Frank Lloyd Wright's residential masterpiece, Fallingwater, has been on the list of places to visit for a long time. We headed down to the U.S. this past Saturday morning and fit a lot into a four day trip. If you are looking for an interesting getaway, Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA and the city of Pittsburgh, PA are an easy drive from Hamilton or Toronto.
Fallingwater was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built between 1936 and 1939 as a vacation home for the Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh. Wright took full consideration of the landscape, and the house actually appears to float over a 30' waterfall. It's quite something to experience in person and absorb the architecture harmonizing with the sights and sounds of nature. We stayed at the historic Summit Inn which is close by in Farmington, PA. It's an intriguing place, with exceptional views, that is comfortably lost in time. It has just a hint of the Overlook Hotel from "The Shining" and even closes for a few months in the winter. They advertise "the best crab cakes in America". I tried them and they are definitely contenders.
The historic Summit Hotel and the view
After Fallingwater and The Summit, we spent a few days in Pittsburgh, PA. The "City of Bridges" (one of many nicknames) is a fine model of a post-industrial success story. The city is very much alive and is celebrating a rich past, a dynamic present and a bright future. We took an amphibious tour one afternoon and were able to get some terrific views of the city and its magnificent architecture.
The "City of Bridges", we were told, has more bridges, 446, than any other city in the world and the first steel bridge in the world.
The walkway across the Smithfield Street Bridge takes you to the old Pittsburgh and Lake Erie R.R. building and the Grand Concourse restaurant. It is a good choice for lunch with outstanding skyline views, but make sure you look up as well as out. The glass is all Tiffany that was painted over during the Cold War Era and rediscovered in the 1970's.
The department store that built the Kaufmann's Fallingwater. It was purchased by Federated Dept. Stores and has since become a Macy's, but the signature clock and facade have remained the same, even keeping the Kaufmann plaques.
Some Architectural Highlights
We had a very enjoyable stay at the Mansions on Fifth and a great evening with the owners Mary Del and Richard who shared some interesting history of the home, its owners and Pittsburgh. http://mansionsonfifth.com/
Andy Warhola was a native Pittsburgher and The Andy Warhol Museum is a fun stop on a tour of the city.
The Carnegies, Fricks and Mellons were very influential figures in the history of Pittsburgh, and many of the residential, commercial and institutional buildings were built by or named for them. We took in a concert at the Carnegie Music Hall. The hall has a pretty eclectic schedule of concerts and events. The weekend we were there it was Erasure and an energetic blast from the Eighties past. Flashbacks of Limelight N.Y.C. all night!
