Press Release: Fallingwater Reopens for 60th Tour Season March 11
Mill Run, Pa. — March 10, 2023 — Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019, will reopen Saturday, March 11, 2023, for its 60th tour season. Since opening to the public for its first house tour in 1964, Fallingwater has welcomed a diverse range of visitors from around the world.
Fallingwater, designed by Wright in 1935, is open to the public as a house museum and is also designated as a National Historic Landmark and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Treasure.
Several types of tours are available, and advance ticket purchase is required as tours are scheduled and limited in size. Helping to enhance the visitor experience, the Fallingwater Museum Store and Café will also reopen on March 11, along with a new exhibition in the Speyer Gallery.
Fallingwater is located in the Laurel Highlands in Mill Run, Pa., Fayette County, about 90 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. For more information or to purchase tour tickets, visit Fallingwater.org/Visit/Fallingwater-Tours or call visitor services at 724-329-8501.
Engaging Tour Experiences
Fallingwater offers a variety of tour experiences, where visitors can gain insights into Wright’s organic architecture and design philosophy, and discover the beauty of Fallingwater and its natural landscape.
Tours offerings in 2023 include the popular Guided Architectural Tour with full grounds access. This year, Fallingwater is offering a new exterior tour, Guided Grounds Walking Tour, led by one of our educators that provides insights into the Bear Run landscape that inspired Wright to design Fallingwater.
Visitors can reserve an In-Depth Tour, March 11 through November 26, which allows smaller groups of visitors to explore additional spaces of the main and guest houses not on the regular Guided Architectural Tour. Due to its popularity, these tours are offered at the beginning and end of the day.
A variety of specialty tours are also offered, including an outdoor family educational experience on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Called Family Field Trips, the tours provide kids of all ages with learning activities in observation and sketching, along with a souvenir bag. Starting in May, Fallingwater will offer Focus Tours that include a seasonal meal created by Fallingwater’s executive chef, Brittany Savage and served on the house’s Pottery Terrace. These private tours offer a tailored experience of Fallingwater and allow guests the unique opportunity to fully immerse through behind-the-scenes access and delicious food.
Fallingwater’s tours are offered daily–except Wednesdays–from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through November 26, 2023. In December, tours will occur on weekends and each day between Dec. 26-31, 2023. Tours can be reserved on the Fallingwater website at, Fallingwater.org/Visit/Fallingwater-Tours.
For those wanting to visit virtually, we will offer “A Closer Look” on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. These live broadcast experiences give attendees special access to Fallingwater with details and perspectives that are not observable on regular tours.
Exhibitions in the Speyer Gallery
In addition to tours, visitors can learn more about Fallingwater’s history and collections through two exhibitions in 2023 at the Speyer Gallery located in the Visitor Center.
Expanding our knowledge of Wright’s architecture and challenging our assumptions about sacred space, Sacred Spaces: Frank Lloyd Wright and Andrew Pielage, features photographs captured by Pielage over his decade-long project to document Wright’s work. His work juxtaposes traditional places of worship with iconic Wright houses, museums and civic spaces.
This traveling exhibition is curated by architectural journalist Sam Lubell and organized by Fallingwater, Beth Sholom Preservation Foundation, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Taliesin Preservation, Inc.
From October 15 through December 31 the Speyer Gallery will showcase Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania: The Fallingwater Projects. This exhibition will feature unbuilt projects Wright designed for the Kaufmann family at Fallingwater, including a chapel, a gate house, and a farmer’s cottage. These unrealized designs will be brought to life as virtual animations and will be exhibited alongside Wright’s architectural drawings.
The Fallingwater Institute Courses
A variety of programs, including on-site residencies and virtual workshops, classes and residencies, are available to high school and college students, teachers, design professionals and other professional learners through the Fallingwater Institute.
Institute participants gain a deeper knowledge, understanding and analysis of Fallingwater and Frank Lloyd Wright’s ideas of organic architecture by exploring sustainable design practices through hands-on exercises and immersive experiences. Working independently and as teams, participants are challenged to think creatively to solve design challenges.
Fallingwater Institute programs are held at various times throughout the year and advance registration is required. More information is available at Fallingwater.org/Fallingwater-Institute.
2023 Fayette County Appreciation Days: March 19 and November 19
Fallingwater will again offer free admission to Fayette County residents during two Fayette County Appreciation Days in 2023, to be held on Sunday, March 19 and Sunday, November 19.
Each year, Fallingwater thanks Fayette County residents by inviting them to experience Fallingwater during Fayette County Appreciation Days. County residents had an important role in Fallingwater’s history and remain actively involved as staff and volunteers in its ongoing preservation, interpretation and stewardship.
Advance reservations for tours are essential to guarantee admission. Free tours are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents, including families with children, are encouraged to call 724-329-8501 for information and reservations.
Wright at Polymath Park
Fallingwater also takes tour reservations for Wright at Polymath Park, a collection of two Frank Lloyd Wright-designed houses and two from Peter Berndtson, a Wright apprentice. These homes, which are not owned nor operated by Fallingwater, provide examples of Wright’s Usonian-style architecture and his visionary design techniques. Polymath Park is located in Acme, Pa., which is approximately 22 miles from Fallingwater.
Tour tickets and more information for Fallingwater and Wright at Polymath Park are available at Fallingwater.org or by calling visitor services at 724-329-8501.
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About Fallingwater
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) owns, operates and preserves Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which is one of the renowned American architect’s most widely acclaimed works. Fallingwater was designed by Wright in 1935 as a private residence for the Kaufmann family, owners of Pittsburgh’s largest department store. Fallingwater best exemplifies Wright’s philosophy of organic architecture: the harmonious union of art and nature. Fallingwater was entrusted to WPC in 1963 and opened to the public as a house museum in 1964. It is surrounded by WPC’s Bear Run Nature Reserve, a 5,118-acre wilderness of forests, streams and trails. Fallingwater is designated as a National Historic Landmark and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Treasure, and was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019. Fallingwater is located in the Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands in Mill Run, Pa., Fayette County, about 90 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. For more information, visit Fallingwater.org. Join the conversation with Fallingwater on Facebook or Instagram.
About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped establish 11 state parks, conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands, protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, and assessed thousands of wildlife species and their habitats. The Conservancy owns and operates Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 130 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of more than 7,000 volunteers. The work of the Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org or Fallingwater.org.
Media Contacts:
Clinton Piper
Senior Administrator of Special Projects
724-329-7821-office
cpiper@paconserve.org
Carmen Bray
Senior Director of Communications
412-586-2358-office
cbray@paconserve.org