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Pope-Leighey House
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| Location: | Alexandria, Virginia |
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| Built: | 1941 |
| Architect: | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Architectural style: | Usonian |
| Governing body: | National Trust for Historic Preservation |
| NRHP Reference#: | 70000791[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | December 18, 1970 |
The Pope-Leighey House, formerly known as the Loren Pope Residence, is one of three suburban homes in Virginia designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house, which belongs to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has been relocated twice and sits on the grounds of Woodlawn Plantation, Alexandria, Virginia. Along with the Andrew B. Cooke House and the Luis Marden House, it is one of three Frank Lloyd Wright designs in Virginia.
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Commissioned in 1939 by journalist Loren Pope and his wife Charlotte Pope, the design followed Wright's Usonian principles and was completed in 1941 at an initial cost of $7,000[2] — at 1005 Locust Street, Falls Church, Virginia.[3]
Loren Pope, at the time a writer for the Washington Evening Star had grown interested in Wright after studying his Wasmuth Portfolio, a 1938 Time Magazine article and Wright's recently published autobiography.[2] Pope met Wright in 1938 when the architect made a presentation in D.C. while working on another project that would remain un-built. Pope approached Wright at his presentation, indicating he'd like Wright to design his home. Wright indicated that he did not design speculative work, rather only designed homes for “people who deserved them.”[2]
Pope subsequently wrote the architect, beginning his letter “Dear Mr. Wright, There are certain things a man wants during life, and of life. Material things and things of the spirit. The writer has one fervent wish that includes both. It is a house created by you.”[2] After Wright agreed, Pope subsequently visited another Usonian home of Wright's design and met Wright at Taliesin. The architect originally designing a house of 1,800 square feet (170 m2), Mr. Pope at the time making $50 per week. Borrowing the money for the house proved difficult, with one lender counseling Pope the home would be a "white elephant."[2] Pope's employer, the Evening Star, eventually offered a loan of $5,700 and construction commenced after Wright sized the plan down from 1800 sf to 1200 sf.[2]
Pope and his family lived in the house for 6 years, moving in 1946 to a 365 acre farm in Loudoun County,[2] planning to subsequently build a larger Wright-designed home. Limitations on his income precluded Pope from affording the new home until 1959, when Wright was busy with the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The design follows Wright's Usonian model of well-designed space for middle-income residents with a design that brings nature inside, using modest materials and a flat roof.
The L-shaped single-story plan — designed on a 2 by 4-foot (1.2 m) rectangular grid scored into its concrete floor painted in Wright's signature Cherokee red — features two bedrooms and a bathroom in one wing and living and dining areas in the other. At the juncture of the two wings are the home's entrance, a study and the kitchen. To accommodate the original site's slope, the house features two levels.
The living room features a ceiling at eleven-and-a half feet, the bedroom wing opens outward with tall glass doors and windows, and the house features a patterned ribbon of clerestory windows at the top of the walls. Materials included Tidewater red cypress (finished in clear wax), brick, and glass. The entire house features radiant heater with hot water pipes embedded in the concrete slab. Furniture was designed by Wright.
Wright assigned apprentice Gordon Chadwick to oversee construction of the home,[2] though Wright himself visited the house several times. Wright felt the house's construction was costing the owner too much and did not request his final payment. Wright, who wanted to name the home "Touchstone,"[2] felt the design was one of the best representations of his Usonian ideals.[2] Howard Rickert from Vienna, Virginia was the project's primary carpenter.[2]
The Popes sold the home to Robert and Marjorie Leighey in 1946. In 1961, the state of Virginia informed the Leighy's the house would be condemned to make way for Interstate 66. Robert died in 1963, and Marjorie Leighey donated the home to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1964, along with the entire $31,500 condemnation award to help pay for the relocation. [4]
The home was dismantled, moved, and reconstructed on the property of Woodlawn Plantation, 9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Virginia, where it opened to the public as the Pope-Leighey House in 1965.[5] Leighey continued to reside in the home from 1969 until her death in 1983.
The house had initially been poorly located at Woodlawn Plantation — over an area with unstable marine clay. In 1995, the house was again relocated[6] thirty feet[7] at a cost of $500,000[7] — more than seventy times the original cost of the house.[2]
The current director of the museum for the residence is Laurie Ossman. She is supported by Deputy Director, Susan Hellman.
Andrew B. Cooke House, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Marden House, Mclean, Virginia
Chronological list of Frank Lloyd Wright works
List of Frank Lloyd Wright works by location
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