Frank Lloyd Wright's "Falling Water."

     Built between 1936 and 1939, Falling Water, Frank Lloyd Wright’s creation for the Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh,PA, continues to be an impressive work of architecture that attracts thousand

of visitors every year.

     Falling Water is located in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania.  It’s takes about an hour-and-a-half to get to Falling Water from Pittsburgh, and about four hours from Washington, DC. The house is in the woods, between the towns of Mill Run and Ohiopyle. Visitors walk from the ticket office and souvenier shop up a gravel path to Falling Water.

View of deck over stream, Falling Water, PA.

Most people are familiar with Falling Water from books and magazine articles, but never have a chance to visit. The stream that runs underneath the large deck and then over stones to a pool below, gives visitors the impression they have walked into a futuristic scene, and yet the houe was built in the late 1930s.

     The Kaufmann’s had owned land outside of Pittsburgh for years and had been visiting the area mostly during the summer to escape from the city heat. According to one of the tour guides, the temperature at Falling Water is usually 10 degrees cooler than in Pittsburgh. As a result of their success in the department store business the  Kaufmann’s commissioned Wright to design and construct a home for them on their country property. Wright’s philosophy, according to the tour guide, was to build structures that seemed to develop from the natural surroundings. His goal was to build structures that blended in with their environment. Rather than cut trees and move heavy stones, Wright sought ways to build structures that complemented the natural scene. For example, one large boulder in the stream that other architects would have moved out of the way, serves as a foundation stone for part of Falling Water.

View of Falling Water, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
in late 1930s.

     Falling Water was intended to be a showpiece that the Kaufmann’s could use to entertain friends from the worlds of business and art. Our tour guide informed us that artists from the U.S., Europe, and Mexico had stayed at Falling Water. Art work by Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo is prominently displayed in Falling Water. In fact, Frida Khalo spent several days visiting with the Kaufmann’s in the 1940s, said the tour guide.

The tour guide also pointed out the screens on the small windows. Wright did not like screens because he felt they created a barrier people and nature. However, in the 1960s the Board of Directors of Falling Water, after the Kaufmann’s only son, Edgar, had given up the home, voted to install screens. Visitors were complaining about the insects that were coming into the house, especially mosquitos, said the tour guide and the Board of Directors finally approved a measure to override the wishes of Wright and install screens. Wright would not have been happy.

     A tour of Falling Water will not disspoint. The views of the house itself, the views of the natural scenery from inside the house, and the elegance and style of the interior of the house will leave lasting impressions on visitors that make the visit well worth the effort.