Visiting Fallingwater With Kids

Visiting Fallingwater was a truly magical experience for our family.  Right before my second son turned six, he brought home a children’s book of architectural masterpieces from his school library. Together, we closely examined every page.  He was excited to find a few landmarks that he had already seen, including the Golden Gate Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Willis Tower.  However, he was absolutely fascinated by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.  Although he had no idea where exactly it was located, he looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Mommy, can you take me there?”

I told him that I would love to take him to see this house cantilevered over a waterfall that mesmerized him. Fallingwater is about a three hour drive from our home in Cleveland and near my college roommate in Pittsburgh.  Also, my older son had suggested trips to the Grand Canyon and London the previous year, which we somewhat coincidentally ended up taking, so I was thrilled that he found a destination to suggest for us to visit and was excited to visit Fallingwater with kids.

Fallingwater With Kids – Six and Up Only 

We consulted Fallingwater’s website and learned that this was the first historic site that we had considered visiting where children under age six are simply not welcome. Fallingwater’s interior has been preserved to its original décor, and visitors actually walk through the narrow hallways and into each room rather than view from behind a rope.  Children under six are simply a risk for disturbing or damaging the interior design.  There are not even exceptions for babies in carriers.  My son said, “That’s ok, we can just wait and go after I turn six next month.”

I sent a text to my college roommate, with whom I had toured Fallingwater the weekend after 9/11.  She had also been waiting for her daughter to turn six so they could go on a tour. We set aside a Friday in June and booked a Guided House Tour.  We were also traveling with our one year old, who was not permitted on the tour, but my husband volunteered to enter on a grounds pass and explore the property (and family room) with her while we took the tour.

Visiting Fallingwater With Kids

Tickets for the Guided House Tour (currently $30 for adults, $18 for children six and up) are available online, and advanced purchase is highly encouraged and often necessary in the summer.  Photography is not permitted on this two-hour tour, which included the main house, the guest house, the pool and an informational video.

The more expensive In Depth Tour ($80) offers smaller tour groups and permits still photography for personal use. Children must be at least nine years old to participate and do not receive a discounted rate.  This tour often sells out weeks in advance.  There is also a Children’s Tour listed on the website with noted availability on select days, but you cannot book through the website.

Note that Fallingwater is closed on Wednesdays.

Fallingwater – Kid Facts

Frank Lloyd Wright met the Kaufmann family when he briefly served as an architecture teacher to Edgar Kaufmann Jr. Edgar Jr. convinced his father, Edgar Sr., the owner of Kaufmann’s Department Store, to have Wright design a weekend home on property they owned in Bear Run, Pennsylvania.  Edgar Sr. wanted the home to have a view of the waterfall on the property.  Instead, Wright designed a home that was partially built into the waterfall.  Edgar Sr., his wife, Liliane, and Edgar Jr. used Fallingwater as a weekend home from 1937 until 1963.  Liliane and Edgar Sr. died in 1952 and 1955, respectively, and Edgar Jr. donated Fallingwater and the surrounding property to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Place to See Before You Die?

In 2008, Smithsonian included Fallingwater as one of four Triumphs of Vision on its list of 28 Places to See Before You Die.  While I full-heartedly believe that Frank Lloyd Wright was an architectural genius and that the concept of a house built into a waterfall is pretty exceptional, I am really not so sure that Fallingwater should be in the same category as other architectural masterpieces on the list like the Taj Mahal, the Louvre, the Great Wall of China, Ankor Wat or Macchu Pichu. It was, after all, a summer home for a wealthy family and an example of form over function. It was so impractical for its intended use that it was donated 25 years after it was constructed and then had to be opened to tours in order to cover the property’s exorbitant maintenance costs.

Is Fallingwater Kid Worthy?

While I may question some of Fallingwater’s accolades, it was a great experience for my college roommate, our two six year olds and my eight year old. The guides were extremely knowledgeable and held the interest of the kids.  It was the architectural masterpiece my son picked out of the book, and he had a permanent grin throughout the tour. Over a year later, he still remembers the patios, the stone floor in the living room and the staircase leading to the waterfall.  Our visit to Fallingwater with kids was a huge hit.  Now, my architecture-loving son wants to see the Eiffel Tower, and I cannot wait to take him.  (Update:  I did take him to the Eiffel Tower in July 2018, and it really was a dream come true.)

Every so often, we encounter a place that is so fabulous for those traveling with kids that it is worthy of being featured on its own. For more amazing locations, please check out our other Spotlight features!

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