MILL RUN, Pa. — In 2026, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Fayette County will turn 90 years old.
But, in order to reach that milestone, a major restoration project is currently underway.
“A house that’s 90 years old, that’s out in the weather, it’s going to take a lot of care and maintenance,” Fallingwater Director Justin Gunther said.
Water is obviously a focal point of the home, as it sits above a waterfall. But water is also one of the biggest threats to the home’s integrity.
“Because of the unique way Fallingwater was constructed, with flat rooves and strong horizontal lines, we have a lot of opportunities for water to find its way into the house,” Gunther told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek.
Right now, there are several major leaks inside the home from rain, snow, and the Bear Run stream the house is built along.
“We’re always going to be combatting the thing that inspired the architecture,” Gunther said.
The work being done now is a major waterproofing and re-roofing that Fallingwater does every 20 to 25 years.
“So, right now we’re replacing all of the waterproofing assemblies on the flat rooves and the terraces, we’re replacing flashings all over the house, we’re conserving steel, we’re repairing deteriorated reinforced concrete, so it’s kind of this holistic, kind of comprehensive preservation project to prepare Fallingwater for the next 20-25 years, preserving the site well into the future,” Gunther said.
Because of the complex work necessary for this restoration, the project to make Fallingwater watertight will cost $7 million. That’s about 40 times the cost of building the house in the 1930s.
“The original budget was $35,000, and then I think when it was all said and done, it cost about $155,000,” Gunther said.
Adjusted for inflation, that $155,000 would be more than $3.5 million today, according to the Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator.
The project is being paid for through state grants and private donations.
You can see and learn about the work being done for yourself in two different tours starting March 15.
“It’s vital that we preserve this as an educational resource for the public to learn about nature through architecture,” Gunther said.
Fallingwater said it plans to have this restoration project done by early spring, with scaffolding being taken down in April.
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