Frank Lloyd Wright Tourism Center Reopens June 1; Limited Campus Tours to Resume June 15

The Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center and GEICO Gift Shop at Florida Southern College will reopen to the public on Tuesday, June 1, welcoming visitors who wish to sign up for future guided tours or purchase Frank Lloyd Wright-themed merchandise. Souvenir maps of the famed architect’s world-renowned campus structures will be available for self-guided walking tours, and limited-capacity guided tours of the campus will resume on Tuesday, June 15.

All Wright-related campus tours and events halted in March 2020, in response to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

Upon reopening, the tourism center and gift shop will set regular business hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week. With the resumption of docent-led campus tours, groups will be limited to a maximum of 10 people. Two different campus tours will be offered: a 2.5-hour In-Depth Tour will start at 10:30 a.m. daily; a 1.5-hour Basic Tour will start at 2 p.m. daily. Face masks will be required indoors.

Both the In-Depth and Basic campus tours will begin at the Tourism and Education Center at the corner of Frank Lloyd Wright Way and Johnson Avenue. A docent will lead the walking tours, explaining Wright’s vision for the campus and describing the unique construction methods he chose for each site, including the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, the Danforth Chapel, and the Usonian House.

Separate tours of the Usonian House – designed by Wright in 1939 as a proposed single-family faculty home and constructed in late 2013 to serve as part of the tourism center – may be available, as well.

Thirteen of Wright’s proposed structures were funded and built at Florida Southern, giving the College the world’s largest single-site collection of the architect’s work – and his only executed design for a college campus. The Florida Southern College Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2012. Approximately 60,000 guests visit FSC’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed campus structures annually.

To make tour reservations or to request more information, call the Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center at 863.680.4597 or visit www.flsouthern.edu/fllw.