Eeeeeeeeeek! Two posts in one day?? What is happening???Â
Sorry about that. I even shocked myself with this post.Â
I was e-mailing with someone that has toured many of Wright’s homes and he made some comments about a recent trip to western Pennsylvania. He went up to tour Kentuck Knob and was not really impressed with either the person that helped him with buying the tour ticket or the person who gave the tour.Â
He went on to tour Fallingwater later in the day and that tour completely saved his trip. He hadn’t planned on taking the tour at FW, but decided to after the experience at Kentuck Knob.Â
That brought up the topic of docents in my mind. I’ve had fabulous tours at both Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob. I’ve had a few bad tours at different historic homes over the years. Most often I’d chalk them up to the tour guide being new or just having a bad day.Â
I thought it might be interesting to share some experiences with different docents at Wright homes. I’d like this not to be a slam-fest. We all have bad days, and we’ve all been new and uncomfortable in a situation before. That said, I’d love to hear some of the good, bad and weird experiences that people have had touring Wright homes — or other historic buildings in general.Â
I’ll start off… I’ve taken HUNDREDS of historic home tours over the years. I always try and read up on the place that I’m touring so I have some context. I find that I enjoy the tours a lot more. This is especially true with Wright homes.Â
I learned a long time ago that it is good to keep this information to myself. The tours that I’ve liked the least are the ones that have “know-it-all” people on them that feel like they have to comment on things. I’ve never really been that kind of person, but I’ve learned to avoid even the appearance of that.Â
One of the common questions from a docent at a Wright home is, “How many Wright buildings have you visited?”. I NEVER answer that question with a number. I might say “many”, but I’m more likely to say “a few”. I find that with some docents it is distracting to have someone in the group that they think might be a “know-it-all”. It makes both the docent and me uncomfortable.Â
I’ve often struck up a conversation with the tour guide after the tour and told them of my travels at that time if it fits into the conversation. Those have been fun and interesting exchanges.Â
I have the highest admiration for anyone who gives tours at historic sites and Wright homes in particular. I don’t think I’ve got the social skills to do it well.Â
If you’re bored and have some good, bad or interesting experiences with tours and the people that give them, please post up.
Thanks!
 Pete
14 Responses to “Tour and Docent Experiences?”
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June 12th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
I can’t begin to pick a “best” Wright home tour. I have some pretty good contenders though.
I had a Kentuck Knob in-depth tour a few years back that was wonderful. I was the only person on the tour and it was like walking around Kentuck Knob and talking with a knowledgeable friend for 90 minutes. I learned so much and really felt like I got a chance to experience the home, instead of just touring it.
I had a tour of the Allen/Lambe house with one of the people involved in the restoration of the house. This was while the home was being restored. It was wonderful to hear the details of the work hat was going into the home and to learn all about what it takes to bring a home like that back.
I recently took a tour of Montpelier (President James Madison’s house). It was in the middle of a restoration and the interior was almost completely gutted. I was fascinated by the process. The DuPonts had owned the home for years and had completely reconfigured it. Seeing the process of changing it back and identifying Madison and DuPont artifacts was a once in a lifetime experience for me.
Thanks for reading.
Pete
June 13th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Our worst experience was at Monona Terrace where the docent informed us that Mr. Wright had killed Ms. Cheney and her children and burned down the house. He also told us that Mr. Wright had been born in Madison, WI.
After that horrid experience we contacted the person in charge and insisted that person no longer give tours.
June 19th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Just got back from Fallingwater — my first Wright tour. I’ve seen a few from the outside but never been on a tour. We did the in-depth tour and it was completely worth every penny. We had a great guide — she was informed and helpful and best of all, knew when to be quiet and just let us enjoy. I have to say that seeing Fallingwater was MORE than I expected. It was a great, great experience.
July 5th, 2007 at 6:08 am
I toured the Melvin M. Smith House. It was hosted by the Smith’s nephew. He was able to talk about the house and the trials during construction. But what really made the tour was his ability to talk about his aunt and uncle, their life in and out of the house, and the experiences he had when visiting them. That insight really made it special.
On the same day, we toured the Affleck house. In contrast, the docent knew very little about the house – I think he was mostly there to make sure no one set fire to the place!
July 6th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
like everyone i’ve had good and bad tours. one of the best was the in-depth pope-leighy tour, great people. one of the worst was at the hanna house, great house dotty docent. i was interested in archfan’s comment about the smith house. one of my favorites didn’t know it was open for tours. can anyone let me know about this? thanks
July 13th, 2007 at 12:25 am
We just returned from Taliesin — the in-depth tour was lead by John; we’ve enjoyed so terrific Wright tours, but this was by far the best (even better than the phenomenal Fallingwater tour). John, an antique dealer, has been visiting Taliesin for nearly twenty years, leading tours for ten years and has even met Edgar Tafel. He had great stories and an increadably deep understanding of Taliesin.
Unfortunatly, two days later we went through Wright’s Home and Studio in Oak Park, and we had a very unprepared guide. But that was the first time we’ve had anything less than a stellar experience at the Home and Studio.
Another terrific tour is the Weltzheimer-Johnson house in Oberlin, Ohio — visitors are encouraged to linger and even sit in the Wright-designed furniture.
July 18th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I have over the course of almost twenty years been in a “few” Wright homes. The first I went through was the Darwin Martin when the university still ran tours on saturdays,1988!!!. There were only 4 of us on the tour and it took about 3 hours to describe the house and the grounds. I walked away from that with a completely new appreciation of the genius of Wright. I felt like I lived in the house…
Last year we did FW and were equally impressed with the tour and the knowledge that they put forth for our comsumption.
July 18th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
My tour of the Home and Studio was horrendous; the docent got all caught up talking about the scandalous parts of Wright’s life and failed to talk about the architecture; when he did, he made it seem half-baked and got a lot of things wrong. I mean A LOT. Like “Wright always hated classical architecture, so no one knows why he put classical details in the living room. Weird, huh?” Duh. Wright did a lot of classically-styled stuff early on when he was experimenting with various styles and traditions. I’m an architectural historian, so I can be a little nit-picky, but that was really annoying. And he told everyone never to read Wright’s Autobiography because it was “full of lies” and “horribly written.” Which I suppose is true in some ways, but that doesn’t make it an any less fascinating work; at any rate, I don’t think a responsible docent should be discouraging people from reading Wright’s work. It seemed more like the National Enquirer’s version of a tour than one of a historically and artistically significant building.
September 27th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Sorry to be off-topic, but I wanted to leave you a comment. I came to your site while looking for information on the Pope-Leighey house and I think you’ve done a really nice job of presenting it. I’ll be browsing through your other pages.
On a related note, a FLW home in Minneapolis is on the market right now. The MLS is 3437953.
Z in Villigen, Switzerland
October 12th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Hi,
I just got home from Pittsburgh where I went on my second FW tour and my first Kentuck Knob Tour. They were both great tours.
I wanted to let everyone know of the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, Illinois; it is not to be over looked if you are in Illinois. I have been on that tour three or four times and I learn something new each time. I have heard at Christmas they decorate it in the traditional decorations for the time of the house. I will keep you posted about this as I plan to visit this winter (2007).
The Dana-Thomas house has been by far the best tour I have been on…even though I have learned something new on both of my FW tours mainly because on the first one I took about 250 photos.
As for the Little House in Peoria, Illinois it is rumored that the Peoria Historical Society wants to buy it in the future. If you happen to be at Kentuck Know be sure to ask about the chair and art glass from the Little House in Peoria if you are on the extended tour.
Steven in Peoria, Illinois
October 16th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Great site! I’ve been to many Wright sites over the last 30 years and living in WI, I’m lucky to be in the mother lode region. I am also an 8 year docent at a local historical site (not Wright). I am embarrassed by many of my fellow docents who use the opportunity to ramble and talk about themselves. A good docent knows when to shut up and let the guests experience the building/site.
My Kentuck Knob experience was marred by the decision of the powers that be there to allow children on my tour. 2 screaming pre-schoolers. I love the site itself but the tour was horrible. I’d like to go back and see it without the whining.
My favorite Wright experience was at Price Tower in Oklahoma. We got a private tour because it was a slow day. That experience made me an annual contributor even though I live far away.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Well, I have toured numerous FLLW homes throughout the years, and overall I have to say that while some docents have been better than others, most are all pretty comparable to each other.
My biggest complaint, if you can call it that, is that the info is all very basic, and usually geared to folks who have little, if any knowledge of FLLW. Since I am such a nut-case on the subject, its usually all stuff that I already knew.
That said, a couple of tours really stand out for me:
1. One of the best tours I took was the Dana-Thomas house: I was en route from New Orleans, to Chicago, and made it to Springfield in one day. The next morning I was there bright & early, took the first tour of the day…..I was also lucky enough to be the only one on the tour,
The docent was great, and since it was just the 2 of us it was more like a conversation than a tour guide and tourist.
2. I also had a great guide for Fallingwater on my first trip there: he was the son (grandson?) of the caretaker when the Kaufman’s were alive, and as such practiacally grew up there. He therefore had many great, personal stories of what life in the house was like when the owners were actually living in it.
3. On that same trip I also toured Kentuck Knob, and coincendiatlly enough, was not very impressed with the docent that gave the tour. Not very friendly, seemed to be reading from a script, etc. I refused to let her ruin the experience for me, as it is such a neat house.
4. Another tour that kind of stands out for me was the docent I had the last time I toured Taliesin West…..he had been an architect there at one time, which of course helped to explain what Taliesin is all about.
Oh well, thanks for letting me share…..nice to have place to vent about my obsession, lol!
January 9th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
My husband and I toured both FW and Kentuck Knob in early Nov 2007. These were our FIRST tours of FLLW houses. We have, however, toured MANY historical homes. We took the regular tour at both properties. FW was a very good tour, especially considering the very large crowds on a Nov weekday. The young woman docent was knowledgeable, approachable, and gave us the right mix of basic and a little more in-depth info. The majority of people on the tours know almost nothing about FLLW, so they got a broad base of info about Mr Wright and his design principles.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
We were thrilled with our Kentuck Knob tour! It consisted of just 2 couples and the young man docent. He said, “Heck, I can show you the in-depth things since there are only 4 of you.” He was knowledgeable, gave us a lot of info, he gave us the history of both the house and the furnishings, as well as the family who lived there. The tour interesting for the other couple who knew very little about FLLW, as well as my husband and myself, who know a little more. We live close to the Westcott House, and look forward to touring it in the spring!