The Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center is a posthumous addition to Frank Lloyd Wright's Child of the Sun collection at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida.[1] Wright oversaw the construction of twelve buildings on Florida Southern's campus between 1938 and 1958. He also designed a Usonian house in 1939 meant to be used for faculty housing.[2] Wright produced plans for 14 of the homes to be built on the college campus, but the plan was never carried through.[3] In 2013, the College completed construction of the design as the featured structure in the Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center.[1][2][4]
The 1,700 sq. ft. Usonian house features textile-block construction and colored glass inserts in perforated concrete blocks,[2] both signature elements of Wright’s building designs at Florida Southern, as well as furnishings designed by Wright. The two-bedroom house was similar in design to Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House, the first of Wright’s Usonian houses.[5]
The Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center offers a variety of self-guided, docent-led, and group tours of the Wright campus.[6] The Center provides a home for the permanent display of photographs, furniture, and drawings depicting Wright’s relationship with the College. A documentary film about the Wright’s work at Florida Southern is also available for visitors to view while touring the Usonian house. The Center also acts as a home for visiting exhibits on loan from various other Wright sites.
The Child of the Sun collection is the largest single-site collection of Wright’s work in the world and a National Historic Landmark (2012).[6]
