Esplanade
Posted by: 
macdonr
N 28° 01.906 W 081° 56.837
17R E 406885 N 3101083
This is one of twelve structures at Florida Southern College designed by and constructed under the supervision of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Waymark Code: WMP29
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/01/2006
Views: 88
The Esplanade is a low covered walkway extending between the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at FSC, proving a physical and aesthetic connection for the project. It was constructed between 1941 and 1958, except for one small detached section east of the Danforth Chapel that was finished in about 1969. The Esplanade measures approximately one and a half miles in length, and much of the cantilevered roof edge is trimmed with decorative bands of copper, which disperse rainwater in sheets to the ground. Planters at the base of Esplanade piers memorialize donors to the building fund. The Esplanade cost approximately $86,000.
Although the Esplanade is visible across much of the west side of campus, the coordinates will take you to a particularly interesting spot, where one may examine a cross section of the Esplanade roof. Wright's original plan called for additional structures east of this point, accounting for the abrupt end of the Esplanade here.
Visitors are welcome on the campus. Please park in marked visitor parking, or along Johnson Avenue, on the west side of campus. Walking tour brochures with maps are available here:
N 28° 01.913 W 081° 56.955
The Florida Southern College Architectural District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.