Monthly Update
Behind the Scenes: Building Ocatilla
Although Ocatilla: Frank Lloyd Wright's Lost Desert Masterpiece will not open at the Chandler Museum until October 27, 2026 an enormous amount of work is already taking place behind the scenes to bring this landmark exhibition to life.
Over the past several months, the OA+D team, in conjunction with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the Chandler Museum, has been carefully reviewing hundreds of archival photographs, original drawings, correspondence, publications, and artifacts to determine which materials will best tell the story of Wright's remarkable 1929 desert encampment. Every object selected helps illustrate how Ocatilla became a pivotal moment in Wright's career, where new ideas about architecture, climate, materials, and desert living began to take shape.
One of the most exciting aspects of the exhibition is the full-scale reconstruction of Wright's Ocatilla office cabin. Research continues as our team studies historic photographs, original drawings, construction details, and period accounts to better understand the structure's dimensions, materials, colors, and methods of construction. Because the original buildings no longer survive, every element of the reconstruction is being carefully evaluated to create an experience that is both historically accurate and immersive for museum visitors.
At the same time, curators are refining the exhibition narrative, organizing themes that will guide visitors through the story of Ocatilla, from its bold experimental beginnings to its lasting influence on Wright's later work. Considerable attention is being given to how original archival materials, photographs, architectural drawings, objects, and interpretive graphics can work together to create an engaging and educational experience for audiences of all backgrounds.
Work is also well underway on the accompanying exhibition catalog, which will serve as a lasting scholarly record of the project. The publication will feature newly researched essays alongside rare photographs, original drawings, and archival materials, extending the exhibition experience beyond the gallery while providing an important resource for future researchers, architects, and enthusiasts.
Planning is equally underway for OA+D's special fundraising celebration on the evening of Friday, November 6, at the Chandler Museum. The event will bring together supporters, members, architects, scholars, and friends for an unforgettable evening celebrating the exhibition and the ongoing work of the Organic Architecture + Design Archives. Guests will enjoy exclusive access to the exhibition while helping support OA+D's mission to preserve, research, and share the legacy of organic architecture and design through future exhibitions, publications, archival preservation, and educational initiatives. More information will be released soon with specific event and ticket details.
As this ambitious project moves closer to completion, we invite individuals, foundations, and businesses to become part of its legacy by sponsoring the exhibition. Your support will help fund critical research, exhibition design, fabrication, publication of the exhibition catalog, educational programming, and the reconstruction of Wright's lost desert masterpiece. More importantly, your sponsorship will forever connect your name with one of the most significant Frank Lloyd Wright exhibitions in recent years. Opportunities like this come along only once. Join us in bringing Ocatilla back to life and become a lasting part of architectural history.
From the Archives: Capturing Wright's Legacy Through the Mail
Sometimes the smallest additions to the archives provide remarkable windows into architectural history. Recently, the Organic Architecture + Design Archives acquired several rare vintage postcards documenting the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright, preserving not only images of his architecture but also the way these buildings were experienced and shared by the public more than a century ago.
Among the highlights is an exceptionally scarce 1906 postcard depicting the recently completed Hillside Home School near Spring Green, Wisconsin. Published only a few years after Wright transformed his aunts' original 1887 school into the larger Prairie School complex completed in 1903, the postcard captures Hillside during one of the most exciting periods in its history. Before Taliesin was established nearby in 1911, Hillside already stood as one of Wright's most ambitious educational commissions, reflecting his emerging ideas about architecture, landscape, and community. Vintage views from this early period are increasingly difficult to locate, making the postcard an important visual record of the campus as it appeared during Wright's lifetime.
The acquisition also includes a beautiful 1910 postcard featuring the Pettit Memorial Chapel in Belvidere, Illinois. Designed in 1906 as a memorial chapel within Belvidere Cemetery, the intimate building demonstrates Wright's ability to create architecture of extraordinary dignity and serenity on a modest scale. Although often overshadowed by his larger Prairie houses of the same era, the chapel remains one of Wright's finest small commissions, and contemporary postcards such as this helped introduce his work to audiences well beyond the Midwest.
While postcards were originally created as inexpensive souvenirs and keepsakes, today they have become valuable documentary artifacts. They preserve not only architectural views, but also evidence of printing techniques, publication history, tourism, and the growing public fascination with Frank Lloyd Wright during the early twentieth century. Each postcard adds another piece to the story of how Wright's work entered the public imagination.
These newly acquired postcards will join the growing Frank Lloyd Wright collections at the Organic Architecture + Design Archives, where they will be preserved alongside original drawings, photographs, publications, and archival materials that continue to document the rich history of the organic architecture movement for future generations.
If you have Frank Lloyd Wright-related postcards or other historic artifacts you would be interested in donating to the OA+D Archives, please contact us at info@oadarchives.org
OA+D NEWS & EVENTS
Be Among the First to Receive the Summer Journal OA+D
The Summer 2026 issue of the Journal of Organic Architecture + Design (Vol. 14, No. 2) is heading to the printer soon, and now is the perfect time to reserve your copy.
This highly anticipated issue celebrates the work of photographer and artist Robert Hartmann, featuring a remarkable collection of rare photographs, drawings, and architectural studies documenting the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, Bruce Goff, Taliesin Associated Architects, and many others. Filled with historic images and insightful commentary, this issue offers a unique look at some of the most important figures and places in organic architecture.
Want to be among the first to receive a copy when it arrives this summer? Join the Friends of OA+D sustaining membership program today. Active Friends of OA+D members automatically receive every new issue of Journal OA+D as part of their membership, ensuring they never miss an issue while directly supporting the preservation, research, and sharing of the world's most significant organic architecture and design collections.
JOIN TODAY and secure your copy before the issue ships. Your support helps preserve the past while making these important stories accessible to future generations.