about us

Note: while news reports in late July 2008 have highlighted the continued flooding in outlying areas of Spring Green, Wisconsin, luckily, the Taliesin Estate has not flooded, tours are continuing, and downtown businesses and attractions in Spring Green remain open (click here for the Spring Green Chamber of Commerce site for more information about things to do in Spring Green). For information on where you can donate to flood victims, please see our "What's New" page.

Scores of structures designed or inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright enrich communities around the world ... from New York to Tokyo, from Arizona to Pennsylvania. And dozens of organizations exist to help keep time and the elements from reducing these creations to ruin.

But among these structures, one in particular holds a special place: Taliesin, near Spring Green, Wisconsin.

It is special because ...
Put simply, Taliesin is the source. The ideas, concepts, theories and techniques applied to every structure that bears Frank Lloyd Wright’s imprint had their genesis here. Wright used Taliesin as a kind of sketch pad ... a laboratory where ideas emerged, were given form, were tested and refined. The ideas that emerged here Wright applied to the buildings upon which his reputation rests. You can see the seeds from which Wright’s work blossomed as you tour the Taliesin Estate.

It is special because ...
Much of the drama of Wright’s life unfolded here. During his childhood, he absorbed the lessons of nature from the surrounding fields and hills. He learned that people are most content and happy when they live in harmony with nature rather than imposing their will upon it. Throughout his life, Wright tapped the inexhaustible flow of ideas that the land around him offered. Taliesin is special because it is the root from which both Wright and his ideas emerged.

Taliesin® Preservation, Inc. (TPI) works to preserve Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin as an eminent example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision, to illustrate the impact he made on architecture through his work at Taliesin, and to share with the public the breadth and depth of his ideas.

TPI operates the Frank Lloyd Wright® Visitor Center at Taliesin, which offers public access to the site and grounds, serves as an educational resource on Frank Lloyd Wright and his work, and conducts the preservation program to maintain, restore and nurture the physical environment of the Taliesin Estate.

A private, 501 (3)(c) non-profit organization, TPI helps support its mission through revenue from a retail program, which includes tours of the site and grounds, the Taliesin bookstore, and its e-commerce web site. These activities serve to maintain our staffing levels, meet our annual overhead costs, and fund some preservation planning and research.

Our main mission, that of funding the preservation and maintenance of the Taliesin Estate, depends on the financial assistance we receive from public and private donors. Because we are an entity associated with, but separate from, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, we oversee our own fundraising. While funds raised by the Foundation are channeled to a variety of projects, both here and at Taliesin West, contributions to TPI help exclusively to keep this Estate viable and are allocated to no other purpose.

TPI was formed on the recommendation of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy G. Thompson’s commission on Taliesin. TPI’s members recognized the international importance of Taliesin and formed this Wisconsin-based organization to be its steward. TPI works in partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Click here to view the relationship between Taliesin Preservation Inc. and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.