Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Tuesday, October 12: Library Hosts "Frank Lloyd Wright Research Tower" Presentation

The Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St, is hosting a presentation and book signing with Mark Hertzberg, author of the newly released book Frank Lloyd Wright's SC Johnson Research Tower, on Tuesday, October 12 from 6:30-7:30 pm.

During the event, Hertzberg will discuss the content and process of his book and is available to answer questions from the public. The program is free and open to all. Copies of Frank Lloyd Wright's SC Johnson Research Tower will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Advanced registration is requested and may be done by visiting the library, calling 262.636.9245 or by completing an online form at www.racinelibrary.info. .

Frank Lloyd Wright's SC Johnson Research Tower in Racine, Wisconsin, is one of modern architecture's most significant landmarks. Completed in 1950, the fifteen-story skyscraper is the only existing example of Wright's ambitious taproot design.

In 1943 H. F. Johnson Jr., president of the SC Johnson & Son Company, commissioned Wright (1867–1959) to create a new laboratory space that would be as innovative as the research and development team working inside it. The architect eagerly accepted the challenge and the result was a new kind of skyscraper. Although the Tower opened to great acclaim in 1950, it closed just thirty-one years later. Despite its ingenious structure, the building ultimately proved to be an impractical model of urban-industrial architecture.

Frank Lloyd Wright's SC Johnson Research Tower investigates the rise and fall of this remarkable building. Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives, provides an insightful Foreword, while Mark Hertzberg's text explores the design, the construction, and—through interviews with Johnson employees—the experience of working within Wright's iconic Tower. A photo essay titled "The Tower Rises" chronicles the construction with historical photographs, and Hertzberg's artful photographs document the Tower—inside and out—as it appears today.

Questions about the event may be directed to the Racine Public Library at 262.636.9245.

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