Experiencing Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture in Pennsylvania By Saul Schwartz
Apr 2nd, 2026 | 03:57 AM
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Experiencing Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture in Pennsylvania By Saul Schwartz
To celebrate my seventieth birthday, my wife Fern and I drove to southwestern Pennsylvania to explore five different Frank Lloyd Wright designed or inspired houses. From Alexandria, Virginia, the trip took about three and one half hours (each way) on a cold March weekend. We were joined by my sister-in-law Karen who was also celebrating her birthday, along with her husband, my brother-in-law Paul, from Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Fallingwater – Located in Mill Run, Fallingwater is often considered Wright’s masterpiece. It is a UNSESCO world heritage site, as well. The Visitor Center is located at 1491 Mill Run Road. There is ample free parking on-site.
We began our visit in the Speyer Gallery, part of the Visitor Center. The current exhibition includes never-before seen footage of the Kaufmann family in their prior residence, at the site of what is now Fallingwater. The exhibit is entitled “the Kaufmann family – a legacy in motion.” We spent about twenty minutes viewing the films and displays showing how the property was turned into today’s Fallingwater. Here we learned that the connection between Frank Lloyd Wright and the Kaufmann family began at Wright’s Wisconsin studio, where Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. was studying architecture. Eventually Edgar Jr. joined the family business, at their Kaufmanns department stores. I fondly remember Kaufmanns, then Pittsburgh’s largest department store, from when I worked in downtown Pittsburgh. The department store became part of Macys in 2006.
We then began the tour of the 9300 square foot house. The one-hour guided architectural tour, which began at the Visitor Center, was exceptional. The tour cost was $42 per adult. Our guide was very well informed about the grounds, the exterior and the interior of Fallingwater. He answered our questions throughout the group tour, which had about ten participants. He explained the details of how this amazing house was built (in 1936) above the waterfall of Bear Run. Fallingwater was designed as a summer home for the Kaufmann family.
After our tour, we spent about one hour in the Fallingwater Café, which is part of the Visitor Center complex. Fern and I had coffee/tea drinks, which warmed us up on a cold day! The seasonal menu included soups, sides, sandwiches, and salads. The Café is cafeteria style. https://fallingwater.org.
There is also a museum store within the Visitor Center complex. The four of us left Fallingwater to head towards Polymath Park, the site of four Frank Lloyd Wright designed or inspired homes.
Polymath Park – The Park complex is located at 187 Evergreen Lane in Acme, about thirty minutes away from Fallingwater. Opened in 2007, the Park is home to two Frank Lloyd Wright houses relocated to Pennsylvania (to avoid their demolition) and two houses designed by Wright’s apprentice, Peter Berndston. The four of us elected to stay overnight at Blum House, which was built on the property. This was an exciting experience for us. Information is available at https://www.franklloydwrightovernight.net.
Blum House, built in 1965, features the Wright organic design, offering mountain views, along rolling fields. The Blum family (entrepreneurs from Pittsburgh) retained Berndston to design a summer house. The Blum family enjoyed the house, embraced nature, and the refuge the house and land provided, for almost three decades. In 2003, the Papinchaks purchased the Blum house to preserve the house and its land from potential development.
On Sunday morning, we went on a two-hour tour of the four houses in Polymath Park. The tour cost was $47 per person. Our guide was exceptionally knowledgeable. Tours are available from late March through late November. Seven participants attended this tour. We shuttled from house to house. We viewed the grounds and went inside each house.
The tour began with the Blum House and the Balter House. The Balter House, built in 1963, was also originally owned by entrepreneurs from Pittsburgh. It was used as a summer house for the Balter family until it was purchased in 2003 by the Papinchaks, again for preservation.
The tour also included two Wright houses relocated by the Papinchaks to Polymath Park. In 2006, the Duncan house, which was originally located in Lisle, Illinois, where it was the residence of the Duncan family, was rebuilt at the Park. In 2016, the Lindholm family’s Mantlya house was purchased and rebuilt at the park. The Mantlya house was originally located in Cloquet, Minnesota, where it was the residence of the Lindholm/McKinney families.
We learned that more recently, Polymath Park has acquired a fifth property. The Wright designed Birdwing house has been relocated from Minnesota, but it has not yet been rebuilt. Birdwing is a very large Wright structure.
During the morning, Fern and I wandered the pathways between the houses. As the four houses are preserved behind a locked gate, the Park is very quiet and serene, within the woods of the Laurel Highlands.
If we again visit the Park, Fern and I will have a meal at the Tree Tops Restaurant, once the home of the Papinchaks. Tree Tops is now a fine-dining restaurant, with indoor seating and outdoor seats in tree house pods.
Dining Out – We had two good meals in restaurants during the weekend.
Brady’s – Acme – Located at 3242 State Route 31, this casual restaurant is about one and one half miles from the Donegal exit of the Pennsylvania turnpike. The restaurant is designed to look like a park lodge. The back windows overlook a pond, where multi-colored ducks were strutting by. Our waitress was very attentive during our Saturday night dinner. The dinner menu was extensive. Dinner service closes at 7 p.m. Fern and I shared a salmon salad and a portobello mushroom wrap. Prices were reasonable.
Out of Fire Café – Donegal – We enjoyed our Sunday lunch meal at this rustic, cozy restaurant right by the Donegal exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, at 3784 State Route 31. Opened in 2007, the restaurant’s window views looked over the Laurel Highlands woods. The wait staff was very friendly, and the brunch menu was diverse. Fern and I enjoyed splitting the large hummus tasting platter and a roasted beet salad. The new American cuisine offerings were creative. Prices are reasonable.
The four of us truly enjoyed the Wright-inspired weekend. Both the tours and the stay were very special experiences. Although Fern and I have toured other Wright designed homes throughout the country, we never felt so immersed by his architectural style within nature. Although Wright died in 1959, his legacy lives on. We were also happy that neither tour focused on Wright the man, with his personal turmoil, which we had heard about in earlier
Fallingwater – Located in Mill Run, Fallingwater is often considered Wright’s masterpiece. It is a UNSESCO world heritage site, as well. The Visitor Center is located at 1491 Mill Run Road. There is ample free parking on-site.
We began our visit in the Speyer Gallery, part of the Visitor Center. The current exhibition includes never-before seen footage of the Kaufmann family in their prior residence, at the site of what is now Fallingwater. The exhibit is entitled “the Kaufmann family – a legacy in motion.” We spent about twenty minutes viewing the films and displays showing how the property was turned into today’s Fallingwater. Here we learned that the connection between Frank Lloyd Wright and the Kaufmann family began at Wright’s Wisconsin studio, where Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. was studying architecture. Eventually Edgar Jr. joined the family business, at their Kaufmanns department stores. I fondly remember Kaufmanns, then Pittsburgh’s largest department store, from when I worked in downtown Pittsburgh. The department store became part of Macys in 2006.
We then began the tour of the 9300 square foot house. The one-hour guided architectural tour, which began at the Visitor Center, was exceptional. The tour cost was $42 per adult. Our guide was very well informed about the grounds, the exterior and the interior of Fallingwater. He answered our questions throughout the group tour, which had about ten participants. He explained the details of how this amazing house was built (in 1936) above the waterfall of Bear Run. Fallingwater was designed as a summer home for the Kaufmann family.
After our tour, we spent about one hour in the Fallingwater Café, which is part of the Visitor Center complex. Fern and I had coffee/tea drinks, which warmed us up on a cold day! The seasonal menu included soups, sides, sandwiches, and salads. The Café is cafeteria style. https://fallingwater.org.
There is also a museum store within the Visitor Center complex. The four of us left Fallingwater to head towards Polymath Park, the site of four Frank Lloyd Wright designed or inspired homes.
Polymath Park – The Park complex is located at 187 Evergreen Lane in Acme, about thirty minutes away from Fallingwater. Opened in 2007, the Park is home to two Frank Lloyd Wright houses relocated to Pennsylvania (to avoid their demolition) and two houses designed by Wright’s apprentice, Peter Berndston. The four of us elected to stay overnight at Blum House, which was built on the property. This was an exciting experience for us. Information is available at https://www.franklloydwrightovernight.net.
Blum House, built in 1965, features the Wright organic design, offering mountain views, along rolling fields. The Blum family (entrepreneurs from Pittsburgh) retained Berndston to design a summer house. The Blum family enjoyed the house, embraced nature, and the refuge the house and land provided, for almost three decades. In 2003, the Papinchaks purchased the Blum house to preserve the house and its land from potential development.
On Sunday morning, we went on a two-hour tour of the four houses in Polymath Park. The tour cost was $47 per person. Our guide was exceptionally knowledgeable. Tours are available from late March through late November. Seven participants attended this tour. We shuttled from house to house. We viewed the grounds and went inside each house.
The tour began with the Blum House and the Balter House. The Balter House, built in 1963, was also originally owned by entrepreneurs from Pittsburgh. It was used as a summer house for the Balter family until it was purchased in 2003 by the Papinchaks, again for preservation.
The tour also included two Wright houses relocated by the Papinchaks to Polymath Park. In 2006, the Duncan house, which was originally located in Lisle, Illinois, where it was the residence of the Duncan family, was rebuilt at the Park. In 2016, the Lindholm family’s Mantlya house was purchased and rebuilt at the park. The Mantlya house was originally located in Cloquet, Minnesota, where it was the residence of the Lindholm/McKinney families.
We learned that more recently, Polymath Park has acquired a fifth property. The Wright designed Birdwing house has been relocated from Minnesota, but it has not yet been rebuilt. Birdwing is a very large Wright structure.
During the morning, Fern and I wandered the pathways between the houses. As the four houses are preserved behind a locked gate, the Park is very quiet and serene, within the woods of the Laurel Highlands.
If we again visit the Park, Fern and I will have a meal at the Tree Tops Restaurant, once the home of the Papinchaks. Tree Tops is now a fine-dining restaurant, with indoor seating and outdoor seats in tree house pods.
Dining Out – We had two good meals in restaurants during the weekend.
Brady’s – Acme – Located at 3242 State Route 31, this casual restaurant is about one and one half miles from the Donegal exit of the Pennsylvania turnpike. The restaurant is designed to look like a park lodge. The back windows overlook a pond, where multi-colored ducks were strutting by. Our waitress was very attentive during our Saturday night dinner. The dinner menu was extensive. Dinner service closes at 7 p.m. Fern and I shared a salmon salad and a portobello mushroom wrap. Prices were reasonable.
Out of Fire Café – Donegal – We enjoyed our Sunday lunch meal at this rustic, cozy restaurant right by the Donegal exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, at 3784 State Route 31. Opened in 2007, the restaurant’s window views looked over the Laurel Highlands woods. The wait staff was very friendly, and the brunch menu was diverse. Fern and I enjoyed splitting the large hummus tasting platter and a roasted beet salad. The new American cuisine offerings were creative. Prices are reasonable.
The four of us truly enjoyed the Wright-inspired weekend. Both the tours and the stay were very special experiences. Although Fern and I have toured other Wright designed homes throughout the country, we never felt so immersed by his architectural style within nature. Although Wright died in 1959, his legacy lives on. We were also happy that neither tour focused on Wright the man, with his personal turmoil, which we had heard about in earlier
Apr 2nd, 2026 | 05:09 AM
#2
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 18,469
Likes: 1
Thanks for your report.
Last year I toured Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, PA. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and was built in 1959. It is the only synagogue designed by him.
The tour included a great presentation about his life.
You can see it at the link below.
https://www.thoughtco.com/pennsylvan...-wright-177553
Last year I toured Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, PA. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and was built in 1959. It is the only synagogue designed by him.
The tour included a great presentation about his life.
You can see it at the link below.
https://www.thoughtco.com/pennsylvan...-wright-177553
Last edited by schmerl; Apr 2nd, 2026 at 05:14 AM.
Apr 2nd, 2026 | 05:30 PM
#4
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,009
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SaulYS Thanks for your report! Visiting Polymath is on my list! I went to Pittsburgh years ago with my parents and that time we visited Fallingwater and Kentucknob. Polymath did not exist then. How was your overnight stay at the Blum House? Did you check in only after all the tours are done, and then you have to check out before tours start the next day? I am considering taking a trip in the next year or two for my son's birthday and stay in Duncan house.
