On July 7, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization announced the addition of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater home in Mill Run, Fayette County was added to the World Heritage Sites List.

Fallingwater is now managed by the Western PA Conservancy and is open to the public.  Click Here for a Fallingwater fact sheet.

Wright designed Fallingwater in 1935 for Pittsburgh department store magnate Edgar Kaufmann Sr. and his family, placing the home on top of Bear Run, a mountain stream and one of the family’s favorite picnicking destinations.

The nomination effort was spearheaded by Director Emerita of Fallingwater Lynda S. Waggoner, who is also a founding board member of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, an international organization dedicated to the preservation of all of Wright’s remaining built works and the coordinating entity for the World Heritage nomination.

“We could not be more delighted with the inscription of these eight sites to the UNESCO World Heritage List,” said Waggoner. “In many ways the recognition of the contribution of Wright to world architecture exemplified by these eight buildings is long overdue. These works sum up modern architecture in their open plans, abstraction of form, use of new technology, connection to nature and ability to adapt to modern living. I’m convinced that without Wright our architecture today would be very different.”

“This recognition is a tremendous honor, one reserved for the world’s most treasured places,” said Vice President of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Director of Fallingwater Justin W. Gunther. “I offer our sincerest thanks to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, National Park Service, partner sites, and elected officials for all their efforts throughout the nomination process.”

“Equally as meaningful is the profound influence buildings like Fallingwater can have in enhancing our understanding of the environments we live in today, and the ones we are planning for the future,” Gunther added.

The Wright nomination has been in development for nearly 20 years, a coordinated effort between the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, each of the nominated sites and independent scholars, with a substantial financial commitment realized through subsidies and donations, countless hours donated by staff and volunteers, and the guidance and assistance of the National Park Service. Fallingwater staff also contributed support and expertise in the nomination’s preparation.

Click Here to download a copy of the Frank Lloyd Wright nominating book.

Fallingwater was one of 8 Frank Lloyd Wright structures added to the World Heritage List.

Of the more than 1,000 World Heritage Sites around the world, Fallingwater and Independence Hall in Philadelphia are the only two in Pennsylvania.

For more information about the home, visit the Fallingwater website.

NewsClips:

AP: Fallingwater In PA, 7 Other Frank Lloyd Wright Homes Now World Heritage Sites

Fallingwater In PA, Other Frank Lloyd Wright Homes Now On World Heritage Site List

[Posted: July 7, 2019]

7/8/2019