ONE. It’s anniversary-worthy.
A twelve year anniversary is the hidden gem of wedding anniversaries. According to The Knot, the celebratory gift is the pearl, a hidden treasure symbolizing one-of-a-kind love. BTW, thirteen is warm and fuzzy faux fur – can’t wait to see what we do for that. According to Travel+Leisure magazine, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater is one of 12 architectural landmarks that will change how you see the world. The cantilever balconies of this vacation retreat are shaped like a 12 sided polygon and are 12 feet apart in height. Our guided tour had 12 people in it. Spooky.
TWO. It’s on the way to Denver
If you are heading to Denver from Maryland, that is. Don’t minimize the importance of logistics, taking advantage of must see attractions along the way. We’re sure the Taj Mahal is a bang-up tour but it is also 8,000 miles out of our way.
THREE. You just saw the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit at the National Building Museum in DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival.
FLW had a big plan for Pittsburgh that looked a lot like Orbit City which is, as you might recall, where George Jetson worked. We toured the exhibit which showed the plans of everything FLW designed that never got built. “Unrealized” they called it. Proof that not all ideas are good ideas.
FOUR. It’s a UNESCO Heritage Site, a National Historic Landmark, and a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Treasure.
There are only 30 UNESCO sites in the U.S., of which 8 belong to FLW. Honestly, that is mostly a paperwork thing we think. On our trip to Newfoundland last summer, UNESCO sites were like Starbucks in Seattle. Until your neighborhood park figures out how to qualify for status (like FLW and NF did), you’ll have to come here. Or, if you’re on your way to Denver, you can also stop at Illinois’ Cahokia Mounds, known for its “outstanding universal value.” We saw the photos at the Rest Area of the empty low hill at Cahokia and thought, best left to the archeologists.
FIVE. Named best all-time work of American architecture by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Admittedly, this is pretty subjective. FLW beat out John Roebling and his Brooklyn Bridge, and the trio of Shreve, Harmon and Lamb with their Empire State Building. It’s nice to know that size does not always matter.
SIX. It’s under renovation and covered in scaffolding.
In between 84 years of on-and-off repair, Fallingwater sits picturesque above the Bear Run. But, just like our any house subjected to ongoing water intrusion, it was crumbling, buckling, molding and sinking. It might have something to do with the enormous cantilevered slabs of concrete supported by squadouche and the fact that there is a river running through it. Now, large parts of Fallingwater are covered in scaffolding as maintenance teams pretend to look busy. There is definitely some schadenfreude watching someone else enjoy home maintenance.
SEVEN. You love Mountain Laurels and Rhododendrons
Mountain Laurels are Rhododendrons! Gotcha! According to our tour guide, the large leaves of the Rhododendron inspired FLW to cantilever concrete slabs as though they were delicate leaves. Engineers just love to hear sh** like that. Concrete hanging out unsupported over a raging river vs. an organic flow living in nature is the engineer vs. architect degree path. It’s Debbie Downer vs. Pollyanna.
EIGHT. The blueberry muffins in the cafe are delicious
Surprisingly important when you have been battling Monday morning rush hour traffic from D.C. to Cumberland to Mill Run and have only 5 minutes to shove something in your mouth before the tour departs. Fallingwater is crowded nearly all year. Miss your tour time and you will be relegated to touring the gift shop. That half a blueberry muffin was likely the major reason how we made it up all twelve flights of wet stairs.
NINE. You love words like epitome, iconic, visionary and masterpiece
These are the four words that the tour guides are permitted to use when describing Fallingwater. You are permitted to string them together, such as iconic masterpiece, when describing anything in the home from the home itself (epitome of) to the napkins on the kitchen table (visionary). It is a little known fact that you may use the word “meh” when describing any changes the home owners and bill payers made to the original design.
TEN. You like driving windy, nausea inducing back-country roads, far from an interstate, passing through decaying towns.
It is surprising that anyone goes to Fallingwater at all. It is hidden on back roads in southwest Pennsylvania far from any highways. Unless you are hunting deer, you are not just stumbling by. Also, Apple Maps takes you to the wrong entrance. Ask us how we know.
ELEVEN. You love a high design museum store
NO pictures allowed – that’s how you know it is high design. The FLW chess set was amazing. The selection of children’s toys with architectural high design was flabbergasting. We’d show you but NO PICTURES because we might have discretely snapped a pic of a really cool book on home design and found it on Amazon for way less. Yea, that rule makes sense now.
TWELVE. You’re a fan of the Guggenheim in NYC.
The Guggenheim is that other little place that FLW designed, the circular art museum in NYC that is equally awe inspiring, sorry iconic, as well as terrifying to tour. The steeply pitched spiraled walkway that also serves as the gallery space would be perfect for Tony Hawk on a skateboard. What makes FLW works so unique is that they violate every building code known to man. Guard rails and gentle inclines may be safe, but they sure are ugly. When you are famous, building code is for losers.
THIRTEEN. [Baker’s Dozen]. No one you know has been there
Well, now you can cross that off the list.
