Fallingwater
Mill Run, Pennsylvania
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Snowing, 30°
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” ~ Marcel Proust
It’s the middle of April so it was somewhat surprising to wake up to see snow on the ground and continuing to fall all morning. Driving the rolling hills in this part of Pennsylvania made me wonder if the roads would be ok as there did not seem to be any DOT vehicles out sanding or maintaining anything we were traveling on. It was not a bad driving experience but the long climbs uphill and the longer curvier descents made one wonder if the roads would be slippery in places. Driving by a raging river and waterfall, it was easy to not worry about the driving conditions and just take in the beauty of things with the snow falling all around.
Reaching the stone sign for Fallingwater, the turn onto the property lessened any fears of the roads and excitement was building as we approached the check-in/ticketing kiosk. We were told where to go to park the RV and making the short drive though the property was nice seeing the natural beauty of the landscape mixed with the roadway and parking areas. It was nicely balanced, which was expected.
Fallingwater is one of those places seen in photos giving a wonderment and fascination in how it was created. The depth of scale, the sense of being as everything is in tune with nature and light. Today I had the opportunity to see everything up close and personal on a guided tour with seven other people. Karen our tour guide was informative, and gave everyone ample opportunity to ask questions, take photos in all the rooms and areas of the house and grounds so it was an excellent time this morning. To make things even better was the weather; it was snowing lightly the whole time.
Perched above a mountain cataract on a rocky hillside deep in the rugged forest of Southwestern Pennsylvania, some 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, is America’s most famous house. The commission for Fallingwater was a personal milestone for the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, since it clearly marked a turning point in his career. After this late-career triumph, the sixty-seven year old would go on to create a series of highly original designs that would validate his claim as “The world’s greatest architect.”
There are varying accounts regarding the circumstances that brought Kaufmann to offer Wright a chance to design a “weekend home” in the country; but we know that Wright made his first trip to the site on Bear Run, Pennsylvania in December, 1934. Donald Hoppen, Wright’s apprentice has spoken of Wright’s “uncanny sense of ... genius loci”1 (Latin for "spirit of the place") and from the very beginning, the architect rejected a site that presented a conventional view of the waterfall; instead, he audaciously offered to make the house part of it, stating that the “visit to the waterfall in the woods stays with me and a domicile takes shape in my mind to the music of the stream.” The South-southeast orientation gives the illusion that the stream flows, not alongside the house, but through it.
Perhaps the most famous tale to come out of the lore of Fallingwater is the improbable story that Wright, after receiving the commission procrastinated for nine months until he was forced to draw up the complete plans while his patron was driving the 140 miles from Milwaukee to Taliesin. However, the essential story is validated by several witnesses. Apprentice Edgar Taffel recalled that after talking with Kaufmann on the phone, Wright “briskly emerged from his office ... sat down at the table set with the plot plan and started to draw. The design just poured out of him. 'Liliane and E.J. will have tea on the balcony . . . they’ll cross the bridge to walk in the woods…' Pencils being used up as fast as we could sharpen them ... erasures, overdrawing, modifying. Flipping sheets back and forth. Then, the bold title across the bottom ‘Fallingwater.’ A house has to have a name.” There seems to be agreement that the whole process took about two hours. (Information drawn from KahnAcademy)
You leave the visitor’s center walking a winding path down a hill as the sounds of rushing water comes to you drowning out the sound of the birds chirping or singing your arrival. You stop and learn of Bear Run (the name of the river) and the early history of the property before the Kauffmann’s purchased the land and other buildings which were used as a “summer camp” for employees at their retail store by the same name. You continue down the path and the big reveal happens as the house comes into view. The sounds of the water become more and more prominent as you approach the house.
It is snowing so the whole scene is very surreal as you learn more about the house before going inside. First is the staff kitchen which is filled with the original mid 1930’s appliances. Everything a kitchen needs is there with a window wall which opens so the sound of the river and waterfall envelope the room while one prepares a meal for the Kauffman’s and/or their guests.
Everyone goes into the house’s main entrance where the first thing that strikes you is the narrowness of the entry ways, staircases, and hallways giving you a closed in feeling before stepping into the grandeur of the living room. Again, that feeling of a great reveal happens as you step into a room. Wright’s use of space, while using natural materials like huge boulders that the house was built around or on top of, gives one the feeling of nature is part of the house living and breathing in each room. Every room was multi-purposed in that there were sitting areas, a large fireplace, or doors leading out to a terrace or steps down to the river.
The main living room with its large stone fireplace with a large “ball kettle” give a warmth as one imagines the family sitting around during the winter months. With the house floors cantilevered over the waterfall there are outside terraces off each room of the house. Outdoor space seems just as special as the indoor spaces giving breathtaking views of nature all around. Looking over the edges the waterfall and the swiftly flowing stream lead down the property and around the curve bringing the outside alive with sounds of nature - birds singing, water rushing, and today, snow softly falling all around.
As we went from room to room, gaining elevation from floor to floor the waterfall and the visuals of it changed your perception in all of your senses. The personalities of the family members were reflected in the art in each room and also the absence of “stuff”. It was a simple layout of shelves, wardrobes, and furniture that gave one the impression that less is more. The views and sounds through the windows brought the outside in, filling the inside space itself. The outside natural environment became part of the house in its surroundings and each complemented one another.
During the walk around the house and grounds the snow continued to fall giving each vantage point a calm and serene feel as nature and man’s ingenuity melded together into a work of art, architecture, and nature’s own order.
The waterfall is something to see but how the house sits over the falls with all the cantilevered floor spaces gives the illusion that Bear Run actually goes though the house. This is a must see if you are ever in Western Pennsylvania.
As we drove east from Fallingwater a few miles, we stopped in a small community, Ohiopyle, where we saw the raging river and waterfall. The rolling countryside in the snow was beautiful as there were small churches and cemeteries along the small country roads. It was almost Heaven but not in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, lol. The snow finally stopped about five this afternoon as we made our way to the next destination so, hopefully there will be sunny weather tomorrow.
(I will also post this to the Facebook page, Traveling Life’s Highways, so I can add the many photos from today’s trip as my webpage only allow one thumbnail photo.)