The Gordon Strong Automobile Objective, Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland, 1924-1925
Issues of mobility and landscape became paramount in Wright's concept for the Gordon Strong Automobile Objective. It was his first project to explore circular geometries as a means of fully shaping architectural space, and he acknowledged difficulties in depicting its complex forms. The result was a design without exact parallel.
Gordon Strong (1869-1954) was a Chicago businessman of considerable wealth. During travels in 1902 he became captivated by Sugarloaf Mountain, a solitary outcrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains with the feel of wilderness in the midst of a cultivated landscape, and he began to acquire land that comprised both the mountain itself and its undeveloped setting.
During the summer of 1924 he met with Wright to discuss possible schemes for its development, and by September of that year had fixed upon an ambitious program. As he explained to Wright, he wanted to erect "a structure on the summit of Sugar Loaf Mountain" that would "serve as an objective for short motor trips," primarily from Washington and Baltimore, both nearby.
Strong said he wanted a building that would enhance the enjoyment of views from the mountain top, and he specified that "the element of thrill, as well as the element of beauty" were both to be part of the experience. He further stipulated that its appearance be "striking, impressive, . . . enduring, so that the structure will constitute a permanent and credible monument."
Roadmap showing the proposed location of the Gordon Strong Automobile Objective on Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland
Roadmap showing the proposed location of the Gordon Strong Automobile Objective on Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland. USGS Highway Map, 1922. Color photolithograph. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona (107)
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Hypothetical study model of the Gordon Strong Automobile Objective
Strong had provided a detailed topographic survey of his site, which facilitated Wright's efforts and greatly helped in constructing the present model.
The site itself remains largely unchanged, and the model suggests how Wright's design was expertly scaled to engage its specific features. Lower portions of the structure would have retained the site's steeper edges, and some shaping of the land would have been necessary to provide parking for automobiles; otherwise little manipulation of the terrain was required.
No scheme survives, however, to suggest how a roadway might have led up the steepest slopes of the mountain top to the project