Ten Chimneys, Taliesin tours tell tales

TRAVELERS heading west from Milwaukee this month should be sure to visit two architectural masterpieces that tell fascinating stories about their famous owners.

Ten Chimneys in Genesee Depot (40 minutes west of Milwaukee, Highway 83 exit south from I-94) was the home of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne. About two hours farther west in Spring Green is Taliesin, the estate of America’s greatest architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Ten Chimneys estate was created in the 1920s and 1930s and was frequented by luminaries such as Helen Hayes, Noel Coward, Lawrence Olivier and Katherine Hepburn. Said to be as personal as a diary for the Lunts, Ten Chimneys allows tour guests not only to explore the interiors and décor, but also to learn the story of the Lunts.

Guests at Ten Chimneys are placed in groups of no more than 10 and are guided through the estate by well-trained docents. Barrier-free access is given to almost every room in where furniture, books, window coverings and objects d’art have been lovingly restored and set in the exact places they were left by the Lunts.

The full estate tour lasts approximately two hours, including a shuttle ride to and from the Lunt-Fontanne Program Center. Tours include the main house, guest cottage, studio, various farm outbuildings and grounds. Tours are offered rain or shine Tuesdays through Saturdays through November 13. Reservations are recommended and may be made by calling (262) 968-4110 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. For additional information, visit www.tenchimneys.org.

Upcoming readings of the plays of Lunt and Fontanne, presented in collaboration with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, include Noel Coward’s “Design for Living,” a sophisticated comedy originally performed by the Lunts in 1933, Sept. 27 and “O Mistress Mine,” a comedy directed by Alfred Lunt which was the Lunts’ longest Broadway run.

Wisconsin-born Frank Lloyd Wright called his Spring Green estate a “work of a lifetime,” while observers refer to it as his “autobiography in masonry and wood.” The 600-acre estate includes dramatic structures – Taliesin House, Hillside Home School, Midway Farm, Tan-y-deri House and the Romeo and Juliet Windmill – representing nearly 70 years in the career of the architect who died in 1959.

During the five decades Wright lived and worked at Taliesin the architect used the buildings to test new ideas and spatial constructs, often without floor plans or sketches. To Wright, the structures were perfected with each change, yet subject to continual evolution. Taliesin not only was Wright’s home, studio, farm and estate, it was a living testament to his changing views on structure, nature and architecture.

Like Ten Chimneys, Taliesin leaves visitors with more than an understanding of Wright’s Prairie School of architecture. The history of the estate that fits perfectly into the rolling hills of western Wisconsin also includes fires, murders, a mistress and other fascinating elements in the life of an architect who even designed his own never-built mausoleum.

Tours operate through Oct. 31, beginning at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center at the intersection of Hwy. 23 and County C in Spring Green. A variety of tours are offered, ranging from one-hour daily Hillside tours and two-hour walking tours to four-hour estate tours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Through Sept 30 at 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays, Taliesin features Hillside tours with an apprentice of the Frank Lloyd Wright School. Also through September, free Hillside and walking tours are offered for all children under the age of 18 when accompanied by an adult.

Taliesin will host the 2004 Spring Green Literary Festival Sept. 11. Pre-festival readings by authors Larry Watson, David Mariniss and Allen Wyman will be open to the public from 7-9 p.m. Sept. 10. Registration (608-588-3216) is required for the Festival Sept. 11 in the Hillside Home School.

While in western Wisconsin, visitors also will enjoy tours of the Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac. The leading Wisconsin winery (www.wollersheim.com) will host its annual Grape Stomp Festival from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 2 & 3.