Falling Water, Costly Building

No, it's not the name of the latest Ang Lee movie (although it probably could be, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy would probably be thrilled to allow on-site filming in return for a generous donation toward maintenance and repair).

Hidden in the lush greenery of the hillside, rising above the falls in an oddly impractical echo of the natural setting, is a somewhat pretentiously named building complex designed by Frank Lloyd. This rustic retreat ran only 300% over-budget during the Depression.

The place was really photogenic due to its spectacular setting, but I would hazard a guess that perhaps it was the incessant soothing sound of the waterfall that made this the Kaufmanns' favorite retreat. (The primary visible building materials - i.e., big slabs of concrete - are not particularly beautiful in their own right, nor do they age well sans careful upkeep.)

I really liked the Buddha head on the terrace off the great room.


This was my favorite artwork in the place. I've forgotten the artist's name, but our guide assured us that the Kaufmanns kept only their "second rate" artwork here in their rustic cabin.


For instance, they had a few of their crummier Picassos lying around in some of the bedrooms, and stuck an unwanted sketch by Rembrandt in the servants' quarters. (Apparently, the Kaufmanns hired additional non-live-in servants to clean the live-in servants' quarters. A nice touch, and luckily they didn't get sucked in to excessive recursion in the arrangement.)