(La Porte County, IN) - A late architect and toy maker who once lived in La Porte County will have his name go up on a bridge.
John Lloyd Wright was one of six people nominated to have their names on signs attached to bridges in La Porte County.
In 1920, Wright obtained a patent for his Lincoln Logs, which are still sold in stores today. The miniature toy logs interconnect allowing users to make log cabins and other buildings from wooden pegs resembling timber.
La Porte County Historian Bruce Johnson said Wright was an architect in training when he came up with the idea for Lincoln Logs while working with his famous architect father, Frank Lloyd Wright, in Japan.
“During the construction of the Imperial Hotel in Japan, he observed the interlocking log beams that were designed by his father to resist earthquakes. John used the concept to create three quarter inch wooden logs that interlock to create miniature buildings,” he said.
The logs were named after the nation’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, because he grew up in a log cabin.
In 1999, Johnson said Lincoln Logs were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
“What was said to be one of the first toys promoted for both boys and girls became a huge success,” he said.
Originally from the Chicago area, Wright in 1923 moved to Long Beach where he was commissioned annually to design buildings, including homes along the lakefront and in the dunes.
His office space as an architect was in the Warren Building on Franklin St. in Michigan City’s downtown.
In 1946, Johnson said Wright moved to southern California where he continued to have success designing buildings in San Diego. He was 80 when he passed away in 1972.
Wright's niece was Anne Baxter, who was raised in Michigan City and shot to fame as an actress in Broadway plays, Hollywood movies and TV shows.
The La Porte County Commissioners recently accepted the nominations under a program established a few years ago to highlight famous, successful and other deserving individuals who once resided in the county by placing their names on bridges.
