MODERN ARCHITECTURE LOS ANGELES TO CHICAGO OCTOBER 14-26, 2018 TOUR LEADER: STUART BARRIE

Overview During much of the 20th and 21st centuries, the west and mid-west of the United States was a laboratory of modern architecture and design. The motor car ruled, and the burgeoning media industries and wealth of the West Coast created an appetite for experimentation and innovation, particularly in the field of residential architecture. The leading names in modern architecture - Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright – all undertook work for clients in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Phoenix and Chicago. Our 13-day tour visits some of the iconic houses and sites of American modernism. We begin with three nights in Los Angeles visiting the Ray and Charles Eames house, Wright’s textile block houses and more recent sites such as Richard Meier’s Getty Centre. We then enjoy two nights in Palm Springs, considered one of the great centres of mid-century modernism, before continuing onto Phoenix, Arizona to enjoy an in-depth visit of Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home, Taliesin West. Our next stop is Columbus, Indiana where due to the vision of the civic leaders, the city has become a centre for architectural innovation and design. The tour concludes with three nights in Chicago with visits to the Mies designed Farnsworth House and Illinois Institute of Technology. Accommodation is in comfortable four-star hotels throughout with breakfast daily, several special meals, and some evening concert performances.

Your tour leader Stuart Barrie is a director of Academy Travel and has a well-established interest in European and American modern history, art and architecture. He has designed and led more than 20 cultural tours to Europe and the United States, all with a strong focus on the 20th century. He has a particular interest in American modernism, beginning with the Chicago School and Frank Lloyd Wright, and has made numerous visits to many of the architecturally significant residential, public and commercial buildings in the United States.

‘Great architecture and design’, says Stuart, ‘requires a combination of factors that only come together every now and again. California and Chicago in the 20th century were among the most vibrant and dynamic places on the planet. The artistic vision and design skills of the architects were matched by equally visionary clients, striving to express their modernity in steel, glass and stone.’

‘Stuart was the perfect leader – good natured, well organised, able to impart information without overwhelming us and able to put together a program which suited all interests.’ Participants on Stuart Barrie’s Frank Lloyd Wright tour, May 2016.

MODERN ARCHITECTURE LOS ANGELES TO CHICAGO

Tour dates: October 14-26, 2018

Tour leader: Stuart Barrie

Tour Price: $9,870 per person, twin share

Single Supplement: $2,170 for sole use of double room

Booking deposit: $500 per person

Recommended airline: Qantas or United

Maximum places: 20

Itinerary: Santa Monica (3 nights), Palm Springs (2 nights), Scottsdale (2 nights), Columbus, IN (2 nights), Chicago (3 nights)

Date published: March 12, 2018

Enquiries and bookings

For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Jamal Fairbrother at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email jamal@academytravel.com.au

Tour Highlights

LOS ANGELES Far from the long reach of European classicism, post-war Los Angeles became the archetype of the modern American utopia, so familiar to us through film and television. Here architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra and Richard Wexler created homes for the ‘creative class’ of entrepreneurs, performing artists and media executives.

PALM SPRINGS In the ‘golden years’ of Hollywood, movie stars were contracted to not travel more than 100 miles from the Hollywood studios. Palm Springs, 96 miles from Los Angeles, became the secluded getaway for the creative elite. In the 1950s and 1960s performers such as Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra commissioned leading architects to create stylish holiday homes. Today this desert town boasts more than 2,000 examples.

TALIESIN WEST Frank Lloyd Wright created Taliesin West in 1937, just a year after Fallingwater had resurrected his floundering career. It served as the winter home and studio of Wright and his colleagues right through until the architect’s death in 1959. As always, Wright responded to the natural environment, incorporating the colours of the desert and the low sweeping lines and uplifts of the landscape in his design.

COLUMBUS, INDIANA This small Midwestern city is perhaps the USA’s most surprising architecture and design destination. Nicknamed the ‘Athens of the Prairie’, the town features buildings by Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, Robert Venturi, Cesar Pelli and Richard Meier. Six of the town’s buildings are designated National Historic Landmarks and a further 60 have been featured in publications on modern architecture.

CHICAGO Always a forward-looking city in the sphere of technology and industry, Chicago’s architecture and design had to be re-imagined after the disastrous fire of 1871. Architects such as Daniel Burnham and Louis B. Sullivan revolutionised commercial architecture with their multi-storey steel framed ‘sky scrapers’. In the domestic sphere, Sullivan and the young Frank Lloyd Wright revolutionised the American home.

Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D.

Sunday October 14 Santa Monica and the Getty Center

We meet at the hotel at 12.00pm and begin with a visit to the Getty Center. Richard Meier’s 1997 building houses the remarkable collection of J. Paul Getty and has stunning views of Los Angeles. We return to Santa Monica for dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight Santa Monica, Los Angeles (D)

Monday October 15 A survey of LA modernism

Prosperous and forward-looking, Los Angeles was at the vanguard of the emerging style that became known as mid-century modernism. This morning we visit Hollyhock House, Frank Lloyd Wright’s first Los Angeles commission from 1921. We continue to Silver Lake – the largest concentration of buildings designed by Richard Neutra, mainly in the 1950s. More gems follow in the afternoon, including the Bradbury Building and Kings Road House, Rudolf Schindler’s 1922 landmark residence. Overnight Santa Monica (B)

Tuesday October 16 EAMES, Getty & Gehry

This morning we visit the Ray and Charles Eames Case Study House No 8 to learn about these key figures in American modernism. This is followed by a visit to the Getty Villa in Malibu. Modelled on a first-century Roman Villa at Herculaneum, the Getty Villa illustrates the equally strong tendency towards historicism in American architecture. The afternoon is free to explore Santa Monica and its famous Pier and nearby Venice Beach. This evening we return to the contemporary with an evening performance in the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (subject to availability). Overnight Santa Monica. (B)

Wednesday October 17 To the desert

This morning we travel by private coach the “96 miles” to Palm Springs – the furthest distance the Hollywood studios would allow their contracted stars to travel in the 1920’s, something

Above: The Ennis House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Charles and Mabel Ennis in 1923, enjoys stunning views over Los Angeles Below: Inside the Ray and Charles Eames Case Study House No 8 – the house was such a spatially pleasant modern residence that it became the home of the architects themselves; and The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown of Los Angeles, designed by Frank Gehry

Tour start & finish time

The tour starts on Sunday October 14th at 12.00pm, at the Double Tree Suites, Santa Monica. The tour ends on Saturday October 26th at 3.00pm, at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Above: Richard Neutra, considered one of the most important modernist architects, spent the majority of his career in Southern California; and Frey House II – architect Albert Frey's second house – in Palm Springs Below: Frank Lloyd Wright’s beloved winter home, Taliesin West

which put Palm Springs on the map as a perfect getaway. En route we will visit the Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Art, created by an established artist in the 1980s. Set on a 10-acre desert site and constructed entirely from discarded materials, this remarkable museum is one of California’s undiscovered artistic treasures. Dinner and overnight Palm Springs. (B, D)

Thursday October 18 Palm Springs Modern

Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Liberace – they all had luxury homes in Palm Springs. There were also luxury resorts, private hideaways, golf courses and other trappings of Hollywood lifestyle, creating a distinctive Desert Modernism style. We spend the day exploring the city’s diverse neighbourhoods to see characteristic homes by noted architects such as Albert Frey and Richard Neutra and civic buildings that influenced public architecture throughout the world. A highlight will be an interior visit of the Frey House II as well as a visit to the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center. Overnight Palm Springs. (B)

Friday October 19 Sunnylands and Taliesin

This morning we visit Sunnylands, the former home of Walter and Leonore Annenberg. Designed by A Quincy Jones using modernist geometry and exposed structures, Sunnylands has elegant interiors and museum quality art works. In the late morning we travel by coach to Scottsdale, Arizona. This evening we take a special illuminations tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s beloved winter home, Taliesin West. Opened in 1937 and maintained almost entirely by Wright and his apprentices, Taliesin West is one of his most personal creations. Overnight Scottsdale (B, D)

Saturday October 20 Scottsdale modernism

This morning we return to Taliesin West for an indepth tour before touring the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, designed in partnership between Wright and Albert Chase McArthur and opened in 1929. This remarkable resort fuses Wright’s modernism sensibilities with the fashion for Art Deco, at the height of vogue when the Biltmore opened. We enjoy lunch in the hotel before spending the afternoon exploring Old Scottsdale, one of the original settlements of Arizona, long absorbed into the urban fabric of Phoenix. Tonight, subject to availability, we attend a concert at the Gammage Auditorium. Frank Lloyd Wright’s design was intended for an opera house for Baghdad, Iraq, but never realised. Overnight Scottsdale (B)

Sunday October 21 To the mid-west

This morning we fly from Phoenix to Indianapolis and from there take a coach to Columbus, Indiana. Allowing for flight time and a

change in time zone, we arrive in the late afternoon. There is dinner in Columbus this evening. Overnight Columbus. (B, D)

Monday October 22 Columbus, Indiana

Conde Naste Traveler magazine describes Columbus as ‘One of the world’s best cities for architecture lovers’. Little visited by travellers from abroad, it is a jewel-box of modern architecture, with buildings by Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, Robert Venturi, Cesar Pelli and Richard Meier. This legacy is the result of the vision of J. Irwin Miller, chairman and president of the Cummins Engine Company, and his wife. We spend the day exploring a range of public and private buildings with a local expert guide, including all six registered as National Historic Landmarks, the United States’ most prestigious heritage listing. Overnight Columbus. (B)

Tuesday October 23 The prairies

We travel north to Chicago today, visiting two important buildings en route. The B. Harley Bradley House in Kankakee, built in 1900, was Frank Lloyd Wright’s first attempt at the Prairie style, but unlike most other examples, this one is actually situated on a prairie. In the afternoon we take a private tour of Mies Van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House at Plano, Illinois. The minimalist international style was revolutionary in 1951, but went on to profoundly influence domestic architecture. We arrive in Chicago in the evening, with dinner in a restaurant near our hotel. Overnight Chicago. (B, D)

Wednesday October 24 Chicago modern

Our examination of Mies Van der Rohe continues with the Illinois Institute of Technology, a landmark assembly of buildings in Mies’ International Style. In the downtown area, we visit Mies’ Federal Center and a range of other commercial and public buildings, spanning most of the 20th century and encompassing a range of styles. Tonight, schedules permitting, we attend a performance by the renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Louis B Sullivan’s 1904 Symphony Center. Overnight Chicago. (B)

Thursday October 25 Chicago contemporary

Chicago has a renowned fine arts and design scene. We begin the morning at Millennium Park, admiring Anish Kapoor’s Cloudgate, Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavilion and other works, before heading to the Art Institute of Chicago. This large museum holds a famous collection of French Impressionist paintings and an excellent 20th-century collection, housed in a Renzo Piano designed wing. After a private guided tour, there is time to explore the collection independently and a break for lunch. In the afternoon we take an architectural cruise on the Chicago River. The relaxing and entertaining cruise provides a

Above: The North Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana, designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and completed in 1964 Below: Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Oak Park; and Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, reflecting and distorting the city's skyline in Millennium Park, Chicago

summation of Chicago’s modern architecture. This evening we share a farewell dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight Chicago. (B, D)

Saturday October 26 Robie House

Our tour culminates with a private visit to the Robie House of 1909, the high point of Wright’s Prairie Style. Close to the Robie House is the campus of the University of Chicago and the site of the 1893 World’s Fair, which put Chicago on the map as a city of international renown. In the afternoon there is a transfer to Chicago’s O’Hare airport for onward and homeward flights. (B)

Hotels Hotels have been selected principally for their central location. Santa Monica (Los Angeles), Double Tree Suites Santa

Monica (3 nights) http://www.santamonica.com/hotel/doubletree-suites-by-hilton-hotel-santa-monica/

Palm Springs, Hard Rock Hotel (2 nights)

www.hrhpalmsprings.com Scottsdale (Arizona), Hotel Valley Ho (2 nights)

www.hotelvalleyho.com Columbus (Indiana), Hotel Indigo (2 nights)

www.ihg.com/hotelindigo/hotels/us/en/columbus/clubs/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-IN-_-US-_-CLUBS

Chicago, Klimpton Gray Hotel (3 nights)

www.kimptonhotels.com/stay/kimpton-gray-hotel-chicago-il

Above: American Gothic by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Chicago River from Michigan Ave Below: Inside Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, now recognised as a symbol of the Prairie style

An incredible example of mid-century modern minimalism; Farnsworth House by architect Mies van der Rohe, in Plano Illinois

Tour Price The tour price is $9,870 per person, twin share (land content only). The supplement for a single room is $2,170 per person. A non-refundable deposit of $500 per person is required to secure a place on the tour.

Tour Inclusions

Included in the tour price

All accommodation in carefully selected four-star hotels All breakfasts, and selected lunches and dinners as

mentioned in the itinerary Land travel by air-conditioned coach or taxi as required Economy class air travel from Phoenix, Arizona to

Indianapolis, Indiana Services of Australian tour leader throughout tour Qualified local guides Background talks on tour All entrance fees to sites mentioned on itinerary Tickets to performances in Los Angeles, Scottsdale, and

Chicago (subject to availability) Tips for all services stated as included in the itinerary Porterage of one piece of luggage at all hotels Extensive background notes

Not included

International air fares, taxes and surcharges (see below) Travel insurance Visa costs Meals not mentioned in itinerary Expenses of a personal nature

Air travel OPTIONS The tour price quoted is for land content only. For this tour we recommend flights with Qantas or United who have regular flights to Los Angeles. Please contact us for further information on competitive Economy, Business and First Class airfares. Transfers between airport and hotel are included for all passengers booking their flights through Academy Travel. These may be group or individual transfers.

Enquiries & bookings For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Jamal Fairbrother at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email jamal@academytravel.com.au

Fitness Requirements of THIS tour

GRADE TWO

It is important both for you and for your fellow travellers that you are fit enough to be able to enjoy all the activities on this tour. To give you an indication of the level of physical fitness required to participate on our tours, we have given them a star grading. Academy Travel’s tours tend to feature extended walking tours and site visits, which require greater fitness than coach touring. We ask you to carefully consider your ability to meet the physical demands of the tour.

Participation criteria for this tour

This Grade Two tour is designed for people who lead active lives and can comfortably participate in up to five hours of physical activity per day on most days, including longer walking tours, challenging archaeological sites, climbing stairs, embarking and disembarking trains and/or boats, and a more demanding tour schedule with one night stops or several internal flights. You should be able to: keep up with the group at all times walk for 4-5 kilometres at a moderate pace with only

short breaks stand for a reasonable length of time in galleries and

museums tolerate uncomfortable climatic conditions such as cold,

humidity and heat walk up and down slopes negotiate steps and slopes on archaeological sites,

which are often uneven and unstable get on and off a large coach with steep stairs, train or

boat unassisted, possibly with luggage move your luggage a short distance if required

A note for older travellers

If you are more than 80 years old, or have restricted mobility, it is highly likely that you will find this itinerary challenging. You will have to miss several activities and will not get the full value of the tour. Your booking will not be accepted until after you have contacted Academy Travel to discuss your situation and the exact physical requirements of this tour. While we will do our best to reasonably accommodate the physical needs of all group members, we reserve the right to refuse bookings if we feel that the requirements of the tour are too demanding for you and/or if local conditions mean we cannot reasonably accommodate your condition.