Fallingwater is the house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for Edgar Kaufman in the Laurel Mountains of Southwestern PA. The house is unique in a number of ways, not the least of which is the waterfall it encompasses!
It also happens that one of my Florida friends is the niece of Edgar Kaufman, and often visited Fallingwater as a child. She was mortified when her aunt (Kaufman's wife) would skinny dip in the plunge pool.
We were impressed with the place. I have mixed feelings about the house. Frank Lloyd Wright, with his vision that one's habitat should be an extension of the landscape, really pushed the envelope on this one. Last year the Nature Conservancy, who owns the house now, spent more than 2 million dollars in structural repairs to keep the place standing. I kind of think that this house, as unique as it is, is going to have to erode and fall like the other rocks of the waterfall.
We were not allowed to photograph inside the home during the tour, but here are some outside photos.
Hi Beth,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you got to visit FallingWater. I went there about 10 years ago, but it was in the summer. It's beautiful any time of the year. I think I have the same set of photographs!
If you ever head in the direction of Harrisburg let me know - perhaps we could get together for coffee/tea.
GOod to hear from you, Larry. Yes, that would be good to visit! I'm looking at Gettysburg and I think that Harrisburg is on the way.
ReplyDeleteAlso it appears to me that Fallingwaters is really a summer home. Even my friend who visited during the 40s said that she had never seen it in winter.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a triumph of art over science -- at least temporarily.
ReplyDeleteI strongly recommend that you visit the Ephratha Colony during Advent, if you can. You will love it. Perhaps it is a long drive since it is closer to Philly. They preserved the Protestant monastic community's compound that was established there until the Civil War era. Are there any Shaker colonies nearby to see?
It looks interesting, Barbara. I'm not sure if we'll get over that way - though there is a lot of interesting stuff it is still a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive one way. But you never know.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there must be Shaker colonies around. There was one in KY (Shakertown) that I knew of and visited. I do see communities of Amish (I guess they are Amish) around, esp in western NY state. I recognize them by the farm equipment and the buggies. There's also Amish cheese for sale in the local grocery store which is not a big chain store. I've heard some people talking about a place nearby in Ohio where they sale Amish furniture.