Here is a “lost” building in Palm Beach, Florida with a Chicago connection. During its existence, many people believed Villa Zila was a Frank Lloyd Wright design but it was actually the work of husband-and-wife team Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. They had both been employees of Wright; Marion was first hired in 1895 and became his “right hand woman” off and on for nearly fifteen years. When Wright went to Europe in 1909, he offered his practice to Marion but she declined, although she ended up finishing a number of commissions he abandoned, like the David Amberg House in Grand Rapids, Michigan and three neighboring homes in Decatur, Illinois. Between 1901-06, Walter helped Wright “break the box” by developing more open, multi-level spaces, like the Larkin Building and Ward Wilits House. When Walter wasn’t made partner, he quit in disgust.
Villa Zila: Wright, Sullivan, and the Griffins
Villa Zila: Wright, Sullivan, and the…
Villa Zila: Wright, Sullivan, and the Griffins
Here is a “lost” building in Palm Beach, Florida with a Chicago connection. During its existence, many people believed Villa Zila was a Frank Lloyd Wright design but it was actually the work of husband-and-wife team Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. They had both been employees of Wright; Marion was first hired in 1895 and became his “right hand woman” off and on for nearly fifteen years. When Wright went to Europe in 1909, he offered his practice to Marion but she declined, although she ended up finishing a number of commissions he abandoned, like the David Amberg House in Grand Rapids, Michigan and three neighboring homes in Decatur, Illinois. Between 1901-06, Walter helped Wright “break the box” by developing more open, multi-level spaces, like the Larkin Building and Ward Wilits House. When Walter wasn’t made partner, he quit in disgust.