View of Taliesin from the pond

Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin

"Taliesin was the name of a Welsh poet, a druid-bard who sang to Wales the glories of fine art. Many legends cling to that beloved reverend name in Wales.

Richard Hovey's charming masque, 'Taliesin,' had just made me acquainted with his image of the historic bard. Since all my relatives had Welsh names for their places, why not Taliesin for mine? . . . Literally the Welsh word means 'shining brow.'

This hill on which Taliesin now stands as 'brow' was one of my favorite places when as a boy looking for pasque flowers I went in March sun while snow still streaked the hillsides. When you are on the low hill-crown you are out in mid-air as though swinging in a plane, the Valley and two others dropping away from you leaving the tree-tops standing below all about you."

–Frank Lloyd Wright, An Autobiography

Hillside School

Taliesin Preservation, Inc.

Public access at Taliesin and Hillside is managed by Taliesin Preservation, Inc. (877) 588-7900. www.taliesinpreservation.org. Open for tours May 1–Oct 31.