Awe-inspiring architecture built
into the landscape

The Laurel Highlands is home to three original and extraordinary Frank Lloyd Wright homes including Wright’s most beautiful, breathtaking and inspiring design, Fallingwater, which was named “50 Places of a Lifetime” by National Geographic Traveler. Kentuck Knob, one of his most successful designs of a building that integrates with a natural landscape and the Duncan House where you can experience what it’s like to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright house

Fallingwater is not only an architectural masterpiece but also an impressive art museum, housing works by such 20th Century masters as Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Not to miss is a walk through the Sculpture Garden and meadow at Kentuck Knob which features works by contemporary artists such as Andy Goldsworthy, Claes Oldenburg, Sir Anthony Caro and Ray Smith. Learn more about the Frank Lloyd Wright Properties

Frank Lloyd Wright also inspired other architects who have left their marks on the Laurel Highlands landscape. David Merritt, who studied at Wright’s Taliesin and Taliesin West, designed Falling Rock, an AAA Five Diamond Hotel at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, a tribute to the organic architectural style of Frank Lloyd Wright.

A town built into the landscape

An architectural tour isn’t complete without visiting the town of Vandergrift in the Laurel Highland’s northern tier. Its designer, Frederick L. Olmstead, was the world-renowned landscape architect who designed Manhattan’s Central Park. His revolutionary concepts had great impact on city planning in the 19th Century, and are most visible in Vandergrift. Take a walk through the neighborhoods-- none of the streets cross at right angles; they form arcs that gently curve with the natural contour of the landscape. The recently restored Casino Theater was central to the design of the town center. Once hosting vaudeville troupes and traveling shows, it is now a venue for musicals, concerts and comedy.

Ah, but not all of our collections of art are sequestered indoors

Take a scenic drive along the historic Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30) and see firsthand site markers, wall plaques, interpretive waysides (some with audio component), and murals that tell the story of the nation’s first coast-to-coast highway. Keep an eye out for the life-size vintage (1940-ish) gas pumps that have all been painted by Pennsylvania artists and the bigger-than-life iron sculptures crafted by students.

Museums filled with artistic wonder

Embedded into our lush hillsides and valleys are a number of real gems for art lovers. These art museums and collections represent a broad sweep of eras, styles, schools and nationalities. Notable among them are the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art which includes a fine collection of works that celebrate Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Artists. And History buffs will not want to miss seeing the original paintings of well-known eighteenth century leaders by such artists as Sir Joshua Reynolds, Allan Ramsay, David Morier, Edward Penny, Robert Edge Pine, Carl Van Loo, George Knapton and Rembrandt Peale in the French and Indian War Art Gallery at Fort Ligonier.

A special art experience

You can also take advantage of the daily tour of the Hardy Art Collection at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, where you’ll see major works of art by artists such as Alexander Calder, Fernando Botero and J.J. Audubon. The tour is free to visitors and runs every day at 3pm. If you want to continue your art experience at the resort, make reservations for dinner at the resort’s Lautrec Restaurant, only one of 20 restaurants in the world to hold both a Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond award simultaneously. Savor the artful delights on your plate as well as the walls—where you will identify a few pieces of artwork by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the restaurant’s namesake. 

Just a few miles from Nemacolin along Route 40 West is the Historic Summit Inn and Resort, where the art of fine furniture is well represented. Stop in the lobby which is furnished entirely with original Stickley pieces.

Wonderfully crafty ways to enjoy yourself—and take home memories

Locally made handcrafted items always attract a lot of visitors to the Laurel Highlands. Why? Simple: their exceptional quality and wide variety.

Fine glasswork represents a very strong tradition of craftsmanship in the Laurel Highlands. If you love it as much as many of our visitors do, you can’t miss Connellsville’s Youghiogheny Glass Station, La Boheme Import Glass (specializing in imported items from the Czech Republic) and the Mount Pleasant Glass & Ethnic Festival. Add to these our many commercial galleries, crafts shops and antique stores, and you get the picture. Or many pictures, depending on how much room you have for taking home one-of-a-kind treasures.

Develop your own skills as a craftsperson and enroll in the Touchstone Center for Crafts. Pennsylvania’s only residential arts and crafts school, Touchstone’s instructors come from all of the country and are some of North America’s finest artists and artisans. Week-long workshops are offered throughout the year on specific skills and media, from blacksmithing to pottery.