Beth Sholom Synagogue

Although I have lived in the Philadelphia area for more than eight years I had only had the opportunity to see the outside of the building until a business trip took me to the west side of Philadelphia on a weekday. At the time I visited, tours were offered at 10 am and 2 pm. Make sure you call ahead if you are planning a visit. You can find more information at the the Beth Sholom website. These are the exterior photographs that were taken on another day when it was sunny. Don't miss the interior photographs

The book: Together They Built A Mountain describes the history of the building.

There is a handout that I received before the tour that explains the extensive symbolism that is present in the design of the temple. The building is an abstract image of a mountain — Mount Sinai.

The first photograph is the building seen from the left front.Clicking on most images on this page will display an enlarged photograph.

The next photograph is the right front.

This is the view of the back of the building from the left side.

And the view of the back from the right parking lot.

The annex building is to the left in this photograph.

A closer view of the front entry. There is a photograph from the interior looking out on the interior photographs page.

Looking up the edge of the building.

By the front entry.

And the Frank Lloyd Wright tile.

As I entered the main space of the temple I was again struck by how Frank Lloyd Wright rooms feel different from others. Personally I feel calmed and serene in his spaces — much like being in a forest. He would probably like that given his fondness of Nature. His mastery of space is something that should be experienced first hand. Photographs rarely do his rooms justice.

These are the interior photographs taken on January 10, 2002, which unfortunately was a cloudy day. 

The exterior photographs were taken on a different (sunny) day.

The first photograph is entry to the main space after entering the front door of the temple.

Clicking on the images on this page will display an enlarged photograph.

This is the entryway to the Sisterhood Sanctuary below.
The tour does not include this room and it was closed.

This is looking back out the front door.
Notice the mitered glass without a frame — a common Wright technique.

This is the view as you enter the main space.
The walkway up from the front door compresses the space
and then it lets out into the main temple.

This is a closer view of the Ark at the center.

This is the view from the left side of the main space.
Notice the pattern on the concrete above. The pattern reminded me of the
pattern in the concrete at the Florida Southern College campus.

This is the Chandelier. It has lights that were not on at the time of the tour.
The colors have meaning (from the tour handout):
Blue for Wisdom
Green for Insight and Understanding
Yellow or Gold is for Courage and Justice
Cream White is for Mercy and Loving-Kindness

The next photograph is a view from the left side of the Ark looking out towards the front entry.

And this is looking up.

Overall an impressive Wright building. The outside alone is just interesting, but the inside really makes it special. Perhaps that is part of the message.

Suntop Homes

I was on the west side of Philadelphia on other business and took the opportunity to locate and photograph the Suntop Homes. As you can see from the photographs, it was difficult to see much because of the trees surrounding the homes. A wooden fence surrounds the entire grouping of four homes, and there were private residences on all sides. The owners of one unit were working on renovating it at the time I stopped by and they gave me permission to photograph the outside of the building. 

Wright called these units his "Ardmore Experiment" and each has a roof terrace ("suntop"). Instead of stacking units on top of each other like an condominium complex, these are divided into quadrants. In today's market I suspect they would be called townhomes, but even then the quadrant arrangement would be unusual. 

You can see the dumpster that was parked in the driveway in this photograph.
You also get a feel that glass is heavily used in the homes.

The homes are not very visible. This is the view as you walk up the block towards them.

And this is the view from across the street.

And from across the street and up the block.

From the end of the visible driveway.

There are four units in the complex according the Storrer.
Of course the black and white photographs in his book look quite different because the trees were not grown.
This driveway leads to one that is not visible from the street.

This is the carport for one of the homes beside the home being renovated.

As you can see the fence needs some repair work.

This is a closer view of the entrance to the unit being renovated.

Another site with Suntop Homes pictures. I can't say it was an awe inspiring visit, but I'm sure the residents appreciate the privacy of the homes, especially with FLW fans like myself coming around.

Liliane S. and Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr., Residence (Fallingwater)

I have wanted to visit Fallingwater ever since I saw a picture of it in the ninth grade. This past week while Laurene and Samantha were on vacation, I took the opportunity to drive the six hours through Pennsylvania to visit Fallingwater. Even after having built up my expectations over the years, I was not disappointed. The pictures in books just do not do it justice. 

The extended tour started at 8:30 am. It lasts about two hours and unlike the normal tour, we were allowed to take pictures. There are many sources of better pictures of course, so I am just including a few shots here to give a feel for the tour. It's well worth the trip if you're in the Pittsburgh area.

Probably the nicest surprise about the visit to Fallingwater is that it has not been commercialized. There were only a couple of small road signs to help find it, and no billboards. If you didn't know what you were looking for you could miss it. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has done an excellent job maintaining the house and they provide a first-class tour. 

The tour starts at the visitor's center. The center is very nicely done with a day care, cafe, and gift shop. Our group of about ten people started down the short access road used by the Kaufmann's.

The first view of the house is from slightly above. We could not see the waterfall from here. Wright's idea was that the Kaufmann's would live with the waterfall, not just look at it.

Before entering the house we walked over to the "alternate view" which is of course the traditional view with the house perched over the waterfall. As I said, pictures do not do this scene justice.

Bear run was flowing well according to our tour guide. It can drop off to a trickle in the summer. Although you can't see it in this picture, there are now supports underneath the first terrace and between the rock ledges. There has been some settling because the concrete was improperly angled when the house was constructed. The usual problems that come with "pushing the envelope". There are plans to strengthen the first terrace, but it will be expensive.

[It turns out that FLLW did not specify sufficient steel reinforcement in the concrete terraces.]

I took a few pictures of the interior. Here are a couple of areas that are only included on the extended tour. This is the kitchen (on the first floor) which is used by the tour guides.

This is the basement where the oil heater is located. As you can imagine, with all of the glass and rock, Fallingwater is not a very efficient home to heat. It is not air conditioned, although the Koufmann's were concerned enough with circulation problems to have modifications made when the guest house was built a couple of years after the main house. Although it is hard to see, the photo to the right is of a rock that "is one" with the basement. The hearthstone in the great room is much more attractive....

This picture was taken while standing on the second floor terrace looking over the first floor and the driveway bridge over the stream. It was a cloudy day, but the rain did not start until the tour was over (about 11:00 am).

I was standing on the third floor terrace looking back at Edgar Koufmann Jr.'s room. The guest house is in the background.

This shot was taken from the guest house looking back at the stepped walkway leading from the main house. The tour guide stated that they believe that the concrete roof over the walkway was created in one pour. There were no noticeable cracks in it even after 60 years.

This is me in front of the carports (4) attached to the guest house. The administrative offices are located on the second floor. I can't imagine a better office!

This is back down on the driveway and entrance to the main house. At the end of the tour I felt that Frank Lloyd Wright was audacious and arrogant to try and improve on nature, but I certainly think he succeeded.

There was an interesting article about Fallingwater in the Philadelphia Inquirer on March 24, 2000. The state of Pennsylvania is going to chip in $3.5 million to repair the famous residence. There is a nice 15-minute video clip of the presentation of the gift at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy website.

The official Fallingwater site is hosted by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

For more in-depth information see the book Fallingwater by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr.