Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater".........and a few old Vincent's.

I was on my way back from New York City toward Shanksville PA after photographing the 9/11 Memorial in NYC,to spend the night in Somerset  and the next day go to photograph "Fallingwater",one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous designs,if not the most illustrious of his career.I left NYC early to see if I could stay ahead of the seemingly endless dark gray clouds,but alas,my plan failed miserably.The whole ride over to Somerset it rained,all 270 miles of it.........hard.

I had more rain in that one day of riding than i've had in the last year of riding.Everything got soaked,even the "Waterproof" stuff,gear,tools,feet,hands,everything.I had to stop every 50 miles or so to re-Rain-X my helmet visors it was so bad.

This was the Twister that touched down upon my arrival in Somerset PA,after riding all day from NYC.It didn't last long,i've never been this close to a twister before.Noisy,like a freight train rushing by.

So I caved in to my wet and soggy predicament and got a motel for the night,a rarity for me,as camping is my preferred means of accomodation.Camping is cheaper,simpler and you can stay wherever the hell you want.

But on this wet night,I needed to dry out........

...the heater was on "High" all night long.

Even my tools that were in a "waterproof" bag didn't escape.

So the next morning I made my way to a house I had only read and fantasized about many years ago in a book,thinking what an incredible place to be able to live in,but between one thing and another it slipped my mind to go and visit as I traversed from one side of the country to another.  

On the drive down to Fallingwater I ride into the carpark and find a bunch of old motorcycles leaving oil stains all over the asphalt......

BUT,they weren't any old motorcycles,they were old Vincent's......lot's of 'em,and all in one spot too.Oooooh,I nearly fell of the bike looking at them.

Anyway,all these tasty Vinnies and more will be in the next post here on the blog.....

But not today.......

The cantilevered balconies of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.

To build today what the Kaufmann family hired architect Frank Lloyd Wright to build back in 1935 would be impossible,mainly due to code restrictions.Fortunately for the Kaufmanns and the leigon of Frank Lloyd Wright followers that come to see this American Architectural Masterpiece today,those codes were not as restrictive back then.

In November 1934,Wright visited Bear Run and asked for a survey of the area around the waterfall.

It took nine months for his ideas to crystallize into a design,and just in time for a visit by Edgar Kaufmann to Taliesin,and it was at that meeting that Edgar Kaufmann found out that Wright intended to build the home on top of the falls rather than below them to afford a view of the cascades as he had expected.

Since it appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in 1938,Fallingwater was the house that captivated a nation.It was hailed as Wright's "most beautiful job" and is listed among Smithsonian's Life List of 28 Places to visit before you die.

Fallingwater,a series of seemingly free-floating platforms precariously perched 30ft over a waterfall and anchored into the rock itself,has to be seen to really and truly appreciate it's beauty.I've owned Frank Lloyd Wright architectural books for many years and have seen other photographers images of Fallingwater,but actually being there and being able to take my own photographs was something I never thought I would be able to do.

Everything about this beautiful house that I have read about was true.It seems to blend in in every way with the nature that surrounds it,in color and form.Wright's passion for Japanese architecture was strongly reflected in the design of Fallingwater,particularly in the importance of interpenetrating exterior and interior spaces and the strong emphasis placed on harmony between man and nature.

Here,a stairway leads down from the cantilevered living room directly to the stream below.

When viewed from inside,the windows have a seamless appearance,and where glass meets stone walls there is no metal frame,the glass and it's horizontal dividers were run into a caulked recess in the stonework so that the stone walls appear uninterrupted by glazing.

Genius.

The extent of Wright's genius in the design of Fallingwater can only be hinted at in photographs,especially mine,since no flash photography was allowed,I had my work cut out for me here on this one.

You need to go to see this house in person,many people go two or three times a year to see it in it's different seasonal colors.

The construction was also plagued with conflicts between Wright,Kaufmann,and the construction contractor.

For some related interesting background,much of Ayn Rands book The Fountainhead was based on Wright and was dedicated to her husband Frank O'Conner and to architecture.

There is much left out of this post because it would take too long to cover the full story of either Fallingwater,Frank Lloyd Wright or the Kaufmann's.The included links are well worth researching,and Fallingwater is well worth a visit,at least once in your lifetime.

Meanwhile,next on wherethehellismurph.com is my happen-chance meeting of the 2011 VOC International Rally,this year held in the U.S.

So until next time......

New York City..............Street Level.

New York City seems to be a "Love It" or "Hate It" city for a lot of people.Me,I love it.Always have,always will.Even though the changes to the city and lifestyle have been dramatic and extreme since I left there in '97 or '98,and especially since 9/11,it still gets me and draws me in everytime.

It's one of the most functionally dysfunctional places,where a newcomer might look at it as the most chaotic scene they have ever witnessed,but yet it works,it flows smoothly,it manages to absorb all of the blows it has had rained down upon it for a long time now without imploding.

Even after 19 cowards got on 4 planes and tried to kill the soul of New York,it still didn't fall.It may have faltered a bit,but the City of New York,the State and the whole country came together to help keep it up,and they did.Today,it is still a magical place,where people flock to every day of the year just to get a piece of her and the people who make it great.

The FDNY are just some of the many people who help make NYC who she is,and 343 paid with their lives on Sept 11th,2001.

I happened to run into a few of them while I was there on this trip.

Some of the guys of FDNY Hook and Ladder Co.3 and Water Tower No.2 on East 13th Street,NYC.

I stopped by the station while I was next door at Phototech getting a lens repaired.When I lived in Mahattan I knew a few of the firemen at the Great Jones St Firehouse,which houses Ladder 9 and Engine 33 trucks and crew.

Thanks to the guys of Hook & Ladder Co. 3 and Water Tower Co.2 for spending time with me.

Up on 89th Street and Riverside Drive in Manhattan is the Soldiers and Sailors monument,built in the late 1800's and dedicated on Memorial Day 1902 to commerate the Union Army soldiers and sailors who served in the American Civil War.

The Fireman's Monument on 100th street,Riverside Dr. 

The origins on the FDNY go all the way back to 1648 when New York was the dutch settlement of New Amsterdam.The organization known as the "Prowlers" but nicknamed "The Rattle Watch"patrolled the streets with buckets,hooks and ladders,hence the term "Hook and Ladder Co." of the FDNY.

Only in Chelsea.

Jersey City as seen from Chelsea Piers.

Cellist Peter Lewy,Washing Square Park Arch,September 2011.

A video of Peter I shot is on my YouTube page here and here.

This could be Italy or Tokyo,but it's on the West Side Hwy.

7th Ave. looking north from 22nd St.

Soho.

Some of the motorcycles in the collection at Kiehl's on 3rd Ave.

Kiehl's,an American cosmetics brand retailer that was founded as a single pharmacy in New York City's East Village in 1851 by John Kiehl,located at 3rd Avenue and 13th street.In 1921,Irving Morse purchased the store and in the 1960,Irvings son Aaron took over the store.It is Aarons motorcycles and planes that are on display at the store,although the planes are no longer displayed there.

"Hmmm,a Flyin Eyeball".....

Jersey City

And as Gotham sleeps,so do I.........

Murph