1. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a premier art institution that, like the building itself, is a work of art.
2. There is a seal at the entrance to the Guggenheim that reads: “Let every man use his art.” These words were spoken by Aristophanes in 422 BC.
3. The original design decision to give the façade a red tint was made by Frank Lloyd Wright, as he believed that “red is the color of creation.”
4. Frank Lloyd Wright created over 700 sketches for the design of the Guggenheim Museum.
5.Guggenheim was Frank Lloyd Wright’s first commissioned project in Manhattan, despite his notoriety at the time.
6. Frank Lloyd Wright felt the need to design every element of the museum, down to the smallest detail associated with the color scheme of the baseboard.
7. The museum ramp, from the bottom to the dome, is 1416 feet or over a quarter of a mile long.
8. Frank Lloyd Wright intended to provide museum visitors with motorized wheelchairs.
9. In 1954, LIFE magazine published an article entitled “The New Art Museum will be the strangest building in New York.”
10. The Guggenheim Museum building was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 6, 2008.
