As you may be able to tell from the folks walking through my photo, Fallingwater is popular. There were tours for about a dozen each running every few minutes constantly. The house and 1500 acres were donated by the client’s son. The reserve is now 5,000 acres in rural Pennsylvania. I ate lunch at Polymath Park, about 45 minutes away, where they have four Wright homes, a Treetop restaurant and even let a few lucky folks spend the night.

This World Heritage site may be Wright’s greatest private home, his masterpiece of organic architecture. The multilevel home and guesthouse are built over the Bear Run Falls and into the rocky hillside. Several steps descend into the creek, and there are pools for swimming, for enjoying the creek and even for washing up. Unsurprisingly, the home has had some leaks, water and flood damage, but overall the waxed stone floors, stone walls and stucco covered steel reinforced cantilevered structures retain their stunning appearance. The many patios extend out over the water providing myriad views while adding to the modern exterior design.

The Kaufmanns owned Pittsburgh’s premier department store and welcomed employees here to play tennis, swim and enjoy nature. They also collected art, and much of their collection is still here, including an original from their friend Diego Rivera, who visited here with Frieda Kahlo. Much of the furniture is original and designed by Wright. Instead of abstract, complicated, multicolored glass window designs, Wright used plain glass windows, but in fascinating ways, especially by running the glass all the way to the corner from two sides without any corner support. From across the creek below the house, there is a stacked column of such windows running between floors, and each opens to provide an exquisite series of views that descend like the falls from the small upstairs room to the creek. Iconic.