Frank Lloyd Wright remains a major figure in the history of American architecture. But when it comes to maintaining his surviving homes \u2014 well, that remains a major pain in the neck.<\/p>\n
Take Petra Island in upstate New York, with a 5,000-square-foot wood and concrete main house built from Wright\u2019s original plans.<\/p>\n
The house was completed in 2007, decades after Wright died in 1959 at age 91, and yet it inherited many of the same quirks as the homes Wright built himself \u2014 including a flat roof that leaks and oversized fireplaces that smoke as much as they impress.<\/p>\n
Frank Lloyd Wright has long been a respected figure in the history of American architecture. Bettmann Archive<\/p>\n
Joe Massaro owns Petra Island, home to two Frank Lloyd Wright-designed structures \u2014 both masterpieces that require serious upkeep. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cThe house is magnificent, but it has some faults in the design,\u201d owner Joe Massaro, 80, a former sheet metal industrialist, told The Post as he stepped into its foyer \u2014 where a centuries-old boulder forms one of the walls. \u201cHe was not a great engineer, but he wanted what he wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frequent, painstaking maintenance is a constant for owners of Wright\u2019s roughly 400 still-standing houses, many of them concentrated in the Midwest. As stewards of the architect\u2019s uncompromising vision, they preserve designs that often prioritized artistry over practicality \u2014 an effort that can require serious work.<\/p>\n
After all, things were different in Wright\u2019s day. In 1920, while Wright was rising to fame, just 20 states required architects to be licensed, according to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wright founded his own firm in 1893, before Illinois established its law requiring licensing for architects without earning an architecture degree. Instead, he entered the profession through apprenticeship.<\/p>\n Still, what Wright lacked in formal academic training, he made up for with abundant creativity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe wanted a more organic structure, for people to feel like they were more tied to nature,\u201d said Dan D\u2019Agostino, principal and founder at New Jersey-based PLAN Architecture<\/a>, who\u2019s spent decades studying Wright and his structures. \u201cThe idea of bringing stone into a house, that wasn\u2019t really done before Wright.\u201d<\/p>\n Blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, Wright incorporated natural elements into his designs. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n In Massaro\u2019s home, a centuries-old boulder forms one of the interior structures. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Though built decades after Wright\u2019s death, the Petra Island main house incorporates his signature aesthetic. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Cantilevering over the lake, the main house resembles a ship. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n To blur the boundary between inside and out, Wright filled entire corners with windows or had grooves cut directly into stone so panes of glass could be fitted without the need for window frames.<\/p>\n \u201cWright was handed engineering reports with these calculations saying his designs were not going to work, and he would say, \u2018You must trust the process. If you\u2019re not going to trust me, I can quit,\u2019\u201d D\u2019Agostino said. \u201cHis bravado would get in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n The 11-acre heart-shaped Petra Island in Lake Mahopac \u2014 which Massaro purchased in 1996 for $750,000, including the value of a house he traded for it \u2014 sits about a mile offshore, boasting two dwellings tied to the mid-century architectural mastermind. Notably, the main house resembles a ship; its 75-foot concrete terrace cantilevers over the water, as though riding a wave preserved in time. Nearby sits its shy sibling, a guest cottage Wright completed in 1949 that\u2019s hidden from the view of passing boaters.<\/p>\n Wright (left) on a visit to Petra Island, as seen in an archival photo. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Among the materials used for the main house was five times the amount of African mahogany that Wright used to build the guest cottage.<\/p>\n Every 10 years, Massaro hires a local handyman, Daniel Corbi, to sand and stain the exterior wood enveloping both houses, a project that takes about five years to complete \u2014 which costs more than $10,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been doing this for 20 years or so now, and it\u2019s an honor maintaining it,\u201d Corbi told The Post on a recent break from staining the guest house.<\/p>\n Every 10 years, Massaro hires a local handyman, Daniel Corbi, to sand and stain the exterior wood enveloping both houses. The work is tedious and takes five years to complete. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s costly \u2014 not to mention highly tedious.<\/p>\n Recently, Massaro paid $1,000 each for several 10-foot-by-10-inch slabs of mahogany when some spots needed replacements, he said. To find the correct sealant, he removed a wooden door to the guest cottage and shipped it, carefully, to a specialist in New Jersey.<\/p>\n The challenges of Wright houses resurface in the news every few years, usually when preservationists scramble to save one from the consequences of his uncompromising vision. <\/p>\n The architect\u2019s famed Fallingwater has had recent issues of disrepair. Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy<\/p>\n Construction and scaffolding inside Fallingwater. Courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy<\/p>\n Chicago\u2019s J. J. Walser House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, recently sold \u2014 and the new owners will embark on an ambitious journey to spruce it up. Google Maps<\/p>\n Fallingwater<\/a>, Wright\u2019s highly popular southwestern Pennsylvania tour de force, for example, required an $11.5 million stabilization project to keep it from falling into a waterfall, as its name implies.<\/p>\n In June, Wright\u2019s J.J. Walser Jr. house<\/a> in Chicago\u2019s Austin neighborhood finally sold for $150,000 after sitting abandoned and deteriorating for 30 years. The nonprofit Austin Coming Together has taken on the task of restoring the Prairie School-style landmark, built in 1903, whose many tasks reportedly include structural stabilization, along with roof and stucco repairs.<\/p>\n That being said, Wright\u2019s work still attracts a specific pool of buyers.<\/p>\n The lure of Wright\u2019s designs seduced historic architecture preservationists Marika Broere and Tony Hillebrandt in 2016, when they bought the Eppstein House in Galesburg, Michigan for $368,000. Built in 1953 in Wright\u2019s Usonian style, the 2,500-square-foot three-bed, two-bath property was part of a planned community of Wright homes known as the Acres. In 2021, they purchased the 2,200-square-foot two-bed, two-bath Eric and Pat Pratt House next door for $355,000. Both homes had been abandoned for nearly 20 years prior.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we love most is how Wright designed not for grandeur, but for harmony,\u201d Broere said. \u201cHis homes are meant to live in. They\u2019re human-scaled, light-filled and deeply personal.\u201d<\/p>\n The kitchen of the Petra Island main house boasts historical charm. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Wide-open exposures fill the space with light. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n The main house was built according to Wright\u2019s plans. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n A view of the layout. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Romanticism aside, they\u2019re also deeply expensive to maintain.<\/p>\n In their years-long restorations of the two homes, the couple invested more than $1.7 million of their retirement savings into the projects, Broere said. This included $130,000 to repair the concrete textile blocks at both houses, $150,000 on woodwork and another $50,000 to replace the roof on the Eppstein house.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pair assembled a network of specialized craftsmen, largely thanks to recommendations from the community of Wright-house restorers around the country, Broere added.\u00a0<\/p>\n At one point, they consulted an expert from the Sherwin-Williams paint company who designed a breathable stain for the concrete blocks, Broere said. In another adventure, Broere and Hillebrandt traveled to a warehouse in Battle Creek, Michigan, where they sifted through dust-covered boxes to find the correct bathroom tiles.<\/p>\n The flat roof, however, can lead to leaks. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n One of the bedrooms. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Even this shower has outdoor elements brought inside. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we tackled much of the work ourselves, we also employed a master carpenter who worked nearly full-time for several years on cabinetry, window frames and doors,\u201d Broere said.<\/p>\n Satisfied with their efforts, Broere and Hillebrandt sold the Pratt House in the spring of 2024 for $1.8 million, including $300,000 for Wright-designed furnishings included with the sale. The Eppstein House is listed both on Airbnb<\/a> and for sale for $2.1 million<\/a>. The couple has since hopped across the pond to their next project, restoring a mid-century villa in France.<\/p>\n