Cultural Phenomenon
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Showcasing a 'New America'
The Pittsburgh region has survived wrenching economic change and emerged with a balanced, innovation-driven economy renowned for health care and life sciences, technology and robotics, higher education and research, financial services, advanced manufacturing and renewable energy.
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A City Full of Diversity
As a city full of diversity, you will love exploring the culture, food, and atmosphere of Pittsburgh’s 89 unique and ethnically distinctive neighborhoods. Pittsburgh’s downtown is full of the city hustle and bustle, and Squirrel Hill has the quaint charm of a main street-like community. Meanwhile, Oakland, with its many universities, supplies a uniquely intellectual atmosphere. Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods and the unique people in them are just waiting for you to come and visit!.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater
Contact: Stephanie Kraynick, +1 412.586.2358, www.fallingwater.org
Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright masterwork, inspires visitors from around the world
Synopsis
Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright masterwork located near Pittsburgh, welcomes visitors from the world over and draws ever-increasing acclaim. Built atop a waterfall, this legendary house exemplifies Wright's concept of organic architecture, the harmonious union of art and nature. As the only major Wright work to come into the public domain with its setting, original furnishings and artwork intact, Fallingwater is both exceptionally rare and quintessentially Western Pennsylvanian. It was designed in 1935 for Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar J. Kaufmann, entrusted to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963, and has been open to the public ever since.
Overview
Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright masterwork located near Pittsburgh, welcomes visitors from the world over and draws acclaim that only grows with time. Built over a waterfall from 1936 to 1939, this legendary house could only have emerged from the beautiful, rugged landscape of Western Pennsylvania that captivated the architect.
Wright designed Fallingwater for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar Kaufmann. Much to the family's surprise, he designed the house to rise above the waterfall rather than to face it, as they had expected. However, the family recognized Wright's genius and adopted his original scheme with few changes. The house was constructed of sandstone quarried on the property and built by local craftsmen. The stone serves to separate reinforced concrete "trays" that are dramatically cantilevered over the stream, Bear Run. Fallingwater was completed in 1939 and served as the weekend home of the Kaufmann family from 1937 until 1963.
A new era for Fallingwater began in 1963, when Edgar Kaufmann jr. (sic) entrusted the house, its contents and grounds to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, specifying that the house should remain open to the public for all time. Today, Fallingwater - an exemplar of Wright's concept of organic architecture - welcomes 150,000 visitors annually. Named the "best all-time work of American architecture" by the American Institute of Architects, Fallingwater offers educational programs that inspire people of all ages to live, and create art and architecture, in harmony with nature.
MEDIA »
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ENVIRONMENTAL RENAISSANCE »
A view of the David Lawrence Convention Center
Green Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is leading the way in green initiatives. With green buildings located throughout the city and the nation’s first green convention center, we’re rethinking the cityscape and uncovering new ways to keep it green.
