Frank was at the bottom of his game. He was sixty-eight years old and hadn't had a decent commission in years. "The Father of the Modern American Architectural Movement" was being put out to pasture by the louder, younger voices of the International Movement.

 
Out of work and almost broke, Frank survived on the meager payments made by his students. His Taliesin Fellowship of young aspirants believed in and almost worshiped their master teacher. They paid him for the right to work under his hand.

One of these eager students was Edgar Kaufmann Jr. He convinced his wealthy father to let his mentor design a summer house for the family.

Wright blew the budget three times over. The building leaked from the day it was finished. The giant concrete cantilevers sagged. The contractors and the engineers clashed continuously with Wright on everything from the placement over Bear Run Creek to the quantity of reinforcing steel to the finish of the concrete. Wright balked to walk off the job.

And Edgar Kaufmann stuck with his Architect.

 
And FALLINGWATER became the most unique American iconic architectural vision ever.

Wright opened the home with just the right amount of perfectly placed glass to look out and connect with nature. Wright provided plenty of stone walls, behind which to rest and retreat. Wright cast the ceilings and floors out and away. They soar. Wright anchored stone fireplaces and orange, warm couches that said, stay. The home grew out from the rock and the water and nature felt at home.

 
The home felt at nature.

I don't know if America discovered FALLINGWATER or if FALLINGWATER discovered America. I do know though that at that time, America needed FALLINGWATER and everything it stood for, and what it stood against.

America is all about stretching further out than anybody else. We're also about anchoring in.

America is all about limitless views of nature and tomorrow. We're also about the protected places of privacy and freedom.

America is all about taking chances, experimenting. We try things and we fix things and we keep what works and we sweep away what doesn't.

Frank Lloyd Wright was sixty-eight years old and was almost washed up.

Then somebody took a chance and believed in their architect.

And while not perfect, that Architect kicked ass and created FALLINGWATER.

America is two hundred fourteen years old. Some people feel like we're almost washed up.

And while not perfect, America might look again at FALLINGWATER and rediscover what American means.