Kaufmann desert house

Their department store is shuttered and silent, but the Kaufmanns’ contributions are still visible when the Pittsburgh CLO performs, in public buildings such as Hill House Association and at the Jewish Community Centers in Squirrel Hill and Scott. Best known is the architectural jewel called Fallingwater in Fayette County.

Besides E.J.’s key role in founding the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and Liliane’s leadership of Montefiore Hospital, another branch of the family invested heavily in promoting the health, education and welfare of Pittsburgh’s residents.

Of the four department store founders, Henry Kaufmann was the youngest and lived the longest; he died at age 94 in 1955. He is best remembered for giving away much of his $10 million fortune in Pittsburgh and New York. In today’s dollars, the fortune he acquired by selling his share in the department store would total more than $240 million.

His brothers — Jacob, Isaac and Morris — generously supported Jewish charities and the wider community. But Pittsburgh newspaper pages are filled

Fallingwater

House in Stewart Township, Pennsylvania

For other uses, see Fallingwater (disambiguation).

Fallingwater

Interactive map showing Fallingwater's location

LocationStewart Township,
Fayette County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nearest cityUniontown
Coordinates39°54′22″N79°28′05″W / 39.90611°N 79.46806°W / 39.90611; -79.46806
Built1936–1937 (main house), 1939 (guest house)
ArchitectFrank Lloyd Wright
Architectural style(s)Modern, organic architecture
Visitorsabout 160,000 (in the 2010s)
Governing bodyWestern Pennsylvania Conservancy
CriteriaCultural: (ii)
Designated2019(43rd session)
Part ofThe 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
Reference no.1496-005
RegionEurope and North America
DesignatedJuly 23, 1974[1]
Reference no.74001781[1]
DesignatedMay 23, 1966[2]
DesignatedMay 15, 1994[3]

Fallingwater is a house museum in Stewart Township in the Laurel Highlands of southwes

Edgar J. Kaufmann

American businessman (1885–1955)

Edgar Jonas Kaufmann (November 1, 1885 – April 15, 1955)[1] was an American businessman and philanthropist who owned and directed Kaufmann's Department Store, in Pittsburgh. He is also known for commissioning two modern architectural masterpieces, Fallingwater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Kaufmann Desert House in Palm Springs, designed by Richard Neutra.

Early life

Edgar Kaufmann was born to a Jewish family on November 1, 1885, the eldest son of Morris Kaufmann, who was born in Viernheim, Germany. His uncles, Jacob and Isaac Kaufmann, founded Kaufmann's department store in 1871.[2][3][4]

Kaufmann graduated from Shady Side Academy, a boarding school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.[5]

Commissions

In Pittsburgh, Edgar Kaufmann generously financed the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Company, and donated US$1.5 million for the erection of the Civic Arena.[citation needed] Improving the infr

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