i know Frank Lloyd Wright’s “fallingwater” house (the kauffman house) in pennslyvania is not for sale, but it is the single most distinguishable home in america… hypothetically speaking… if the penn state reserveratory were to put it up for sale… anyone know or want to guess approximately how much it would go for?
Falling Water cost $155,000 in 1937 (The original budget was $30,000). This however, negates the fact that the house is worth much, much more than that because it is an American treasure.
Although this doesn’t answer your question, restoration costs for the building were approximatly 12 million US$.
I also recall professors saying that it has an astronomical maintanence cost. I don’t know if the restoration will put an end to that or not. Regardless, due to the damp climate, you’ll have to have some type of upkeep on a regular basis (Painting and such).
Another price factor would be how much of the land would you be buying with the house?
Also, not being familiar with PA, I am under the impression that the house is maintained by the Western Pennsylvanian Conservancy. Is it affiliated with Penn State?
You are correct, Bad News Babboon, that Falling Water is maintained by The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy which is not associated with Penn State (Which is in Central Pennsylvania) as far as I’ve ever heard.
Maintenance is, indeed, a bitch on the building. Not just painting and things like that but structural problems. The cantilevers were under-engineered and much work has been done to stabilize them.
From the above web page:
None of this, of course, answers the op. I’d say it would cost a lot.
Yes you’d have to be in and around the income bracket of say a celebrity sports star to afford it.
That being said I had the unique opportunity whilst working on my PhD at Arizona State to take a semester at the Frank Lloyd Wright institute outside Phoenix. My design style is very similar and I cost a whole lot less… Let me know if anyone needs some pointers.
My house is a modern Log home, but I incorporate much of what Lloyd stood for…bring nature indoors, harmony with the earth, and making one feel at home when they walk in… If I can only keep my cat off the walls.
There are several FLW homes that you can purchase and live in, affordibly. In Oskaloosa, Iowa, there are at least two FLW homes, and one was for sale for the majority of the time I lived there. The price was $160,000 (three years ago). I considered buying it, but I knew I’d be leaving Osky soon, and I knew it would be difficult to resell.
This one didn’t “scream” FLW, which may have made it affordable (the other one in town was more obviously FLW). The other reasons it didn’t sell were probably maintenance issues and that it was on the historic register so furniture couldn’t be removed, etc.
Hell just come on over to Oak Park, IL. We’re just outside of Chicago and we got plenty of FLW houses - only problem is people are;nt too keen to part with them so if and when one goes on the markrt it’s snatched up pretty fast for a tidy sum.
But even if, like me, you cant get a FLW (mainly for financial reasons in my case) you can always take the tours and you can drive by them to admire thier beauty anytime you want.
sorry that’s what i meant, i was only in a rush… i’m not even positive if reservaratory is a word. and penn. was short for the actual state; i knew it wasn’t associated with the university. anyhow… here’s a preview for those who are unfamiliar…
from this site , hundreds of thousands of visitors visit the home at a price of $8-$12 dollars.
Assuming a figure of 200,000 visitors paying $10.00 each, the foundation makes a minimum of $2,000,000 per year. Why on earth would they sell this house for $60 mil?
I know you are just trying to get a ball park figure, but asking for a price of this house is akin to asking what the going rate of the Sistine Chapel is. It doesn’t exist, because it simply will never ever be for sale.
However…
if you were to rephrase your question as “How much would it cost to make an exact replica of falling water?”. Then perhaps a price can be calculated.
