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WEDNESDAY

Call him the Icarus of architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright, like the mythical son who plopped into the ocean after melting his waxy wings by flying too close to the sun, often overextended himself. Take Fallingwater, for example. Completed in 1939, the weekend retreat for Pittsburgh department store magnate Edgar Kaufmann positions horizontal bands of concrete out over a stream as if they were layers of a giant, fragile cake. Because those concrete strips aren’t exactly Pillsbury fluffy—and no one wants to see them go the way of Daedalus’ lame-brained son—Wright’s daring reach has meant major reconstructive surgery in recent years. But the house’s curators haven’t allowed all the repairs to ruin the effect: Admiring the restoration project is now part of a special after-hours tour of Fallingwater sponsored by the American Architectural Foundation. The bus departs at 9:30 a.m. from the Octagon, 1799 New York Ave. NW. $90. For reservations call (202) 626-7387. (Jessica Dawson)