True: On our first date, knowing Doug was an Architecture major, I asked him if he had a favorite building. The question made sense to me? He said no one had ever asked him that question. He said Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Fallingwater” house was his favorite.
Doug had been on a tour of the Fallingwater house previously, although not the “extended” tour. When Doug recently mentioned that it might be fun to visit his Aunt and Uncle in PA, he thought it might also be fun to do the Fallingwater extended tour. We had to buy tickets a few weeks in advance. tour, or 4: p.m.. it was, which meant an EXTREMELY early wake-up call for us, because the house was about 2 hours away from the Schulers’ house. We woke-up at and headed out. We had laid-out the kids’ clothes the night before the day trip. The Schulers, Careys and Mike would be able to watch them, thankfully.
Doug and I stopped for some coffee on the way there. It was nice to just get away by ourselves. On the way there, I looked again at the “coffee table” Fallingwater book. We got to the entrance, which was still closed, 15 minutes early. Once the landmark opened, we checked in and waited for our tour guide. It was a little cooler as we approached the waterfall, but wasn’t too cold. I was surprised by the large number of native rhododendron plants on the property; they’re everywhere! I would imagine it would be absolutely beautiful when these flowers are in bloom.
We had a great extended tour, with only 4-5 other people attending. We learned about the history of the property, plans, construction, use of the rooms, etc. We even got to see the boiler room in the basement (not much to see, honestly). We visited the guest house above along with rooms that have been converted into working offices today. Seeing it in a book doesn’t do it justice. It is a house / structure that you definitely have to walk through to appreciate fully.
I can easily identify now, having seen this house, one house in particular that I’ve personally walked through, that use many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s ideas. (Copycat! ;-)
I didn’t expect for the view down from the terrace to the waterfall to take my breath away. It did. I'm not scared of heights, but when I peered over the edge, the view honestly took my breath away.
Aside from that, what impressed me the most?
- The Cherokee red “corner” windows that can fully open, thereby showing they are not dependent upon each other for structure / support.
- How the floor in the living area mimics the look of water rippling, moving.
- The window box over the stairway to the basement. I would LOVE THAT garden!
- The functional use of the internal stairway, as a bookcase.
- The steps leading directly into Bear Run.
- How few times FLW visited the site during the project.
- FLW’s use of sunlight through windows, situation of house on property, especially given how limited the number of his site visits.
- The furniture was designed / created by a navy shipping furniture company.
- The full mirror in the bathroom, which makes the bathroom appear double its size.
- The emphasis on living with nature and including it in daily life.
- FLW’s emphasis on having fewer clothes to fit the existing closet size.
- FLW’s use of different architectural styles within the same building (Southwest/Santa Fe on the upper balcony of Mr. Kaufmann’s bedroom).
- Hearing that the rocks were all quarried on-site.
- That even someone as seemingly “great” as FLW had such flawed structural work that cost millions upon millions of dollars.
- How egotistical FLW was. I knew this, but it seems the more I learn about him, the more egotistical he seems.
- How incredibly dramatic his personal life was.
- How much “volume control” there is regarding the sound of the waterfall by opening / closing the windows slightly.
- How much the structure needed to be shored-up, just to minimize existing damage (not to make it entirely level – which is impossible).
- That Mr. and Mrs. Kaufmann were FIRST COUSINS!
If you ever get the chance to go take the extended tour, I would highly suggest it! It definitely was eye-opening to me. We took our time after the tour, taking pictures and going to the gift shop. One of the women working there, upon learning that Doug was an architect, mentioned how lucky we are to live so close to such a piece of art. She said people come from all over the world to see this house. Many older architects, she said, actually tear-up when they visit, knowing that FLW was so impactful on the field of architecture.
We then left, going to a local Subway to eat lunch (there honestly weren’t too many places from which to choose-given the remote location of this house) and then headed back to the Schulers’ house. It was a great day trip!
Peace, love and the Wright stuff,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
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