Dennis Marek: Who is the real Frank Lloyd Wright?

The first time that I was introduced to the name Frank Lloyd Wright came when I was taken to the restaurant known as the Yesteryear in the B. Harley Bradley house by my senior law partner. I remember being a bit in awe as I looked around several of the first-floor rooms. The architecture and choice of wood was outstanding.

Over the years, I would take that partner to that restaurant because I could sit in a small side room and have him to myself. I wanted answers and advice on cases and theories. If we went to the Kankakee Country Club, literally dozens of fellow members would stop to speak with him, and I lost this valuable time of picking his brain.

I was sad when the Yesteryear closed after 30 years. But my visits to that historic house continued, as several lawyers had rented it as their law office. I went to that office quite often when I needed to speak with one or another of the lawyers. It was certainly more fun than inviting them to my office.

The building added a sad history when Steve Small, who had purchased the building, was lured to it one night by his kidnapper. The good news was that the building, over time, became the historical landmark that it deserved. Now it hosts significant parties and outings. One of these will take place Aug. 23. There will be a presentation by Katelyn Walker about another side of the builder of that house, Frank Lloyd Wright, titled “Taliesin Tragedy.” What the heck is that?

The research began. I knew that this iconic architect built much more than the Bradley house, of course, including the Guggenheim Museum. What I did not know was that this architect was known for his scandalous affairs across the Midwest. Apparently, his behavior with women was well known, but this was topped off when he decided on another affair.

Wright was commissioned to design a house for Mr. Edwin Cheney, his neighbor in Oak Park. During this process, Wright began to overly “admire” Chaney’s wife, Martha Borthwick Cheney. Although married with six children, he fell in love with Mrs. Cheney, and the pair eventually escaped the Chicago area and fled to Europe together in 1903. Mrs. Cheney got divorced, but Catherine Wright would not allow it for them.

In those days, so different from today, two unwed people living together was much less accepted by most Americans. Wright and his mate decided to build a hideaway house to have some privacy from all the critics of their relationship. They chose Spring Green, Wisconsin, to build a “cottage” and studio in 1911. It was so much more than a cottage. He named this cottage Taliesin, from the name of a Welsh bard. Soon, however, the press started calling it the “Love Cottage” or “The Castle of Love.”

The local residents did not welcome these new neighbors and expressed their opinions openly to the press. They feared that the local children would see the relationship and think it would be fine for a man and a woman to disregard a marriage and live like this. When their words did not cause Wright to move, they even tried to get the local sheriff to arrest Wright.

Wright was known to express his feelings about his relationship by being quoted saying, “Two women were necessary for a man of artistic mind – one to be the mother of his children and the other to be his mental companion, his inspiration and soul mate.”

There’s no doubt Wright believed he was above the law when he once said, “While the ordinary man needs laws to rule his conduct, it is quite OK for the thinking man to live without rules.”

That’s not what I had envisioned about this renowned architect.

But what is this Taliesin Tragedy? On the afternoon of Aug. 15, 1914, Wright was in Chicago while his mistress and her two children were at the Wisconsin cottage. They were eating lunch on one of the many porches. Inside the main dining room were draftsmen and laborers who were working on additional designs of this showplace.

The workers were sitting at the dining room table while lunch was being served by a local handyman, Julian Carlton. He had spent the summer with his wife preparing meals and doing the necessary housework.

Carlton had told his wife to leave the cottage and, after serving the family on the porch, he returned with a hatchet and attacked Martha Borthwick Cheney and her children. He then spilled gasoline on the floors and set the place on fire. He also locked the doors, so only three of the other workers succeeded in their attempts to escape. In all, seven people died as a result of the attacks and the fire.

Carlton was found in the basement still alive, as the poison he had taken failed to do the job. He never gave a reason for the attack and died six weeks later in jail by starvation, as he refused to ever eat again. Carlton’s wife expressed only that her husband had been increasingly paranoid in the week before the incident. There was talk that Carlton might have been told that he would be laid off but nothing more.

The local people stayed negative about the cottage, and one newspaper referred to the incident as the act of the “avenging angel.”

Wright resurrected Taliesin and later married another woman who had written him a letter of condolence. Catherine finally agreed to a divorce, and Wright would marry this other woman in 1923. Although the estate was to burn down again, it has been restored and is now listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Tickets are needed for a presentation of the cottage/estate. You can go to the site: wright1900ord/event/taliesin-tragedy. I might just see you there.