LUNCHTIME IN THE GARDENS OF LAKELAND with Frank Lloyd Wright and the Highwaymen

LUNCHTIME IN THE GARDENS OF LAKELAND
HIGHWAYMEN AND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT EXHIBITS AT THE AGB MUSEUM OF ART
HOLLIS GARDEN, KALEIDOSCOPE BUTTERFLIES IN FLIGHT, THE GARDEN BISTRO AND THE LARGEST PUBLIC DISPLAY OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT ARCHITECTURE!
The September Issue of Southern Living listed Florida Southern College as one of the South's most stunning campuses

"College Sweethearts" Prepare to fall in love with the South's most stunning campuses
"Florida Southern College
With it's amazing collection of buildings conceived by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright--as well as it's scenic locale along Lake Hollingsworth--Florida Southern breaks the classic collegiate design mold. Anne Kerr who served as President from 2004 to 2024, says Wright was challenged to produce something uniquely American rather than drawing on the typical European or old world influences. Wright originals (like the angular Anne Pfeiffer Chapel, and the JEdgar Wall Waterdome, and the newly renovated planetarium) are sprinkled throughout and inspire a spirit of innovation. Each year about 120,000 tourists visit the Florida Southern College Historic District, a National Historic Landmark."

Museum Exhibits-
Frank Lloyd Wright & The College of Tomorrow
Step into the world of Frank Lloyd Wright and discover how America’s most celebrated architect spent two decades designing and imagining a campus of the future, now home to Florida Southern College. This large-scale Smithsonian Affiliate Museum exhibition at the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art takes you behind the scenes and into the archives, exploring Wright’s timeless vision, storied career, and most famous architectural masterworks along the way.
Hair & Newton: The Rise of the Highwaymen
Starting in the 1950s, a period when America was still deep in the throes of segregation, the Florida Highwaymen defied all odds. A prodigious group of African-American artists who plied their trade painting Florida’s landscapes and sold their work from the trunks of their cars, the Highwaymen discovered success in simplicity. With landscapes that read today like a land remembered, laced with nostalgia, the Highwaymen found a niche to call their own, producing an estimated 200,000 works that have become beloved features of local homes, hotels, restaurants, and museum collections across the region today. The Highwaymen have become a storied part of Florida’s history.
At the same time, though, the art history of the Highwaymen offers a strange — but not altogether unsurprising — case. When one mentions “the art of the Highwaymen” to many Floridians, their ears perk up and their eyes brighten, with a glowing and knowing fondness for homegrown art. When you mention “the art of the Highwaymen” to non-Floridians, most look at you with little or no recognition of what you are talking about.
In this first installation of works on long-term loan from the collection of the Woodsby family, we start appropriately at the beginning, with the rise of the Highwaymen and a focus on the two founding figures of this much-loved yet under-sung art movement, Alfred Hair and Harold Newton.
Before my first visit, I thought of Lakeland as the home of Publix, the supermarket chain headquartered there since the 1920s, and the spring training home of the Detroit Tigers, who have been there almost as long. Lakeland is a place where you can spend more than a day exploring parks and gardens, admiring historic downtown buildings restored to their former luster, and discovering a community where art and culture abound. The first thing you need to know: Lakeland has a lot of lakes – just 38 of them have names. A good place to start a walking tour is Lake Mirror Park, where you can circle the lake on a wide walkway accented by ornate 1920s-style pillars.
A stairway leads to another Lakeland treasure, Hollis Garden, overlooking the lake. This 1.2-acre garden features more than 10,000 flowers, ornamental shrubs and trees, organized into 16 themed sections called "rooms." One of my favorites was Trees of Americana, descendants of historic trees such as the Helen Keller Water Oak. For lunch, I stopped next door at the Garden Bistro, where I dined on the cozy terrace. As I headed up Main Street into downtown, I noticed people enjoying sweeping city views from rocking chairs on the Terrace Hotel's wide veranda. Drawn into the lobby, I was impressed with the black-and-white tile, nostalgic wicker furnishings and oversized, arching windows overlooking a lake. Built in 1924, the Terrace was the city's first grand hotel. Although it was refurbished in 1998, the owners kept the original style while adding modern amenities. Guest rooms are furnished with soft colors and fabrics, reflecting an airy Florida feel. I continued my stroll.
Members $90 Guests $95 includes transportation, Admissions, Guided Tour of the Usonian Home on Campus, Visit the Frank Lloyd wright architecture and Exhibition at the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum.
Leave Suntree Red Ginger Leave 8am Return around 7pm