CalExpeditions

Fallingwater

Written by

dennis

in

Frank Wright enjoyed sketching houses, some of which were actually built! This is one of those.

There was a time in the 1920s and 1930s that a family named Kaufmann amassed a great fortune by gouging customers at their Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, department store.

Rich people, of course, need weekend cabins in the remote woods to rest and think of new ways to fleece their customers. So the Kaufmanns hired Frank to design their cabin, which they named Fallingwater because it hovers over an actual waterfall.

The house was built in mid-Depression for a cost of around $150,000. For comparison, the guide informed me that an upper-class 4-bedroom brick house in Pittsburgh cost, at the time, around $5,000. That’s right, their weekend cabin was 30 times the cost of a normal wealthy person’s house. So great was the Kaufmanns’ fortune, that they also had vacation homes in Palm Springs, Greece and elsewhere.

This is the view the Kaufmanns would have seen as their chauffeur drove them to the cabin.
Although well known to modern people, Frank’s open floor plan was considered innovative at the time.
Whoops! A construction worker left a clay pot atop the chimney.
A nifty desk with cantilevered shelves echoing the design of the house itself.
Expansive terraces are a major feature of the cabin.
Rich people can have houses designed around their favorite art pieces.
This Madonna and Child dates from 1420.
A nice Tiffany lamp lights the bedroom desk.
Clever design and engineering allow this window to omit the support in the corner. This is one of Frank’s most significant contributions to the field of house design.
The view from the foot of the waterfall.

Comments

One response to “Fallingwater”

  1. Christine A Zook

    OMG!! I have studied Falling Water!!!! I’ve heard that the building was having a hard time.
    Is it still there?
    Frank Loyd Wright is my hero!

    Reply

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