Summer of 21 - #43 - Fallingwater

 August 2nd, 2021

Fallingwater is one of the more famous houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  Neither of us were really that interested about this but felt that as we were in the area we should see one of his designs.  You had to book a time slot and pay online, which we did and off we went.  

                                                 

I had read that there was a shuttle that you could take to the house and back from the visitor center.  I asked at the center if it was more uphill walking to or back from the house. The lady told us coming back and so we set off walking and decided we would get the shuttle back if we needed it.

The gardens are landscaped beautifully as you would expect.                                                          

                               

It was an interesting walk through the gardens to the house. You couldn't see the house as you walked.

This butterfly greeted us. Hello Mum!! 😍

There were lots of Rhododendron trees although we were at the end of the flowering season.

Tucked away was a stream with small waterfalls.  This was Bear Run which runs under Fallingwater and is designated by Pennsylvania as an Exceptional Value waterway.

Finally a glimpse of the house through the trees.

The picture below was our first real look at the house and was a huge disappointment to me. 

The bridge going across to the house was being worked on and the scaffolding on it totally ruined the approach for me. I was also expecting to see the famous picture that you see with the waterfalls in front of the house as we approached. You'll see that later.

I guess I'm just not a connoisseur though. We had met the lady in the picture before we saw the house and she was telling us she hoped the house lived up to it's name after the long walk. As she saw it, she went into raptures about how wonderful it was.  Indeed most people we listened to agreed with her.  

In the picture below you can see the block like scaffolding and reinforcements they were making to the bridge. It was something that obviously had to be done and it was just unfortunate.  

It did get better after we crossed the bridge. 

Walking to the entrance

Is this an outside shower or a fountain that has had a bar of soap added as a joke? 

      

It cost extra to go inside the house and was quite expensive. We did not pay the extra as I had read that you could look through the glass and see a lot of the inside.  Of course you don't see it all but you can get a good idea.

Outside corridor

There were few restrictions to where you could walk around the house, so we were allowed to climb the outside steps to various viewpoints and balconies, where you could look inside the house and down into the grounds surrounding the house.

The following pictures were taken from one of the balconies looking down..

East Terrace

Another balcony, which is above the waterfall

Pottery Terrace

The following pictures were what Bryan could see when he looked over the balcony.

Bridge that is being renovated

Stream below

Looking at East Terrace & Bear Run below.

East Terrace

East Terrace

The picture below shows a very small part of the main waterfall.  It was disappointing that this was all we saw of the main waterfall from the house. Maybe you can see the whole thing from inside the house.  I would certainly hope so as what a waste if you can't. 

We got these pictures of the inside of the house through the windows.  You are not allowed to take any pictures on the tour through the house, so this is the best you will get.

Outside walkway

Looking at the side of the house from a walking path.

You can see how it is built into the rocks in places.

This bird was in its nest in the eaves and wasn't bothered by the people strolling by beneath it.

In the center of the picture below you can you see what looks like a cave.  It is actually a covered balcony that I believe is part of the house tour.  We saw people up there and it did seem that there was a walking trail there but we decided not to walk any further as we wanted to save our legs to walk back to the visitor center through the grounds, instead of getting the shuttle bus back. 

Looking back at Fallingwater

We walked on a trail to the viewpoint where you can take pictures of the house with the iconic view.  This is what I had expected to see as I approached the house. 

If I had lived in this house I would be disappointed that I had to walk a distance to see this view, and that it wasn't seen on any approach to the house but from a forest glen to the side. Hopefully we missed something, I don't know.

There was nowhere where you could view this from in front of the main waterfall.  As you walked the path to the viewpoint, the house was hidden behind shrubs and trees.

This picture that I found online at https://6rs3g6lp17-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/FW_Spring_01333-2.jpg is the best I could find of the waterfall at the front of the house.

Not my picture, found at the link shown above

There was a line of people waiting to take their picture here, so we joined in. Not the best, my head got in the way, but you get the general idea.

We left the viewpoint and started our walk back to the visitor center and car park.

Fungi on the way.

We walked to the "Birds-Eye View" overlook.  This was the best picture we could get. Again it was a peek-a-boo through the trees.

It was a pleasant walk and a shorter route than the one that takes you to the house.

It was a pleasant day out and we were glad that we had visited this famous landmark but felt no need to pay to visit any of the other Wright houses in the area.