Frank Lloyd Wright Statue in Chandler, AZ
A Frank Lloyd Wright Statue That Shouldn't Have Been Built?
In Historic Downtown Chandler there are two large bronze statues. One is of Dr. A. J. Chandler, the founder of the city which is named after him. The other is a statue of Frank Lloyd Wright, a friend of Dr. Chandler's. It stands 8 feet tall. In the 1920s Frank Lloyd Wright and Dr. A. J. Chandler met and became friends. They were supposed to work on fourteen projects in Chandler, Arizona including new "resort in the desert" type housing, a remodeling of the San Marcos Hotel and a water garden. Because of the Depression, none of the projects were ever done.
|
|
| Bronze Frank Lloyd Wright Statue in Dr. A. J. Chandler Park © Judy Hedding, licensed to About.com |
Sculptor Igor Zorkin was chosen from a field of about 100 competitors to make the sculptures at a cost to the city of $238,000. Zorkin is originally from Russia and is now an American citizen living in Virginia.
Although Frank Lloyd Wright has many followers in the Valley of the Sun, and there are homes and buildings designed by him in the area, the presentation of the sculpture was met with less than applause and cheers. Many Chandler residents insisted that Frank Lloyd Wright did nothing for the City of Chandler, and that there was no reason to memorialize him in the downtown park. They had hoped that a statue of one of the city's founders would stand beside Dr. A. J. Chandler. Members of the Hispanic communities supported a statue of Agustin Rosales, a Mexican laborer who came to Chandler in 1900.
The Frank Lloyd Wright statue is located at Dr. A. J. Chandler Park.
| More About Frank Lloyd Wright in AZ | |
|
|
