That is exactly what I needed to see to cheer me up - this has been a sucky week so far. And the music is one of my favourite pieces, Smetana's beautiful tone poem, Vltava (wrongly described as the Moldau, although it is about the Moldau river).

It's amazing to think that house was designed in 1935, it looks so contemporary. Beeps, I thought of you all the time I was at the Guggenheim in 2009 for the FLW 50th anniversary retrospective (which was also at the time of my 50th birthday). You would've loved it. I'm only sorry that the postcard I sent you - a fab retro 60s shot of the museum - never arrived (thanks USPS).

I just looked on a map, and Falling Water is only 200 miles from my 'family home' in Ohio. Maybe when I'm out there in June I might be able to visit. Or if not, then another time.

Senyar: I can't believe it, but I don't think I ever told you- we FOUND that postcard, something like 8 months later, buried in a pile of old mail! :) It's hanging on my bedroom wall with some other postcards now.

And it only took me a couple of years to remember to tell you. :D

Oh WOW!!!

That was fun to watch, but I wish they had slowed down the pans and zooms a bit.

If you do head over to Falling Water, make sure to make reservations beforehand, the tours sell out, especially on weekends. Plus, while you're there, try to visit another Wright house right around the corner, Kentuck Knob.

That was great, BP, thanks!

octothorpe, the last time we went to Fallingwater, Kentuck Knob had just recently opened to the public. Have you been there? I'd like to see it.

No, I actually haven't been to Fallingwater in many years. It's one of those things that you only do when folks are visiting and never think to go on your own. Heck, I was up on Mt. Washington (the cliff overlooking Pittsburgh with the funicular) for the first time in about three years last month and that was only because I was taking a visiting engineer from India around. And that's like a mile from home.

I was just about to pipe in and say "don't miss Kentuck Knob too!" and Octothorpe beat me to it. I visited them both in a day trip with museum people at our Pittsburgh conference a few years back.

They make a great pairing. Fallingwater is an incredibly lavish, hyper-designed and well-thought-out showplace which is everything it's cracked up to be. Kentuck Knob gives a great window into the other side of Wright's work - the much more modest Usonian home which he imagined as part of a Utopian vision for architecture. It's in a really great setting and the finishes and details are just amazing, particularly some on the portico, where the roof has tiny cutouts which reveal the sun's movement throughout the day by splashing a pattern onto the walls and floor - just beautiful. Because the house was finished in the 50s and lived in up until kind of recently (the 80s, I see) it has wonderfully kitschy furniture. It's a great demonstration of the tremendous crossover between FLW houses and American ranch houses. Also, it's in a beautiful hilltop setting with a lot of cool sculpture around the grounds. Highly recommended. Here's the official site with visitation info.

I'd Kill to Live In Falling Water

Did I see this on the blue once? It's wonderful.

I'd Kill to Live In Falling Water

I'd kill myself accidently if I lived in Fallingwater. I'm 6'2" and that house was designed for people shorter than six feet, I'm always almost hitting my head when I visit. And that patio suspended dramatically over the waterfall is really pretty scary; I'm sure that I'd slip on a wet slate and slide right over the edge.

Even as a relatively short person, I don't think I could live there. I do miss those high Southern ceilings. Right now, something would have to be beyond stunning to trump basic comfort.

I'm sure that I'd slip on a wet slate and slide right over the edge.

You know, I'm vaguely remembering a story our guide told us about somebody falling to a grievous injury. Or maybe my memory is making that up. I do recall the vertiginous feeling up there, beautiful as it walls. The walls are so, so low.

I'm 5'9" so I feel right at home in Fallingwater, and I'd damn sure push someone over the balcony for a chance to live there. :)