Wright built Taliesin to serve as a home for himself, his mother, Anna Lloyd Jones Wright; Mamah Borthwick Cheney, wife of a former client; and Cheney's two children. Wright also had a small studio at Taliesin. On August 15, 1914, a fire destroyed the living quarters of Taliesin killing Mamah Cheney, her children, and four others. Wright rebuilt and expanded the building after the fire. The resulting structure continued to serve as Wright's primary home and studio in Wisconsin.
