Fallingwater will be Proposed to the United Nations World Heritage List
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced he will propose Fallingwater and 10 other Frank Lloyd Wright buildings to be considered as U.S. nominations for the United Nations’ World Heritage List.
“Thanks to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy for their efforts in spearheading this nomination. We are delighted with the news,” said Lynda Waggoner, Fallingwater’s director and vice president of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. “However, there is still a great deal of work to do in preparing the final application to the World Heritage Centre in Paris. The honor could not have come at a better time, as this year Fallingwater celebrates its 75th Anniversary.”
The list, administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), recognizes other world-renowned and culturally significant landmarks such as the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids of Giza, which are noted for their “outstanding universal value.”
Salazar stated that “the buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright are a testament to one of the world’s foremost architectural geniuses. They deserve to be recognized as World Heritage sites.”
The final decision on inclusion on the list will be made by the World Heritage Committee, composed of representatives from 21 nations and advised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. The U.S. nominations will likely be formally nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2013, for possible inclusion on the World Heritage List in 2014.
Eleven iconic, intact, innovative and influential Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) properties were selected to represent his portfolio of more than 400 buildings. They span almost 60 years of his efforts to create an “organic architecture” that attracted widespread international attention and powerfully affected the course of modern architecture around the world, as well as in the United States.
The properties include Wright’s own two homes, studios and schools, as well as four residences he designed for others, two office complexes, a place of worship, a museum, and a governmental complex. The other 10 properties are:
- Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona
- Hollyhock House, Los Angeles, California
- Marin County Civic Center, San Rafael, California
- Unity Temple, Oak Park, Illinois
- Frederick C. Robie House, Chicago, Illinois
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York
- Price Tower, Bartlesville, Oklahoma
- Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House, Madison, Wisconsin
- S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Administration Building and Research Tower, Racine, Wisconsin
- Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin
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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region’s quality of life by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped to establish ten state parks, conserved over 230,000 acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 1,500 miles of rivers and streams. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, which symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 140 community gardens and greenspaces that are planted with the help of 12,000 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 11,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org.
Media contact:
Eric Sloss
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
(412) 586-2358
esloss@paconserve.org