In 1936, Herbert Fisk Johnson, Jr. commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a new administration building for S.C. Johnson Wax. Completed in 1939, Wright called the 14,000-foot creation Wingspread, because its four wings embrace the prairie, while the roof over the central Great Hall soars skyward.

Wingspread’s primary materials – Kasota limestone, red Streator Brick, tinted stucco and unstained tidewater cypress – anchor the house, while its many windows and skylights open it to the sky by admitting air, light and views of the sky and landscape.

In 1961, the Johnson family formally dedicated Wingspread to The Johnson Foundation to be used as a conference center.

Wingspread was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990. (The Johnson Foundation)