Fallingwater

After leaving Grace's Xcel states gymnastics tournament, we had plenty of time left in the day, and were able to do something that we (especially Amp) had been wanting to do for a long time - see Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. The Wikipedia entry for Fallingwater is here, and is worth a quick read. I won't recap it in any great detail other than to say that it was designed and built in the 1930's as a vacation retreat for a wealthy department store owner and his family.

Fallingwater is best known for its use of cantilevered concrete terraces built around a central fieldstone core. This was an ambitious and new construction technique, and was not entirely successful. Immediately upon the removal of the construction supports, the cantilevered terraces "showed significant deflection" (they sagged pretty badly). It got worse over time. A major renovation in 2002 fixed this.

Fallingwater from the main entry bridge

The main things that struck as we went through the guided tour were (1) this place is super cool, and (2) this place is TINY.

Girls at Fallingwater

The house looks large from the outside, but almost all of this square footage is contained in the public and private terraces that are attached to every different space (common areas and bedrooms). The common area on the main room that is the dining room, living room, sitting room and library is one open space that would still be considered small by modern standards.

Three levels of Fallingwater

Compared to the common areas, the bedrooms were tiny and would be dwarfed by many college dorm rooms today. The design was really interesting, the way things flowed was fascinating, and the overall vibe was amazing. But everything was small. And this was a rich family's retreat house. The whole thing highlighted how different things were in that time than they are now (with regards to size/space).

Iconic view from downstream

This house is on many "places you need to visit before you die" lists, and I would agree. I like visiting special places such as this, and it was a treat.

Photobombing the iconic view

It also isn't a huge commitment to visit, if you happen to be near Pittsburgh. The cost of the guided tour is not excessive, and goes to the conservancy that maintains the landmark. The tour is less than an hour in length, and there isn't a whole lot else to do here, there than wander some paths through the wooded property (which in and of itself isn't any different than any other stroll through some paths through the woods anywhere...). A single morning or afternoon is all you need to do this.

So you are really just here for the one hour tour (which is the only way into the house).

You should do it if you can, and you like design or architecture or history.