Thomas A Dailey
Call It...Son of Fallingwater
Take a tour of Massaro House on New York's Petre Island, a getaway designed decades ago by Frank Lloyd Wright but never built—until now
Jutting out over New York's Lake Mahopac is Massaro House, the end result of some sketches drawn by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The 5,000-square-foot house seems to emerge from the rock formation at the edge of the privately owned, 10-acre Petre Island.
Massaro House has been a long time in the making. Wright was originally commissioned in 1950 by the then-owner of the island, A.K. Chahroudi. But when he couldn't afford the full $50,000 budget, Chahroudi instead settled for a guest cottage, completed in 1951. Since then the main house has remained on paper only. In 1999, the island's current owner, Joe Massaro, commissioned architect Thomas A. Heinz to resurrect the design. Earlier this month the building, which will be Massaro's weekend getaway, was finally unveiled.
From a distance, classic Frank Lloyd Wright design traits are immediately apparent: the cantilever over the lake echoes Wright’s 1937 Pennsylvania masterpiece, Fallingwater. And despite its gravity-defying features, the house blends into its natural surroundings.
The island is reachable only by boat, so workers had to wait until the lake froze over to glide the heavy equipment needed for construction from a nearby golf course. You can take a virtual tour of the property here:
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