We’ve all been there. You travel to a fascinating place that invigorates the senses, re-affirms your belief of magic in the world, and leaves you gobsmacked. Excited to tell all your friends and family of the experience, you bring up the pictures and recount the stories, but there is something missing…the words and 2-D imaging never seem to serve justice to the sheer depth and breadth of such an adventure. I’ve been thinking on how best to present this chapter and suspect it will feel more like a tease; there is no possible way to properly capture the sights, sounds, and company in a second-hand account. If you have an interest in engineering and environmental design, a short drive southeast of Pittsburgh would be well worth the time!

The culmination of our travels thus far have us on the literal doorstep of one of THE pre-eminent architectural marvels of modern times. Fallingwater is not just a private residence, but the grounds that surround, the materials and the integration of nature all contribute strongly into the design and flow of the house.

We arrived at 8:30 am for a guided tour starting at ten to the hour. The pavilion had central welcome desk with four branches: one for washrooms, a café, an art gallery / museum featuring Frank Lloyd Wright building projects, and a gift shop. Groups of 10 were slated to leave every ten minutes or so, winding down the path from the tourist center to the driveway leading to the entrance. Believe it or not, the main entrance is in the large picture below, located just past the tree at the end of the wall. Wright tended to hide the entrances to his homes. They were very nondescript; if you were invited to the home, you would be told where to enter.

The first thing you notice is the stonework, uneven blocks of various widths but layered perfectly. This serves as the fulcrum of the cantilever, with the weight of the structure balancing the various terraces that extend over the brook below. This allows for some interesting design quirks. One of which is the series of horizontal windows that rise three full stories. They form a corner, but since they do not support any weight, they may all be opened outward to the open air without a brace or frame.

Moving through the house and the grounds, there are many examples of the natural rock cliffs invading the living space. In the second picture below, our tour guide explained that water would naturally run inside the house over the rock face. Instead of sealing the cracks, Wright would typically install a drainage system to allow the free flow.

Inside the premises, the furniture and wall fixtures were all custom. The horizontal lines are bold and found throughout the rooms. The pictures below were all intriguing in some way:

• The furniture is very low to the ground. Great for me with my short, stumpy legs, but I expect it would be challenging for those with limited mobility to get up and down.
• The lines in the windows continue into the room along the stone where shelves were created. The visuals are quite striking and appealing.
• The rose-coloured bulb by the main fireplace is suspended on a metal frame. There is a hemispherical shaped recess in the stone wall that allows it to rest flush when not in use. The frame has a hinge that allows the ball to swing over into the fire, presumably to heat soups or stews.
• There is plenty of natural light in the common areas. The large windows may indicate a reason for the low furniture, as the pieces block less of the view outdoors. The use of skylights and clerestory windows (high sections of walls that contain windows above eye level) make for some interesting features in the roof lines of the house.
• The flagstone used for the flooring really ties together the indoor and outdoor areas.
• Stairwells and hallways were purposely narrow and dimly lit. Those areas were meant to be unappealing and only for transit to other areas of the home.
• The portrait hanging in the main living space is that of the owner, Edgar J. Kaufmann, a very successful businessman in the Pittsburgh area. Fallingwater was originally meant to be a summer retreat for the family, but the scope and budget for the project kept expanding. His son, Edgar Jr. was an architect himself who had apprenticed under Frank Lloyd Wright in the mid-1930s. He inherited the property when his father passed in 1955 and donated the entire plot, including structures and acreage in the Laurel Highlands, to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963. He continued to be a regular fixture at the property until his own death in 1989.
• Fine art is found throughout the home, including works by renowned Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The statue and the unique fireplace are found in Liliane’s bedroom. She was Edgar’s wife and first cousin; because of this, they had to be married in New York state instead of Pennsylvania.

Below is our view from the famed lookout spot. You will see variations of this image on postcards and other various media. Of note, the cantilevered terraces tended to be larger than the rooms in the house interior. The point was to be outside and enjoying nature as much as possible.

After leaving the lookout, a series of groomed trails led us back to the pavilion, but we could have walked the expansive grounds for hours had the threat of rain abated. The gift shop was loaded with apparel, calendars, home decor, puzzles, models, and plenty of art, both framed and in an array of books. The model itself was very cool, consisting of a lego-style brick, it is built in layers that may be removed to reveal the floor below. It’s a bit pricey, but would be a definite conversation piece.

It was now time to grab some lunch. Mill Run is a fairly desolate area so we decided to follow PA-381 a bit further to Ohiopyle, a borough in Fayette County on the banks of the Youghiogheny River (pronounced yawki-gay-nee). The colourful image below is the walking bridge abutment that spans the river. We ate at the Falls Market, basically a series of windows for patrons to order hotdogs, fries and pizza. We didn’t stay long, but for a village of about 40 people, they are deserving of a plug due to the surrounding Ohiopyle State Park, attracting millions per year to hike, fish, and whitewater raft…and for letting me type ‘Youghiogheny’ multiple times in the same paragraph 🙂

With a free afternoon to debrief our Fallingwater visit, and potentially research other sites designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, we traveled north back towards our hotel and beyond; the drive was about 40 minutes to Acme (if you pictured Wile E. Coyote just now, we did too), home of Stone Villa Wine Cellars. This gem was a pleasure to visit, with beautiful masonry and complimentary tastings.

Outside on the stone patio, we enjoyed a bottle of Vintner’s Select, a medium-bodied red with a robust finish. Mere steps away there was a huge pond where we fed the koi fish with snacks that were provided.

From there, we decided to avoid heading into Kecksburg for fear of alien lifeforms (home of the UFO Store, check this link) and took a 15 minute run through some back roads passing Carpentertown and the community of Standard Shaft (or just Shaft as the locals refer…can you dig it?).

We arrived in a subdivision on the outskirts of Mt Pleasant searching for Helltown Brewing, the “craft beer with a rebellious attitude”. After driving up a normal, middle class street, the GPS led us to turn left between two homes. No signage on the main road would indicate there was a barn and field in behind. I’ll blow up the bottom left of the map above:

If you like porters, I would suggest the Hellfire Alchemist, a Baltic porter brewed with Grim Wizard cold brew coffee. Or perhaps the barrel-aged Sanctuary Russian Imperial Stout excites the palate. My personal favourite is the triple hazy IPA, Interdimensional Pterodactyl. At 10.0%, it won’t matter how smooth-drinking it claims to be; be sure to reserve a DD when sampling these beer flights.

It was nearing suppertime, so we took a route through downtown Mt Pleasant to reach an Applebee’s a few miles away. A simple chain restaurant with a massive menu and a surprisingly varied cocktail list, I had to share my selection below along with the menu promo:

The Breaking Rock Rita was quite tasty, thought the rock candy garnish was probably over the top. I also learned that Dos Hombres mezcal is owned by none other than Walt and Jesse from Breaking Bad, one of my all time favourite crime drama series.

After such an eventful day, we slinked back to the hotel to unwind and fight with the smart TV. Tomorrow we are started back towards home. First stop, Cheektowaga!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, employer or affiliation.