Fallingwater (Photo: Sturmvogel 66)
Please note that this tour's departure time has changed from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
One of America's most innovative architects, Frank Lloyd Wright experimented with new ways to design homes and integrate them into nature. Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob are prime examples of this organic architecture. Visit both on an overnight tour to the scenic Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania led by architectural historian Bill Keene—and stay at a Wright-inspired hotel.
Perhaps Wright’s most iconic structure, Fallingwater was designed in 1936 as a mountain retreat for the Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh. Cantilevered over a waterfall, it is one of the most dramatic and frequently photographed works of architecture. It is also the only remaining major Wright house with its setting, original furnishings, and artworks intact.
In a special in-depth visit on Monday morning before Fallingwater’s public opening hours, museum guides interpret the house in many contexts, covering its history, architecture, and its relationship with the surrounding landscape. Participants are offered access to secondary spaces not available to regular visitors, and interior photography is permitted (for personal use).
Later, visit one of Wright’s noted Unsonian houses, Kentuck Knob. Constructed entirely of Tidewater red cypress and native fieldstone, the house appears almost a part of the mountain on which it is built. Designed in 1953 for the I.N. Hagan family, Kentuck Knob now houses furnishings and art of the current owners.
Overnight accommodations are at Falling Rock, a AAA Five-Diamond boutique hotel at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, whose architecture and interior design pay tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic style. Participants will have some free time on Sunday afternoon and evening to enjoy the many activities and amenities offered at the resort. Dinner is own your own at one of the many restaurants on on-site.
A lunch stop is made en route at Penn Alps Restaurant and Craft Shop. Enjoy breakfast at Nemacolin. Lunch is included at a local restaurant, and a rest stop will be made en route home to purchase a meal.
World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1/2 credit
GENERAL DETAILS
- Overnight accommodations are at Falling Rock, a AAA Five-Diamond boutique hotel at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
- UPDATED: Tour departs by bus from the Mayflower Hotel, Connecticut Ave and DeSales St, NW, with a pickup stop at I-270 Exit 26 Urbana carpool lot at about 9:55 a.m.
- Single-room supplement $125 (factored into the Single Room Member and Single Room Non-Member pricing).
- Singles registering at the double-room rate are paired (on a nonsmoking basis) if possible, but must pay the single-room supplement otherwise.
- Detailed information is mailed to registrants about four weeks prior to departure.
- Registrants may want to consider purchasing trip insurance.
- Some parts of Fallingwater are not accessible to visitors with disabilities.
