!
What an interesting thing to have been saved, transported and set up in a museum!
Right? I never dreamt that such a thing existed!
We’ve been to a few houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s neat to catch a glimpse of his office. Seems like a good enough reason for me to visit Erie.
So, if you make it to Erie, you’re only about 90 minutes from Buffalo, NY. There’s a good FLW house in that city- if you haven’t seen it already! And, of course, it’s worth the trip south to see Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob too!
We visited FLW’s Martin House in Buffalo a couple of years ago and the Smith House which is just outside of Detroit last year. We haven’t been to Fallingwater or Kentuck Knob yet.
Kentuck Knob is my favorite of his so far. When you go, allow time to explore the forest trail. It’s a beautiful area and the trail has a number of cool art installations. We took the shuttle from the visitors center to the house and then walked the trail back to the car.
Also, if you make it to Ohio, there’s a FLW in Springfield.
Good to know! The travel list keeps growing with ideas!
It’s never ending!
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