Great way to spend the first day of spring! The only bad thing was getting up at 7:00 AM (we are retired you know). Had to be out and on the road by 8:00 AM and we wanted to have breakfast in the lobby before we checked out of our Days Inn in Donegal, Pennsylvania.
We left the Days Inn after a quick complimentary breakfast off the lobby.Don’t see many of these. The lady told Edie it gets a lot of use from skiers on weekends and guests are constantly taking pictures of it.
The first part of the drive today was about 20 miles to FALLINGWATER – the masterpiece of Frank Lloyd Wright. The place that reignited his career at age 67. We wanted to make sure we got there early in case of any car problems or road problems. The weather was clear but a little chilly. Michael had dug out all our cold weather gear to wear. Clarece (our GPS) took us on lovely back roads and small towns until we got to Fallingwater.
Very pleasant countryside on our way to Fallingwater.Almost there. On the left is the Bear Run Conservancy, also donated by the Kaufmann family.The highway sign.We were told they average a thousand visitors a day. Let me see, minimum $33 times 1,000 equals….wow.Visitor’s Center.It is a treasure.Designed by Edgar Kaufmann Jr’s life partner.Wheel and spoke design.Nice roof lines.Bathroom entrance.Edie tells me it was the same in the women’s. A stone sink with small mirrors, just beautiful.Beautiful knotty pine inside.Inside men’s restroom.Gift store. Not open yet.Mr. Wright’s designs (through the glass).Great looking chess set.On the Cafe wall.Several walls in the Visitor Center Cafe have informational placards on the walls with a great deal of information.
We had purchased the very upgraded tour tickets online some time ago as there were only so many slots for the day and they fill up fast. They were something like $80.00 per person but we got an extended tour to some of the rooms the other tours don’t get to go to, and we got to take all the pictures we wanted, whenever we wanted. We got to see the guest house and the upstairs servant quarters. Silly us, we thought we might have a private tour, it is so early, it is so cold, the tickets are so expensive, how many could show up? Three other couples it turns out.
The tour started a little late, it was supposed to get going at 8:45 AM but didn’t get going until about 9:00 AM. One couple was delayed and phoned. Our tour guide was Karen and she was excellent. We were all excited to see this beautiful place. Karen didn’t rush and answered all the questions everyone had. LOVED IT!
Karen, our guide for the day.Leaving the Visitor’s Center.Our foot path to the house.The road the Kaufmann’s drove to get to Fallingwater.Ferns celebrating the vernal equinox.Cool day outside.Caretaker’s house and foot path, though it is mossy and wanting wear, green where no step had trodden black…Peeking at us through the trees.Our first clear glimpse.Four foot icicles on nearby rocks.The cantilevering was one of Wright’s first lessons in engineering school. He dropped out shortly after learning the principles.The house looks different from different angles. Bridge on the right.Beautiful is a word that comes to mind over and over.Upstream from the bridge.Steps to the stream bed just above the falls.Our Fallingwater selfie.Upstream from the bridge.
What an absolutely stunning place. I want it. I want to live there. The pictures of it are beautiful but seeing it in person is fabulous. We want to come back either in the summer or fall. So beautiful! The house itself is only about 2,800 square feet but with all the terraces, it makes it over 5,000 square feet.
The glass is directly attached to the stone.Accommodation is made for the trees.I think Karen said these were for aesthetics.Bold wall on the back side.Inside the only kitchen. It served the family, any house guests and the staff that accompanied them.Huge in its day, a double door Frigidaire.Call device to alert staff which room they are summoned to.Bed rock exposed and part of the construction. Edie loves all things copper.Indirect lighting, metal cabinets.Luckan Skall stove that is always on and radiates heat and cooks.A bevel is put in the concrete to give the illusion that the ceiling is separated from the glass.Beautiful tools in the kitchen.A heat register for the kitchen and plates are placed on the perforated stainless steel part and serves as plate warmers.Shelves are hung using wood dowels placed in the mortar.The shelves are above a staircase and kindly protect the head.We got to go into the basement. Woods are left natural and metal is painted Cherokee Red.Bedrock and cement.If you join the Conservancy you get a walking stick, in homage to Mr. Kaufmann who loved walking the woods with a stick. Extras stored in the basement.Going up the stairs.Great 1930’s fan for circulation out of the kitchen.Edie loved these seats.Glass in stone.You are looking through glass. Can you spot the miter in the glass? I see it just left of center in the dark green on the conifer.So impressive, and this is the current staff’s break room, not normally shown on tour.
Karen explained about how the Kaufmann family consisted of the dad, mom, and the son. She said the son, Kaufmann Jr., was gay, never had kids, and lived in the house until he turned it over to the Conservatory in the 1960’s. She explained how in the 1930’s an average home would cost around $7,000.00. Fallingwater was a second home to the Kaufmann’s (who owned a large department store in Philadelphia and would come to the land and “camp” until it was built). They thought they would spend about $30,000.00 for their second home. They ended up spending more than $150,000.00. Kinda outrageous for the day but it is a very special place. So glad they decided to “go for it.” Also, Wright wanted to cut corners in the servant quarters but the Kaufmann’s wouldn’t hear of it. Must have been very nice people to want their servants to have the same quality as they had.
Karen told of a story where Kaufmann Sr. wanted a bigger desk in his room. An added heat register robbed him of significant work area. Wright was famous for insisting on having the final say on every detail and refused, telling him to make due with the space he was given. Kaufmann Sr. said the desk he had was so small he could not even write a check to an architect on it. Needless to say, Kaufmann Sr. got a bigger desk area. Karen later told a story where after they had moved into their home, and some heavy winter rains hit, there was a leak and Kaufmann Sr. called Wright to tell him about it and get him to come fix it. Wright told him to: “put a bucket under it.”
There is serious weather here.The main entrance, the front door, the grand entrance, compression.Dining area.Kaufmann Sr. and stairs leading to bedrooms. Each bedroom had its own bathroom.Living room over the river stairs. Great toy in the bottom left of the photograph.Kettle for warming wine.Bedrock.Part of the seating area.Mr. Wright was short. I would have a hard time with this dinky short furniture. Record player on the left.Looking up the road from the living room.Work area in living room.They collected art from around the world.The logs in the fireplace are wrong. The logs are placed on end and leaned against the back wall and make a roaring fire. Kettle is placed back in it’s resting nook.Edie insisted I get a picture of the copper tray.Beautiful horizontal shelving. Almost a mantel.Patio doors that accordion open.Living room and terrace.Karen told me the holes in the top were casting flaws, not weatherization.The frames are original, the glass has been replaced. Closed, there is no sound and no breeze.What a cool cooling option.The glass top slides all the way back and the bottom doors swing open. The air flow is huge and the waterfall sounds fill the room.Unusual and beautiful pieces throughout.Recessed lights and flat glass ceiling panels.Off the living room terrace. Here, you live in the waterfall and are intimate with it. The Kaufmanns originally planned to place the house across the canyon for the best view. Wright turned that all the way around.The pyramid shaped rock was a focal point for several windows in the house.So grand and attractive.Bedrock incorporated into the house.The rock wall on the left looks like it is bowing outward to me.Cantilevering is huge.
We spent over two hours in and around the home.
Second floor. Guest bedroom. Headboard shows bed could accommodate another twin bed.Tiny windows, headboard to the east, allowing for the possibility of sleeping in a little.The only room with window treatments.Original art, Diego Rivera.Wright designed lamp and bed table.Mr. Wright did not approve of window coverings and fought all his patrons over this.Tiffany ink well and Wright designed desk lamp. Heat registers built into all the desks take up a lot of room.Wood orientation on cabinets is horizontal and on doors, vertical.Door edges are beveled.Door frames are beveled. When the door is closed there is no light bleeding and noise is greatly reduced.Some of the fellow tourists were amazed that the cork looked so good. They had some in a home that did not wear or last at all.Original shower head.Cork walls and flooring in the bath.Around every corner.Mrs. Kaufmann’s cabinets.Two twin beds. It was her bedroom. Mr. Kaufmann’s bedroom is next door.Madonna and child.Stone mantel. Picture the wood on end.
I think I have seen this on Antiques Roadshow.Of course she has a Tiffany lamp!Her terrace has lovely views.Mrs. Kaufmann’s bathroom vanity.The shelves were designed by Kaufmann Jr.Each slides out for easy access to the contents. Mr. Wright approved.Wright lamp, white call button for staff.Japanese wood block print. A gift from Mr. Wright to the Kaufmann’s.Hallway to Mr. Kaufmann’s room from Mrs Kaufmann’s. Note the compression.
Wish we could have had more time but we needed to get on the road. At first we thought we might want to stop at another Frank Lloyd Wright home in the area, Kentuck Knob, but decided against it. We figured when we come back in a different season, we’ll check that one out. I can’t even imagine seeing Fallingwater when all the rhododendrons are in full bloom, the trees are lush and green, and the water is flowing even more. It would be even more beautiful (if that is even possible).
We left, reluctantly, and headed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – about 150 miles away. We stopped at one of the travel plazas on the turnpike and got an EZ Pass. It’s supposed to be good for fifteen states. We hope it comes in handy because we were running out of cash and the turnpike doesn’t take credit cards. We stopped for lunch in Somerset, PA at a Ruby Tuesdays. Really good salad and baked potato. After that we checked into our Days Inn in Harrisburg for the night.
