Frank Lloyd Wright in the workplace

After a lunch at the marina on the waterfront of Lake Michigan in Racine, we made our way to the SC Johnson Global Headquarters where FLW was commissioned to design the Administration Building with its Great Workroom, completed in 1939, and later completed in 1950, the 14-story cantilevered Research Tower. Head of SC Johnson Herbert F. Johnson, Jr. was so impressed with FLW’s work that he later hired him to design his nearby home Wingspread, which we visited the day before. 

Unfortunately, pictures of the interiors of these buildings are prohibited, so I can’t show you the impractically designed three-legged desk chair, which was known to pitch employees onto the floor if they sat any way but perfectly upright.  Legend has it that Herbert F. Johnson, Jr. told an incredulous FLW that his chairs needed a redesign and invited FLW to his office to discuss it. Strategically positioning a pen on the corner of Johnson’s desk, FLW reached for it and immediately found himself sprawled on the floor.  He agreed to redesign the chairs with four legs.

If you’ve ever climbed the narrow, winding staircase at Blarney Castle in Ireland to kiss the Blarney Stone, you have an idea what it’s like to make your way up the stairs of the Research Tower. (There is an elevator, no longer in use, that the faint of heart could use.) In this research space well-known products such as Glade, Raid, Off!, and Pledge were invented. 

The Research Tower is one of the largest buildings ever built on the cantilevered principle. The base of the structure is a mere 13 feet wide, while it rises 14 stories into the sky of the SC Johnson complex. 

Due to safety concerns with the narrow, winding staircase and the need for larger research space, employees abandoned work in the Research Tower in 1982. However, SC Johnson remains the conservator of this remarkable building, having completed restoration of it in 2014. 

Now, we’re on to Madison for further FLW adventures.