I have always had an appreciation for architecture. I was dead set on becoming an architect in the seventh grade, and then a couple of years ago I took two courses on the history of architecture, the first being the beginning of known architecture to the Romantic Era and the second, the Romantic Era to modern times. During our study of modern architecture and architects we covered everyone from the Bauhaus to I.M Pei to Frank Gehry to Alvar Aalto and, of course, Frank Lloyd Wright.
Ah, Frank Lloyd Wright...Who's that? You don't know much about him? Well, let me provide you with the skinny (and you should probably check out that nifty link for more info and photos!). First of all, the man has his own stamp. He's kind of a big deal. With more than 1,000 projects and over 500 completions between the early 1900s and the 1960s, he was dubbed by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time" in 1991. Like I said, he's a big deal. The Guggenheim in New York, The Johnson Wax Administration Building in Wisconsin, and Fallingwater in Pennsylvania (which is what I'm really here to discuss)...all designed by Mr. Wright. Even some Bay Area spots were designed by Frankie, like The Marin County Civic Center and the V.C. Morris Gift Shop, right here in San Francisco.
Okay, back to the purpose of this post. Fallingwater. Possibly Wright's most famous building. Commissioned in the early 1930s by a former student's parents. Fallingwater was to be built over the family's favorite camping spot in Bear Run, Pennsylvania, which happened to be adjacent to a waterfall. The family wanted the house to sit near the waterfall and have some of its natural elements incorporated. Mr. Wright listened. Fallingwater is situated beautifully, cantilevering over the waterfall. The entire building, including the interior, was designed by Wright and influenced by the surrounding environment. Lucky for all of us, the family no longer lives in the home and it is now a National Historic Landmark--which is more good news for us.
Because the house is a landmark it is open for tours. Like most museums, there are different tours, for a variety of prices, available. The most basic, and affordable, at $18.00 for adults, is the the Regular Tour. This is a guided, hour-long tour of the grounds and interior of the house. From the Regular Tour the prices increase. Next up is the In-Depth Tour for $55.00, which is also guided; this one, however, lasts about two hours and provides more information on the design and construction of the home as well as access to other closed-off parts of the house. The last of the general tours are the Sunset and Brunch Tours for $100.00 each, in which a guided tour of the house and grounds is given followed by, depending on which tour, either hors d'oeuvres or brunch in the house. Family and Focus Tours are also offered.
I might consider all of the above if doing if I were on a vacation in the area simply for the experience of being in such an innovative and magnificent structure. However, there is soon to be, a brand new tour offered. InSight Onsite. InSight Onsite is a three-day seminar which allows you to not only tour the house and grounds but spend one day and two evenings in the masterpiece as it was orignially intended. Although you actually spend the night in another house on the grounds, you spend your day and two evenings hanging around the house relaxing. On the second evening a cocktail party is held and a dinner with discussion on art and architecture with a special guest. The main purpose of this new venture is to deepen visitors' understanding and appreciation of Fallingwater. But of course, to get this deeper understanding, you will have to pay the price. $1,195 is the price. Of course, things can always cost more, so if you want your own room in that on-the-grounds-but-not-Fallingwater house, you'll have to shell out $1,595.
I am choosing to ignore the price of traveling to and staying in Pennslyvania when I say that I would pay for any of the other tours. However, how could I possibly ignor that on top of the price of the InSight Onsite tour. There's no way your average Joe could afford that experience, no matter how interested in architecture or Frank Lloyd Wright he might be.
Fortunately for me, and unlike my previous posts, I have a solution to this problem. And this solution is my roommate, Julie. Approximately eighteen years ago, Julie's parents moved little Julie and her brother and sister from Switzerland to California and purchased a home in Camarillo. Shortly after moving her parents decided that they wanted to tear down and rebuild the place, so they took the blueprints to an architect. This architect studied these blueprints and came to realize that what he had in his hands was a blueprint from none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. So with this knowledge the house obviously couldn't be destroyed. You just don't tear down and rebuild a Frank Lloyd Wright house. You just don't. So now, instead of hauling my cookies all the way out to Pennslyvania, I can just take a trip down south and stay in Julie's Frank Lloyd Wright house. For free. Lucky me.
Of course, if I wasn't so poor, I'd go on the InSight Onsite tour of Fallingwater....If I wasn't so poor.
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