Most 11-year-olds dream of visiting Disneyland for spring break, but one young architecture enthusiast had different plans. Instead of theme parks, this New York City family embarked on a five-day road trip through Pennsylvania to explore some of America's most significant architectural treasures. Their journey covered over 1,000 miles and revealed a collection of buildings that arguably surpasses even New York's iconic structures.
The adventure began early Sunday morning with a drive to Canal House Station in Milford, New Jersey, where cookbook authors Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton have created a restaurant that celebrates seasonal produce. After enjoying a memorable lunch featuring fresh peas and rhubarb, the family headed to their first architectural destination: the Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
The Wharton Esherick Museum proved to be an unexpected discovery. Originally searching for works by Brutalist architect Louis Kahn, the family stumbled upon Esherick, a polymath renowned for his handcrafted furniture. During their 2:30 tour, they explored the Hobbit-like home and studio that Esherick constructed between 1926 and 1966. Despite their contrasting architectural styles, stories of Esherick's love for martinis and entertaining helped explain his friendship with Kahn.
The first day continued with stops at two architectural landmarks on the route to Philadelphia. At Bryn Mawr College, they visited Erdman Hall, a distinctive three-cube dormitory designed by Louis Kahn. They also made a detour to see Frank Lloyd Wright's magnificent Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, a Japanese-inspired structure that was worth seeing even from the exterior after closing time.
Their Philadelphia accommodation was the Lokal Hotel Fishtown, a modernist hotel located in one of the city's trendiest neighborhoods. The two-bedroom duplex suite met their needs perfectly, though the frequent passing trains outside the windows proved disruptive. The experience led to a recommendation to book rooms on the hotel's quieter side or consider Lokal's Old City location for future visits.
Day two featured an extensive architectural tour of Philadelphia with the sunroof open, showcasing the city's diverse building styles across centuries. Their itinerary included Christ Church, completed in 1744; the Greek Revival-style Second Bank of the United States from 1824; the International Style PSFS Building from 1932, now operating as a Loews hotel; Louis Kahn's former office on Walnut Street, currently an AT&T store; Kahn's medical research laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania from the late 1950s; and the Comcast Center, a 58-story glass skyscraper designed by Robert A. M. Stern and completed in 2008.
The highlight of the trip came with a four-hour drive west to the small town of Acme, where they would spend the night in an actual Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house. At Polymath Park, two Pittsburgh couples had commissioned Peter Berndtson, a Wright disciple, to build summer homes on a 130-acre site in the 1960s. The estate now houses two Wright homes relocated from the Midwest to save them from demolition, including Mäntylä, a three-bedroom house from 1952 that served as their accommodation.
Joined by the author's stepmother who drove from Virginia, the four family members found themselves moved to silence by their extraordinary surroundings. While touring Fallingwater is impressive, actually living within Wright's concept of compression and expansion while walking barefoot across his trademark Cherokee Red concrete floors proved to be a transformative experience.
The third day brought them to Fallingwater itself, reached by a scenic 25-minute drive from Acme through the landscape that attracted Edgar Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh department store tycoon, and his wife Liliane in 1934. Wright's masterpiece, built over a rushing waterfall with dramatic cantilevered terraces, represents one of America's greatest architectural achievements. Despite having visited decades earlier, the author found herself moved anew by the structure.
Their enhanced tour revealed fascinating details that seemed particularly relevant, including Mrs. Kaufmann's cold-plunge pool and the separate bedrooms and terraces designed for each family member. More than just a work of art, Fallingwater serves as an educational space that challenges visitors to think more carefully about how they use their homes. The early 8:45 a.m. reservation proved wise, as they had the house virtually to themselves after other tour participants left.
The young architecture enthusiast's engagement was evident when he borrowed his mother's phone to photograph each room, planning to sketch them during their car ride. His unique perspective on what caught his attention provided fascinating insights into how children perceive architectural spaces. After lunch at the Fallingwater Café, they continued to Pittsburgh, passing the former Kaufmann's Department Store, now converted into a luxury apartment building.
Pittsburgh served as their base at the Industrialist Hotel, appropriately housed in a Beaux-Arts building. Their evening concluded with excellent tapas at Morcilla, an award-winning restaurant that provided the perfect end to their architectural exploration day.
The fourth day featured a comprehensive walking tour of Pittsburgh's downtown area, spanning multiple architectural eras. They began with the Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and completed in 1888. Modern highlights included the imposing U.S. Steel Tower from 1971 and the neo-Gothic PPG Place, designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee and completed in 1984, featuring 231 spires clad in distinctive black glass.
Despite downtown's quiet atmosphere, they discovered Bluebird Kitchen for breakfast and continued their architectural survey. The day included visits to Mies van der Rohe's Hall of Science at Duquesne University and I. M. Pei's City View Apartments. They also explored the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, praised for its dinosaur exhibits despite a confusing layout, and the kid-friendly Carnegie Science Center at the son's request.
While the 1991 Science Center building wasn't architecturally distinguished, its architect Tasso Katselas proved intriguing. This Pittsburgh native had been selected to design a chapel at Fallingwater that was never constructed. After an early dinner at the neighborhood restaurant Vandal, they raced the sunset to visit a 1960s monastery that Katselas built at St. Vincent Archabbey and College in Latrobe.
The monastery's angular bay windows jutted from the brick façade and glowed in the silent evening light. Through these windows, they could observe cassocked monks going about their daily routines. Katselas had spent time with the monks to understand their lifestyle, and his building spoke eloquently of this dedication and understanding.
Their final day included one last architectural stop in Harrisburg, where they attempted to locate the Olivetti-Underwood Factory completed by Louis Kahn in 1970. The building had been so extensively altered that they couldn't recognize it while parked outside. They consoled themselves with a visit to the Antique Marketplace of Lemoyne, a shop so impressive that they're already planning a return visit, and enjoyed an exceptional burger and fries at Jackson House.
The journey concluded in New Hope, where architect George Nakashima had settled after his release from a Japanese internment camp in 1943. Nakashima mastered the live-edge wood furniture style that became embraced as a counterpoint to Modernism's rigidity. His property, now known as George Nakashima Woodworkers, has achieved historic landmark status.
During their visit, the young architecture enthusiast was mesmerized by towering stacks of Persian walnut slabs. Nakashima's daughter Mira, now in her 80s, leads the design studio housed in a building she designed with her father, surrounded by graceful Japanese maples and cherry trees. The studio also employs her grandson Toshi, daughter-in-law Soomi, and a dedicated team of woodworkers, creating a harmonious blend of nature and architecture.
The experience proved so moving that tours sell out months in advance, though the family was fortunate to have made an appointment to commission a table. They signed up for the mailing list, eager to establish their own tradition and perhaps become a family of designers themselves. This architectural adventure transformed their understanding of Pennsylvania and demonstrated how buildings can serve as powerful teachers about design, history, and the ways we choose to live.
