Frank Lloyd Wright believed that the United States of America should have a culture of its own, one without European influences that would reflect the nation's democratic ideals. In order to make that belief a reality, he created an architecture that expressed and reinforced those ideals.

When Wright first began his practice in 1893, his residential designs were considered radical and “curiously modern. " The broad, extended horizontal line, low proportions closely associated with the ground, wide overhangs, and gently sloping roofs are some of the distinctive features which characterized his early domestic architecture. But behind those exterior features a whole new language of architecture was being created. Wright had, in fact, made a complete break with the traditional styles prevalent at that time. But it was not long before the homes and buildings across the United States began to exhibit some of the basic elements of Wright's work: the open plan, the corner window, the carport, and the use of steel, reinforced concrete and plate glass in new and revolutionary ways…[+]