Architecture

What is on your architectural "top ten" list?

It likely depends on your mood. I have a special affection for some of NYC's eye-catching designs: the yawning expanse of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Chrysler Building's gleaming metal cladding, and the inspirational pose of the Statue of Liberty. 

A glimpse of the Lincoln Memorial can get my heart to skip a beat. All those stairs, 87 in total, a preamble to America's version of the Parthenon. Or perhaps Maya Lin's black granite salute to the fallen of the Vietnam War is more your style. Somber. Linear. Piercing.

There are plenty of architectural gems west of the Mississippi as well. Mount Rushmore comes to mind. Or the haunting remains of Alcatraz. Even the opulent excess of Hearst Castle never fails to dazzle.

But if I had to choose only one architect, I would put my chips down on Frank Lloyd Wright. Over the years I have made pilgrimages to many of his most iconic creations - Taliesin West, Fallingwater, the Guggenheim, and LA's own Hollyhock House. 

Harmony with the created world was Wright's trademark. After all, who can design something more beautiful than nature?

"I believe in God, only I call it Nature." - Frank Lloyd Wright