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Frank Lloyd Wright (1867—1959)

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Fallingwater books

Fallingwater Rising : Frank Lloyd Wright, E. J. Kaufmann, and America's Most Extraordinary House Fallingwater Rising is a biography not of a person but of the most famous house of the twentieth century. Scholars and the public have long extolled the house that Frank Lloyd Wright perched over a Pennsylvania waterfall in 1937, but the full story has never been told. When he got the commission to design the house, Wright was nearing seventy, his youth and his early fame long gone. It was the Depression, and Wright had no work in sight. Into his orbit stepped Edgar J. Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh department-store mogul–“the smartest retailer in America”–and a philanthropist with the burning ambition to build a world-famous work of architecture.  "Highly Recommended".

Fallingwater: A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House An engaging, intimate, sumptuous appreciation of Wright's 1936 house in Bear Run, Pennsylvania. Kaufmann is the distinguished architectural historian who trained with Wright and is the son of the clients for Fallingwater, the most famous modern house in America. He is able to explain the intentions of architect and client, and writes with both feeling and critical knowledge, having lived in and with the masterpiece all his life. The rich color photographs taken for this book are supported by views taken during construction, family photographs of the house in use, and excellent specially drawn plans of the house as built. "Highly Recommended".

 

Fallingwater : Frank Lloyd Wright's Romance with Nature - The photographs are the best part of this book. Since you will probably not be one of the 160,000 visitors who come in most years, these images are your way to know the home. Almost all are in color, and are nicely distributed throughout the four seasons. My only complaint is that the book's page size should have been larger to permit a stronger connection between the viewer and these remarkable scenes. If you are like me, you will hear the water as you commune with the images. Through the essay and quotes, Fallingwater curator and administrator Lynda S. Waggoner does a marvelous job of using Fallingwater to also demonstrate the essential concepts of all Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and interior design.  "Highly Recommended".
 

 

Kentuck Knob, Pennsylvania, 1937

Fallingwater visitor information

Over 2 million people have visited Fallingwater since it opened to the public in 1964. The house is located about 2 hours south east of Pittsburg, halfway between the villages of Mill Run and Ohiopyle on PA Route 381. (From Pittsburgh, take PA Turnpike Exit 9 south. Turn left onto Route 31 East, then right onto Route 381 South. Fallingwater is located midway between Mill Run and Ohiopyle. From Baltimore & Washington, take I-68 Exit 14 onto Route 40 West to Farmington. Turn right onto Route 381 North).

Fallingwater is open for 45-minute guided tours from April 1 through November every day, except Monday, from 10am to 4pm. It is also open on Martin Luther King Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving Friday, and the week between Christmas and New Years. For a more leisurely, less-crowded tour, we suggest visiting Fallingwater on weekdays. Reservations are required to guarantee admission. During periods of high visitation, exact tour times cannot be guaranteed. Two hour in-depth tours are also offered at 8:30am by advance reservation only.
 
From December 1 through March 31, Fallingwater is open for weekend tours (weather permitting). Weekday winter tours may be available. For information on winter hours, please write or call. The Visitors Pavilion has exhibits on Fallingwater, a child care center, a café, an interpretive nature trail, and a museum shop featuring postcards, film, books, Fallingwater furniture reproductions, and gift items. You may return to the Visitors Pavilion after your tour of the house. All admission, shop, and café proceeds are devoted to the preservation and education programs of Fallingwater.

The Fallingwater Tour is designed for adults and most children become restless. Therefore, we require that children under 9 remain at the supervised Child Care Center where they can enjoy indoor and outdoor games and toys relating to nature and architecture. The fee is $2.00 per child per hour. Special tours of Fallingwater for children are available by reservation. School groups require one adult chaperon per 15 students. Checks for all group reservations must be sent at least three weeks prior to the visit.

Since considerable walking and numerous steps are involved, some elderly people and those with medical problems may find the tour too strenuous. People with disabilities requiring special assistance are requested to call in advance. Comfortable walking shoes are strongly advised. The Pavilion and first floor of Fallingwater are wheelchair-accessible, and a video about the upper floors is available. Foreign language taped tours may be rented.

Photography is not permitted in the house except on in-depth tours. To prevent damage to furnishings, large handbags may not be carried through the house.
Picnicking and pets are not permitted on the grounds, but picnic facilities are available at roadside stops near Fallingwater, at Bear Run Nature Reserve, and at Ohiopyle State Park, three miles south of the house on PA Route 381.

Days and Hours of Operation

Regular season:

Mid-March through Thanksgiving weekend
Tuesdays - Sundays, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Also open:

Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving Friday

Winter season (weather permitting):

December weekends
The week between Christmas and New Year's Day
The first two weekends in March
10:00 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Closed:

Mondays except the holidays listed above
Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, December weekdays, January and February

Making Reservations

We greet more than 130,000 people a year at Fallingwater’s front door. Because of this high demand, reservations are required to guarantee your admission to Fallingwater. Reservations for any given day sometimes fill up very quickly, and because of that, we ask that you please contact our Reservations Office by telephone at 724-329-8501, extension 125. for information and assistance. The Reservations Office is open every day between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve Day, and Christmas Day.

Directions

Fallingwater is located on PA Route 381 between the villages of Mill Run and Ohiopyle. Since we are located in a very rural area, there is no public transportation to Fallingwater. You will need a car to travel here from your point of arrival.

Airports: Commercial airlines: Pittsburgh International Airport, Morgantown, WV Airport, Arnold Palmer Airport (Latrobe, PA) Private aircraft: Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Connellsville Airport, Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Arnold Palmer Airport

By train: Amtrak to Connellsville, Greensburg, Latrobe

By bus: To Uniontown or Connellsville

From Pittsburgh: Contact these limousine/coach operators to arrange for transportation from Pittsburgh:

Regency Limousine: 1-800—932-8887

Gray Line of Pittsburgh (Wednesday tours) 1-412-741-2720

Driving directions

From Harrisburg/Philadelphia area: Take I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) west to Exit 9 (Donegal). Turn left on to Route 31 east, go 2 miles, turn right on to Route 381 south. Follow Route 381 south for approximately 19 miles to Fallingwater.

From Baltimore/Washington DC area: Take I-70 west to Hancock, MD. Take I-68 west to Exit 14 (Keyser’s Ridge). Turn left on to Route 40, and continue west to Farmington, PA. Turn right on to Route 381 north, and travel approximately 10 miles to Fallingwater.

From Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh area: Take I-80 (Ohio Turnpike) east to I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike). Continue east to Exit 9 (Donegal). Turn left on to Route 31 east, go 2 miles, turn right on to Route 381 south. Follow Route 381 south for approximately 19 miles to Fallingwater.

From Columbus, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia area: Take I-70 east to PA Route 51. Go south on Route 51 to Uniontown. Take Route 40 east from Uniontown to Farmington, PA. Turn left on to Route 381 north, and travel approximately 10 miles to Fallingwater.

From Greensburg, PA: Take Route 30 east to Ligonier. Turn right on to Route 711 south, and follow the signs for Route 711 south to Normalville (there are 3 marked turns). At Normalville, turn left on to Route 381 south and follow for approximately 8 miles to Fallingwater.

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