Architectural Drawings

Architectural Drawings

Original Frank Lloyd Wright Drawings

The entire archive of Frank Lloyd Wright’s original architectural drawings and correspondence, including those for Fallingwater, are housed at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library of Columbia University in New York City. Material in that collection is under copyright by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. As such, Fallingwater cannot provide researchers with digital or print reproductions of drawings or correspondence. You must directly contact the Avery archives to arrange a visit to view the collection in person, or access images through the JSTOR database.  

To do so, follow these guidelines:

  1. Connect to JSTOR website. 
  2. At top of webpage, select “Images” and type “Fallingwater” or “Fallingwater Guest House” into search bar. 
  3. Refine results at left by selecting “Drawings and Watercolors” button. 

 The resulting collection of drawings is available for viewing, including zooming in to inspect details. Downloads of these images are restricted by the Avery Library and will incur fees to do so. For more information, email the Avery’s Drawings and Archives department directly. To ease the process, reference the “Local Identifier” number in the drawing metadata (beginning with 3602 for the Main House or 3812 for the Guest House) for each drawing copy you wish to obtain. 

As Built Architectural Drawings

A set of “as-built” architectural drawings of Fallingwater is housed in the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C., and is the best resource for researchers seeking to work with architectural drawings showing the house as constructed. These drawings are available to download online for free and made available as part of the Library of Congress’ Historic American Building Survey. The collection includes architecture drawings (completed circa 2010) as well as color and black-and-white photographs of Fallingwater (circa 1985).  

Visit the Library of Congress website to search and review Fallingwater drawings and photos. With the collection currently at 136 assets, the list below provides an approximate number range for various drawings or photos. 

  • Photographs of Fallingwater (color and b/w) are #1-#98. 
  • Drawings for Fallingwater: #99-#108. 
  • Photographs of the Fallingwater Guest House are #109-#130. 
  • Drawings for the Fallingwater Guest House are #131-#135. 
  • Drawing #136 is for former schoolhouse on our property, but not considered part of the Fallingwater house museum.