Florida Southern College, McDonald & Johnson Avenues, Lakeland, Polk County, FL

Significance: Florida Southern College is architect Frank Lloyd Wright's largest collection of buildings and their design covered the longest period of time. The College's president, Dr. Ludd M. Spivey, and Mr. Wright embarked on this project with no written agreement, only a handshake. When the first building came in five times over the budget, and when succeeding designs were still four times more expensive than anticipated, these two men decided to build the campus with student labor. Mr. Wright would send blueprints from Taliesin for each building. These prints would be without dimensions or details. Mr. Wright would also send several of his students with the drawings. Mr. Wright's students would then make such working drawings and details as were necessary to construct the buildings. Dr. Spivey's students would then take time from their classes to build the buildings. Steel frame, concrete, glass, cypress, and coquina were used in the construction of the buildings.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-82
Survey number: HABS FL-323
Building/structure dates: ca. 1957 Initial Construction