--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you would see how interwoven it is in…" description: "\"If you would see how interwoven it is in the warp and woof of civilization ... go at night-fall to the top of one of the down-town steel giants and you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/frank-lloyd-wright-1353_cities_if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in_3028416.jpg" --- # If you would see how interwoven it is in the warp and woof… ![“If you would see how interwoven it is in the warp and woof of civilization ... go at night-fall to the top of one of the down-town steel giants and you may see how in the image of material man, at once his glory and his menace, is this thing we call a city.” quote by Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/frank-lloyd-wright-1353_cities_if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in_3028416.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/frank-lloyd-wright-1353_cities_if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in_3028416.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/frank-lloyd-wright-1353_cities_if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in_3028416.jpg) > “If you would see how interwoven it is in the warp and woof of civilization ... go at night-fall to the top of one of the down-town steel giants and you may see how in the image of material man, at once his glory and his menace, is this thing we call a city.” [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a city as a woven fabric of civilization, visible from a skyscraper at night. **In simple terms:** Cities are complex, interwoven structures. Key Takeaway Appreciate urban interdependence. Themes architecture urbanism interconnectedness Mood awe reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban planning - architecture education - tourism - environmental design Key Concepts fabric metaphor civilization cityscape human impact Questions to Reflect On - What does a city’s night view reveal to you? - How does urban design affect social life? A Different Perspective Cities can be overwhelming and alienating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-night-4935825/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Giants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giants/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Material Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-man-4935824/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Menace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/menace/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steel/) [Steel Giants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steel-giants-4935826/) [Thing City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-city-4935823/) [Towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towns/) [Warp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warp/) ## Related quotes > [“He was staring off across the long broad fields, raising his eyes above the red clay soil to the horizon, looking across the fiery-red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-thompson/he-was-staring-off-across-the-long-broad-fields-raising-his-eyes/) [Jim Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-thompson/) > [But deepest of all illusory Appearances, for hiding Wonder, as for many other ends, are your two grand fundamental world-enveloping Appearances, SPACE and TIME.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/but-deepest-of-all-illusory-appearances-for-hiding-wonder-as-for-many/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [If we can clean up our world, I'll bet you we can achieve warp drive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/if-we-can-clean-up-our-world-i-ll-bet-you-we-can-achieve-warp-drive/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [What's best about those seaside towns is that they are like time warps, and that's why people go there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harland-miller/what-s-best-about-those-seaside-towns-is-that-they-are-like-time/) [Harland Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harland-miller/) > [“Speech is a spell, and words, once ejected into the air, warp the weave of worlds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ho-tzu-nyen/speech-is-a-spell-and-words-once-ejected-into-the-air-warp-the-weave/) [Ho Tzu Nyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ho-tzu-nyen/) > [One piece of advice I have is: Want something else more than success. Success is a lovely thing, but your desire to say something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/one-piece-of-advice-i-have-is-want-something-else-more-than-success/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [A lot of the Warp stuff has infected people's minds 'cause they're at the point where they can put tracks out, 'cause electronics are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-booth/a-lot-of-the-warp-stuff-has-infected-people-s-minds-cause-they-re-at/) [Sean Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-booth/) > [She thought of what it would be like to grow up without the one certainty that every baby deseved - when I'm hurt or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/she-thought-of-what-it-would-be-like-to-grow-up-without-the-one/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [Dreams of warp drives and hyperspace are just that - dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/dreams-of-warp-drives-and-hyperspace-are-just-that-dreams/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Even the choicest literature should be taken as the condiment, and not as the sustenance of life. It should be neither the warp nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/even-the-choicest-literature-should-be-taken-as-the-condiment-and-not/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/old-and-new-make-the-warp-and-woof-of-every-moment-there-is-no-thread-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Buckmester County was in a time warp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monika-barbara-potocki/buckmester-county-was-in-a-time-warp/) [Monika Barbara Potocki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monika-barbara-potocki/) > [I taught elementary school and painted apartments for ten years. Now I write full-time and never have to change a thing I write. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/i-taught-elementary-school-and-painted-apartments-for-ten-years-now-i/) [Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/) > [Time is the warp and matter the weft of the woven texture of beauty in space, and death is the hurling shuttle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/time-is-the-warp-and-matter-the-weft-of-the-woven-texture-of-beauty/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emerson/old-and-new-make-the-warp-and-woof-of-every-moment-there-is-no-thread/) [Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emerson/) ## More by Frank Lloyd Wright > [From time to time the continent shifts, and everything that isn't fastened down slides into Southern California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/from-time-to-time-the-continent-shifts-and-everything-that-isn-t/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Respect the masterpiece. It is true reverence to man. There is no quality so great, none so much needed now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/respect-the-masterpiece-it-is-true-reverence-to-man-there-is-no/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [“Nature is my manifestation of God. I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day's work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/nature-is-my-manifestation-of-god-i-go-to-nature-every-day-for/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Each had his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart; and his friends could only read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/each-had-his-past-shut-in-him-like-the-leaves-of-a-book-known-to-him/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [“How many understand that Nature is the essencial character of whatever is. It's something you'll find by looking not at, but in, always in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/how-many-understand-that-nature-is-the-essencial-character-of/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [The cultural influences in our country are like the floo floo bird. I am referring to the peculiar and especial bird who always flew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/the-cultural-influences-in-our-country-are-like-the-floo-floo-bird-i/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Early in life, I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/early-in-life-i-had-to-choose-between-honest-arrogance-and/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [The Lincoln Memorial is related to the toga and the civilization that wore it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/the-lincoln-memorial-is-related-to-the-toga-and-the-civilization-that/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [The belief in a thing makes it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/the-belief-in-a-thing-makes-it-happen/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [“give me the luxuries of life and I will gladly do without the necessities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/give-me-the-luxuries-of-life-and-i-will-gladly-do-without-the/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [It's easier to make changes with a pencil than a wrecking bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/it-s-easier-to-make-changes-with-a-pencil-than-a-wrecking-bar/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Life always rides in strength to victory, not through internationalism... but only through the direct responsibility of the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/life-always-rides-in-strength-to-victory-not-through-internationalism/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [A man is a fool if he drinks before he reaches fifty, and a fool if he doesn't drink afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/a-man-is-a-fool-if-he-drinks-before-he-reaches-fifty-and-a-fool-if-he/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Entering into the spirit of this interior, you will discover the best possible atmosphere in which to show fine paintings or listen to music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/entering-into-the-spirit-of-this-interior-you-will-discover-the-best/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [A great architect is not made by way of a brain nearly so much as he is made by way of a cultivated, enriched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/a-great-architect-is-not-made-by-way-of-a-brain-nearly-so-much-as-he/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) [Explore all 251 Frank Lloyd Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you would see how interwoven it is in the warp and woof of civilization ... go at night-fall to the top of one of the down-town steel giants and you may see how in the image of material man, at once his glory and his menace, is this thing we call a city.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Lloyd Wright" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in-the-warp-and-woof-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in-the-warp-and-woof-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/frank-lloyd-wright-1353_cities_if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in_3028416.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/frank-lloyd-wright-1353_cities_if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in_3028416.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/frank-lloyd-wright-1353_cities_if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in_3028416.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you would see how interwoven it is in the warp and woof of civilization ... go at night-fall to the top…” — Frank Lloyd Wright", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frank Lloyd Wright", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you would see how interwoven...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in-the-warp-and-woof-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/if-you-would-see-how-interwoven-it-is-in-the-warp-and-woof-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```