Guggenheim Museum Named UNESCO World Heritage Site

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Guggenheim Museum was named to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's list of world heritage sites, the international organization announced Sunday.

The Guggenheim is one of eight buildings designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright to be inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. There are more than 1,000 world heritage sites located throughout the world, but the Guggenheim will join the Statue of Liberty as New York City's second site on the list.

Wright's building became the Guggenheim's permanent home in 1959. The museum is located on a stretch of Fifth Avenue referred to as "Museum Mile" and takes up a full block between East 88th and 89th streets. The building was named a city landmark in 1990 and a national landmark in 2008.

Other sites designed by Wright that were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List include:

• Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois;
• The Frederick C. Robie House in Chicago;
• Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin;
• Hollyhock House in Los Angeles;
• Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pennsylvania;
• The Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House in Madison, Wisconsin;
• Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"These buildings reflect the “organic architecture” developed by Wright, which includes an open plan, a blurring of the boundaries between exterior and interior and the unprecedented use of materials such as steel and concrete. Each of these buildings offers innovative solutions to the needs for housing, worship, work or leisure. Wright's work from this period had a strong impact on the development of modern architecture in Europe," UNESCO wrote in a statement.

The designation of the Frank Lloyd Wright sites is the first time UNESCO has honored a collection of modern architecture, Guggenheim officials said.