Eden Rift

Since 1849, the region presently known as Eden Rift has been under vine. These limestone- and dolomite-rich soils have passed through the hands of fearless pioneers with their own bold viticultural obsessions for well over a century. Walter Burley Griffin, a fan of the Prairie School and a close associate of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the Dickinson House. It is a true representation of Prairie School architecture from the early twentieth century, having been built in 1906. The Prairie School was an anti-mass-production, anti-assembly-line style that pushed for "organic architecture," the idea that a structure should appear to have grown organically from the land on which it was built. Moreover, the Prairie School was conceived as a uniquely North American architectural style. In order to achieve this, the Prairie School builders used decoration sparingly. With its basic, prominent horizontal lines, inconspicuous roof, and overhanging eaves, the Dickinson House exemplifies this. It appears to yield to the natural world around it.