Day 37: Falling Water

On Sunday, July 19, 2009, Dave and I were ready to come home...for a while at least. After a delicious chard frittata that Breakfast Master Will built for us, we packed up our things, said goodbye to our Pittsburgh hosts,



And headed south.

We made a slight deviation from our route in order to hit Frank Lloyd Wright’s piece de resistance Fallingwater which lies in western Pennsylvania.







Wright designed and built Fallingwater from 1936-1939 for the Kaufmann family as their mountain vacation home away from Pittsburgh where they owned a successful department store. The house sits atop a 30’ waterfall on Bear Run. Wright’s idea was to make the house blend in seamlessly with the surrounding nature.

Its design was intended to mimic the flow of water over the falls as well as the stone that creates the falls.


We took a great tour of the house in which our guide explained a great deal about the architecture and theories involved. In many places, the house beams and even walls are built directly into the rock of the mountain.


As a result, there are plenty of hidden GPS markers in the house to make sure that the rocks are not shifting significantly.

Our terrific tour guide told us that during the building process, there were times when the water from the rain and melting snow would come through the rocks of the house. Instead of blocking it up and resisting it (which could cause later problems and damage), Wright would incorporate the water into the home in the form of a fountain.


These outdoor stone stairs led to a cement “plunge pool” fed by Bear Run where the family could take a dip without walking on the river rocks.



Most of the corners of the house are designed with windows that open revealing no vertical frame at the corner to allow the people inside to feel more connected with the outside.


Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take pictures inside the house, but we could take pictures on two of the terraces. Dave used that opportunity to take some photos through the windows.


Most of the furniture was designed by Wright and is built into the walls. The couches on the left and back right of this photo are intended to double as beds for unexpected guests.

More built-ins.



The chair you see above is one of a set that were purchased by the Kaufmanns for the home. They are the only furniture in the home that Wright did not design. They are, however, Tuscan country chairs from the 16th century. Still very cool.

This photo includes some of the only blinds in the home.


Wright objected to the use of blinds in the home because they disconnected the inhabitants from the surrounding nature, but the Kaufmanns insisted on the blinds in this guest room.

The family and their visitors reached the house by crossing this stone and cement bridge over Bear Run. The bridge was being patched and painted while we were there.


This is a view of the terrace from outside the home.


Notice that those white flowers are in an indoor flower bed. Just beyond that bed are some red stairs. These are the indoor stairs that go down beneath the house into Bear Run. By that, I mean that one could open the glass doors and walk down a stone staircase directly into the creek, which is a consistent 55 degrees.


Here is a better view of the stairs. The tour guide informed us that in the spring, when the snow melts, the water sometimes flows as high as the second or third step from the bottom.


If you look carefully at this picture, you can see that in the back right is a staircase with bookshelves built into the wall. Brilliant!


Here, we can see a beam of the house built on a curve to go around this tree. This tree looks fairly young to me, so I doubt the tree has been there 80 years, but some tree was there.


Only as we were leaving Fallingwater were we able to see that classic view of the house that has become famous. Approaching the house, one does not see the waterfall but hears it.



After leaving Fallingwater, we steered toward the highway for the 7-hour drive home. It was nice to see the trees and hills I am used to.


When we arrived in our driveway a little after 2 am Monday morning, we discovered just how much ground we had covered.


I cried a little when I got home because I was so happy to see my cats. On top of it all, our house was IMMACULATE, courtesy of the most amazing house sitter in the world. ShaLeigh had taken fantastic care of our house and our cats. It was such a relief to come home to a clean house. We thought our trip was over.

After about a day, we made a final decision to join our friends Patrick and Jen (from Atlanta) in Hilton Head, SC, on Thursday, so the story continues.