The Lighter:
Brook Stevens (1911-1995) was commissioned to make this 5.75” tall table lighter of the Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) designed Johnson Wax Research Tower (Racine, Wisconsin).
H.F. Johnson Jr (1899-1978), the then president of JohnsonWax, commissioned the lighter in 1946, the year before construction on the Tower began. The year, 1946, also marked the company’s 50th anniversary. The lighter was made to be given out to a select number of employees and customers as a memento.
The Building:
H.F. Johnson Jr said, “Anybody can build a typical building, I wanted to build the best office building in the world, and the only way to do that was to get the greatest architect in the world.” The two buildings created are now on the National Registry of Historic Places. The administration building opened in 1939, followed by the research tower in 1950. The Research Tower is one of the tallest structures ever built on the cantilever principle. The tower stands 153 feet tall and its center core (only 13 feet in Diameter), extends 54 feet into the ground. All 15 floors of the tower are supported by the “taproot” core. The building is like a tree enclosed in glass with each floor a branch.
Wright was not pleased with the future buildings industrial location, especially the lack of natural landscape. Wright decided to block the views of the nearby factories and focus inward to capture any nature he could. His ingenious solution were walls of horizontal Pyrex tubes which let sunlight in but obscure the local vista. Wright called his sun lighted design a “helio-lab.” At the building’s dedication he said he hoped it would be a “flower among the weeds” of typical, “drab” structures built for business.
Unfortunately the designs single narrow twisting staircase that wraps around the trunk of the tower did not allow the building to meet future fire safety codes and the building was taken out of use in the 1980s. SC Johnson considered a retrofit, but all submissions were rejected due to the fear it would mar the towers appearance. In 2013 the tower was opened for tours for the first time in its history.
Personal Thoughts:
I loved this item because it is like owning a lighter designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Additionally, the man who turned the tower into a lighter was the Frank Lloyd Wright of industrial design. Brooks Stevens beautifully and boldly designed everything from snowmobiles, Harley Davidsons, toys, appliances, cars, boats, the Miller High Life Logo, the Wienermobile, and everything in-between. Stevens took real delight in “literally knocking the great Wright down to size” when he designed this lighter. I find Stevens reference to size ironic because I bang my head on almost every entryway of a Wright home. They were built to the height of the ideal male, Wright’s height, which he boldly claimed to be 5’ 8.5.”
I just left the Johnson Wax tour, and again he “knocked me down.” I didn’t hit my head this time, I’m just in awe of his brilliance. It is like being inside and outside at the same time. It is like being in the past and yet it is cutting edge futuristic. It appears simple and integral from the outside, but complex and unexpected within. It was like that feeling you get from viewing truly beautiful nature, but you’re standing inside art made of glass and brick.
Where to see the lighter:
The lighter can be seen on the third floor of the Johnson Wax Tower in Racine, Wisconsin. I highly recommend the tour, and hopefully on a clear day where the 7,000 Pyrex tubes appear to bend the internal light onto each floor.