Growing up in Illinois, one is familiar with Oak Park and the studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. Even residences such as the Dana Thomas House in Springfield (I'll do a post during the holidays on this place) are destinations for both architecture aficionados as well as school children (and for interior designers like me who need an inspiration get-away). While walking around San Francisco and doing a bit of shopping, I happened across this gallery whose architecture I immediately recognized by non other than Wright himself.
Located on Maiden Street, nestled between Post and Geary right off of Union Square park, Xanadu Gallery and Folk Art International houses such gorgeous artwork from around the world. Whether it be Hellenistic jewelry from Greece dating from BC4000 to ancient Egyptian art to African and Himalayan sculpture. I was in heaven.
Built originally to hold the V.C. Morris Gift Store, it went under a complete renovation/restoration some years ago.
The distinctive architectural features include the Romanesque arch and the spiral staircase that actually was designed after Wright finished the plans for the Guggenheim.
Enjoy these photos. For the next post, I'll take you to another one of my favorite fabric stores located just steps from this gallery.
[note: last photo was from the SF Chronicle]
