V. C. Morris Gift Shop

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim

Category Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture

Image of V. C. Morris Gift Shop located in  | The entrance of Frank Lloyd Wright's V.C. Morris Shop, a precedent for the Guggenheim. (Wikimedia Commons)

The entrance of Frank Lloyd Wright's V.C. Morris Shop, a precedent for the Guggenheim. (Wikimedia Commons)

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Image of V. C. Morris Gift Shop located in  | The entrance of Frank Lloyd Wright's V.C. Morris Shop, a precedent for the Guggenheim. (Wikimedia Commons) Image of V. C. Morris Gift Shop located in  | The exterior of the building. (Wikimedia Commons) Image of V. C. Morris Gift Shop located in  | Inside of the V. C. Morris Gift Shop. (Wikimedia Commons) Image of V. C. Morris Gift Shop located in  | Inside of the V. C. Morris Gift Shop. (Wikimedia Commons)
Architectural Oddities http://atlasobscura.com/category/architectural-oddities Outsider Architecture http://atlasobscura.com/category/architectural-oddities/outsider-architecture

This building, on Maiden Lane in downtown San Francisco, California, is instantly recognizable as having the touch of Frank Lloyd Wright. While the celebrated architect didn't actually design the building, he did oversee a renovation in 1948.

Wright would go on to use the store as a physical prototype, or proof of concept, for the circular ramp inside of the main room at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Xanadu Gallery, the current owner of the building, spent considerable amounts of money to restore the building to Wright's vision from the '40s. Xanadu had to retrofit the building for current amenities, like central air conditioning, without losing some of Wright's architectural touches. Even the furniture inside of the building, most of it constructed of black walnut, was designed by Wright.

In 2007, the V. C. Morris Gift Shop was listed on the American Institute of Architects' list of the group's 150 favorite buildings anywhere in America. It came in at number 126.

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  • Hours Xanadu Art Gallery: Tue.-Sat.: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
  • Website V. C. Morris Store
  • Address 140 Maiden Lane, San Francisco, California, United States
  • Cost Free.
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