ANNUNCIATION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH: DOORS OPEN MILWAUKEE

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is one of the last buildings that Frank Lloyd Wright designed.  A poured concrete building, it was completed in 1961.  I have photographed it before from the exterior, but its interior is generally not available to the general public.  However, for the first time it was open to the public as part of Milwaukee's Doors Open event, held each September.  Here is a shot of the church from the exterior.  Note the line of visitors.

I was included in the first set of visitors and invited to listen to a presentation on the history of the church.  The building is in an impressive setting with open areas on all sides of the round building.

The church looks small from the outside but much more spacious from the interior.  Here is a shot I took of the panels of murals behind the dais.

The church has a balcony area that encircles the interior.  Three sets of spiral staircases lead both up to the balcony and down to a basement level.   A little gaudy, I thought.

Unfortunately, I lost patience with the presentation in the church and decided I needed to leave for my next venue and missed taking more photos of the interior.  Maybe next year.

On my way back to my car, I took a couple of detail shots of the exterior.

A close inspection of these shots reveals some deterioration of the exterior, unfortunately characteristic of some of Wright's work, which is high on innovation but a little lacking in maintenance practicality.

John