Florida Southern College

Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Florida

Florida Southern College report to the Getty (PDF) 18MB

In 1938 Frank Lloyd Wright designed a masterplan for the west campus of this small school founded in 1885 by the Methodist Episcopal Church. Wright's plan, called "The Child of the Sun," included eighteen separate buildings, a waterdome formed by a circular pool and fountain system, and a network of covered walkways. The College built twelve of the proposed structures between 1939 and 1958 making it the largest single-site collection of Wright's architecture in the world. With Getty funds, Florida Southern College will develop a Historic Preservation Master Plan for its historic campus core and guidelines for the care and conservation of the site as a whole.

Florida Southern College received a Getty grant in 2006 for $195,000 to support campus heritage planning.

Report Summary

Purpose: The purpose of the Campus Heritage Plan is to guide the decision making process in the management and repair of the Frank Lloyd Wright campus. As stewards of the campus, the administration and faculty have a responsibility to maintain and protect the site so this and future generations may continue to experience the unique and extraordinary qualities of Wright’s achievement.

Funds from the Getty Foundation supported an inventory and conditions survey of the campus, leading to the development of conservation plans for key historic buildings and landscapes. In particular, the College developed a comprehensive plan for the institution’s historic structures and cultural and natural landscapes, integrated historic preservation into the its planning and physical development process, and provided opportunities for students to learn about the rich architectural and cultural history of the campus.

Historic Designation(s): Florida Southern College Architectural District (including several contributing buildings); Wall Plaza and Water Dome; Carter, Wallbridge & Hawkins Seminars/Ralerson Building (National Register of Historic Places). Florida Southern College; Auditorium-Music Building, E.T. Roux Library/Thad Buckner Building; Emile E. Watson Administration Building; Annie Pfeiffer Chapel (Historic American Building Survey).

Planning Process:

• The master plan was developed over a 16 month period by MCWB Architects, Quantum Engineering, along with contributions from the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives at Taliesin West, and work of art history faculty and students.
• A Wright scholar wrote a history of the campus, a significant masterpiece of mid-twentieth century American design (1939-1958), and the culmination of Wright’s career.
• This master plan is divided into four major sections: The Preservation Plan, Wright Campus History, Building Surveys, and Archival Documentation.
• Ten buildings along with the Water Dome connected by over a mile and a half of covered esplanades, and campus landscape were surveyed, inventoried and analyzed.
• The campus represents a portion of a much larger overall master plan for the college envisioned by Wright and college president, Ludd M. Spivey.
• This expanded campus area remains unrealized.

Outcomes—Products:

• The central outcome was the Florida Southern College Campus Heritage Plan which is to serve as a long-range planning tool for the restoration of the campus, and is intended to be the starting point for future research and planning.
• This Campus Heritage Plan contains three broad preservation goals for the campus. These approaches include Stewardship, Restoration, and Improvement.

Outcomes—Strategies and Goals for the Future:

• A formal preservation policy establishing guidelines for the management of the Wright campus must be adopted and enforced by the college.
• The college must establish an Advisory Committee to oversee the campus.
• Establish formal boundaries identifying the Frank Lloyd Wright campus.
• Develop Historic Structure Reports for the Wright buildings
• Develop a plan for reuse of existing buildings and future needs for space.
• Address universal access.
• Remove administrative offices from Wright buildings.
• Relocate the Visitor Center
• Improve public interpretation of the Wright campus.