Dana Thomas House Springfield Illinois

We stopped in Springfield, Illinois to see the Frank Lloyd Wright Dana Thomas house. This is now an Illinois State Historic Site.

Photography is not allowed of the interior so my images are limited to the outside. 

This home is somewhat unique among FLW homes as you do not need to search for the front door. It is readily found. 

The Japanese influence  in the roof design and the foundation treatment firmly 'planting' the home into the earth are typical Wright design elements.

This is a view from the garden areas of the house

The gardeners maintaining the grounds have done a fine job.

This is one of the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright designs and is a must see to anyone following his design history. The house was built for entertaining and has been well preserved. It is well worth the trip to see.

Corning Museum of Glass - Gift shop

The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning New York is a fascination place to visit. The tickets are good for two days which is a reasonable amount of time to see the entire complex.

The displays in the glass blowing shops and gift shop are fascinating.

Reminds me of fishing at our mountain lake

Fun to see all of the shapes that can be made of glass

Interesting exhibit on the color characteristics of certain glass depending upon the light source

You can spend hours admiring the various items offered for sale in the gift shop. It is almost a museum  in itself.

Julie enjoyed the gift shop

Fallingwater

Seeing Frank Lloyd Wrights 'Fallingwater' home has been on our bucket list for a number of years. This home is found in Mill Run, Pennsylvania and is located over a water fall.

We arranged for an extended two hour tour when the home opened in the morning and had a relatively secluded time to enjoy the experience before large numbers of folks showed up. They have more than 160,000 people tour the home every year so the crowds can be considerable.

You gather at a visitors center where you can explore the gift shop, grab a bite to eat, use the rest rooms, and see exhibits about the area and history of the home

My Sister and Brother in Law joined us for our tour

You first glimpse the home thru the trees

As you progress down the drive the home comes into view

This is the view from the bridge over the creek leading to the home.

The steps lead from the living room to the creek

The home appears to grow from the rock

Stream of water provides visual interest at the entry

This fascinating device demonstrates the rotation of the earth and moon around the sun.

Living room view diagonal from the entry

Portrait of Mr. Kaufman

Pot near the fireplace that rotates into position in the flames - think mulled cider...

Hatch in living room leading to steps to the water

Seamless glass corners

Bedroom with one of two twin beds shown against the headboard

Desk with provision for window opening

Overview of opening glass and window screens

Mrs Kaufman

Swimming pool at the guest house

Beautiful integration of the home and landscape

Steps lead you to the lower overlook of the home

Letter that Mrs Kaufman wrote about learning to live in the home

Gift shop images