The results of a $7.5 million preservation project at iconic Fallingwater are practically invisible to visitors.
This subtlety was entirely intentional, as the primary goal was to ensure architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s revolutionary home design stays intact for decades without altering its historic aesthetic.
Finishing touches are wrapping up at the home, which famously sits cantilevered over Bear Run, which empties into the Youghiogheny River just north of Ohiopyle in Fayette County.
“The challenge is making the restoration of it look historically accurate,” said Justin W. Gunther, Fallingwater director and vice president of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
Scaffolding came down for the most part in mid-March as tours resumed for 2026. Gunther closely watched the progress of the three-year project with the help of preservation architect Pamela Jerome and structural engineer John Matteo. Prolific documentation of the updates at the UNESCO World Heritage Site are necessitated by strict preservation standards, Gunther said.
The work started in February 2023 at a guest house on the property and attention turned in December 2024 to the main house. It was no easy feat to update the architectural marvel nestled among rhododendrons. A challenge was harnessing the water, a focal point both inside and outside the home.
Contractors focused their specialized handiwork on sealing the main and guest houses from water infiltration. That included repointing, pumping 11.5 tons of liquid grout into stone, preserving steel window frames, improving flat roofs that double as cantilevers and upgrading waterproof membranes underneath flagstone.
During cold weather, scaffolding was enclosed to provide a warm working environment for the contractors and some of the materials they used. The state funded $2.74 million of the project.
Fallingwater is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2026, and the preservation work is now part of the ongoing story. Gunther hopes the project sets the home up for the next 25 to 50 years.
“I think people enjoy learning about what it takes to keep a place like this,” he said.
One day last week, Erica Shidle of Chicago took in the sights, snapping a few photographs after a tour.
“I love how it fits with the landscape,” she said, and how quiet it is inside despite the rushing water outside.
Shidle and her family have visited Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes elsewhere in the country, but it was their first trip to Fallingwater. She said she was impressed by the cohesiveness of the design between the guest quarters and main home.
“You’re still part of the outside, but you’re inside,” she said.
Construction on Fallingwater began in 1936 in Stewart Township. It became the weekend home of the Kaufmann family, owners of an iconic Pittsburgh department store. In 1963, the family donated the home and surrounding land to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy for preservation purposes. It was opened to the public for visitation the following year and has become a popular tourist spot in the Laurel Highlands.
Fallingwater became a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and was named to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019.
