A spectacular day at a spectacular place, Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous “Fallingwater” in Pennsylvania. On our trip out west we arranged to spend an extra day in the area to take the tour. We had to reserve well in advance because the tour groups are kept small due to Covid. And we were lucky enough to get a couple of last-minute openings on the inside tour.
The approaches from the parking lot and visitors center give you ample opportunity to view the beautiful natural setting, and the waterfalls an cascades that give the house its name. One of the viewing locations is the “birds-eye” view. You can see the broader layout, with the array of terraces and the guest house above. A closer view. There are terraces connected to the lower-level entry area, the main living space, and each of the three bedrooms. A more traditional view. This is considered the front of the house. This has been on Elyse’s bucket list for a long time. In typical Wright fashion, the main entrance is around the back, sheltered and private. Here’s a view from the outside looking in. Entering the low narrow entranceway and proceeding to the main living area, you experience Wright’s principle of “compression and release.” The low, dark hallway opens up to a higher ceiling and a room with glass all around. You’re up above the forest, and surrounded by it. A view out to a terrace. The terrace floors, as well as the interior floors, are large flagstones. The furniture is designed by FLW and it’s all very low to the floor so that nothing obstructs the view . Standing on one of the famous cantilevered terraces over the creek. These ingenious windows rise up in a column from the top to the bottom. Notice the mitred glass corners. No window frame to obstruct the view. This red is called “Cherokee Red,” and FLW used it extensively in his buildings. The relatively modest kitchen is just off the main room. Contrary to popular belief the house is not a bridge over the creek. The cantilevers are all concrete — no structural steel. That zig-zaggy terracotta structure is a covered walkway up to the guest house. It’s all poured concrete. The walkway up to the guest house entrance. There’s a swimming pool behind the wall to the left, fed by springs. Guests are treated to the same quality of art and design as the family in the main house. There is a plunge pool, fed by the cold spring water, at the bottom of the stairs. Note also the sculpture, part of the Kaufmans’ large art collection. And we’re off.
Wright’s idealistic idea of building a house like this with no structural steel was not a genius idea. The terraces had sagged badly, and a major construction project a few years ago used cables to hoist things back up. But not completely; it still sags about seven inches. If they pulled it up higher windows would have broken and doors wouldn’t have closed.
Also, while you’re in the area, you might check out “Polymath Park.” A historical preservation house where Wright built one of his Usonian houses, and the curators have moved Wright houses from other places. This one was disassembled piece-by-piece in Minnesota, transported in several large shipping containers, and rebuilt in Pennsylvania.
