Fallingwater

Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural masterpiece is found in Mill Run, PA, in the Laruel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains, about two and a half hours southeast from Youngstown, OH. It was budgeted at $5,000, that's a lot of 1932 dollars. The final cost, like many of Wright's buidlings, was over budget at $125,000!

I have seen pictures of it, television shows about it, but until you actually walk through it, you have no idea how truly amazing it is. The rooms are smaller than I had thought, but welcoming, full of custom built furnishings and details only Wright would think of like a desk with a notch in it so a window can swing open; corner windows that both swing out to reveal a cornerless unobstructed view, a natural stone fountain that runs into the building and then down a slight opening left for just that purpose!

I never knew there was a guest house! There is! And to get there you walk under a single side supported "awning" made from folded concrete. As Elise, our tour guide explained, folded concrete is actually stronger than slab. How you ask? Well think about it like this analogy, as Elise explained. A plain old potatoe chip when used for dip often breaks, it has no structural integrity. But when you use a Ruffle, essentially a plain chip with lots of little folds, it becomes quite strong! Yeah it does!

The photo above, I actually took. I am quite certain everyone has this photo. It is THE view, shown whenever someone speaks of Fallingwater, a visit to the gift shop proves that! There is even a path that takes you down to it so you can get the money shot of Fallingwater, a must see.