Modernism: A Virtual Tour of Three National Trust Historic Sites
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Plan Your VisitFrank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Philip Johnson are three of the 20th century’s most well-known architects, and in this week’s virtual tour of National Trust Historic Sites we’ll visit houses designed by each of them. Unlike many of the sites we’ve toured previously, these houses are small—meticulously crafted Modernist jewel boxes that represent the mindset of each architect.
First on tour, let’s visit the Pope-Leighey House in Alexandria, Virginia. Originally located in Falls Church, Virginia, the National Trust relocated the house in 1965 when the plan for Interstate 66 routed near the property and it became threatened with demolition.
After the state government offered Marjorie Leighey $20,000 as compensation for their plan to seize and demolish her house, she contacted the Department of the Interior, which collaborated with the National Trust to dismantle the house and rebuild it. Today, Pope-Leighey House is located at Woodlawn, another National Trust Historic Site.
photo by: Lincoln Barbour
Constructed in 1939, Pope-Leighey House is an excellent example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian architecture. The Usonian house concept was developed by Wright in order to provide affordable housing for people of moderate means.
photo by: Lincoln Barbour
Red cypress exteriors, clean lines, and disappearing corners help communicate the simplicity and connection with nature that have become hallmarks of the Usonian style. At just 1,200 square feet, the building's high ceilings and built-in storage and furnishings help the house feel larger than its actual size.
photo by: Lincoln Barbour
Many innovative concepts, including spacious interiors, corner windows, and a cantilevered roof, began with Wright’s Usonian designs and were quickly adapted by other modernist architects. Today, the Usonian houses can be viewed as an origin of ideas that have influenced modern American homes.
photo by: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, HABS VA,30-FALCH,2--19
In addition to having been rebuilt at Woodlawn in 1965, the house needed to be dismantled and rebuilt a second time in 1995, because of problems with the initial Woodlawn site. Historic photographs ensured that the National Trust would be able to present the house just as Wright intended.
The second Modernist masterpiece we visit today is Philip Johnson's The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Completed in 1949, it is widely recognized that the architecture of the house was derived from the Farnsworth House, designed by Mies van der Rohe for Edith Farnsworth in 1946.
In 1947, Johnson curated a Mies van der Rohe exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The exhibit included a model of Farnsworth House, the construction of which, however, was not completed until 1951.
Today, the Glass House estate includes many buildings designed by Johnson, which together represent his lifetime of architectural experimentation in forms, materials, and ideas—along with Johnson's controversial personal history.
photo by: Robin Hill
Established between 1949 and 1995, Philip Johnson’s Glass House property, with its collection of buildings and galleries, is one of the nation’s greatest modern architectural landmarks. Inspired by Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House, the Glass House’s exterior walls are made of glass with no interior walls, a radical departure from houses of the time.
The pastoral 49-acre landscape comprises 14 structures, including the Glass House, and features a permanent collection of renowned 20th century painting and sculpture, along with temporary exhibitions. The campus serves as a catalyst for the preservation and interpretation of modern architecture, landscape, and art.
The Glass House estate was like a sandbox for Johnson. Over his lifetime, he continuously enhanced the property with the addition of pavilions and by methodically sculpting the surrounding landscape. Shown here is Yayoi Kusama's "Narcissus Garden" installation in 2016.
photo by: Lane Coder
Philip Johnson and his long-time life partner David Whitney were avid art collectors. Because the design of the Glass House did not lend itself to the display of art, Johnson added other buildings (such as the Sculpture Gallery shown here) to the property where he and Whitney could enjoy their collection.
Our final Modernist National Trust Historic Site is Farnsworth House, in Plano, Illinois, which, as mentioned earlier, was completed in 1951 as the weekend retreat of prominent Chicago nephrologist Dr. Edith Farnsworth. After Farnsworth's retirement to Italy, the home was purchased by Lord Peter Palumbo, who restored the property and opened it for limited public tours.
In 2003, when Palumbo listed it for sale, several potential buyers inquired about dismantling the structure and moving it to another state, which would have destroyed Mies' thoughtfully balanced conversation between nature and architecture. Faced with an imminent threat to one of the most internationally significant residential designs of the 20th century, the National Trust worked in cooperation with local supporter and volunteer John Bryan and Landmarks Illinois to purchase the building at auction and open it to the public as a house museum on its original site.
photo by: Mike Crews
The Farnsworth House is recognized as an iconic masterpiece of the International Style of architecture, and has National Historic Landmark status. Located 58 miles southwest of Chicago, the glass and steel house is set within a natural landscape on a 62-acre parcel located along the Fox River.
photo by: Mike Crews
The design of this one-room, glass house blurs the distinction between inside an out, and the covered patio is as much an extension of the interior as it is its own space. Farnsworth House is considered by architects and scholars alike to constitute one of the crystallizing and pivotal moments of Mies van der Rohe’s long artistic career.
photo by: Mike Crews
Situated close to the Fox River, the house experiences intermittent flooding during times of heavy rain. Preservation work at Farnsworth house is ongoing and includes the travertine terrace above which the house seems to float.
photo by: Mike Crews
Though Dr. Farnsworth furnished the house eclectically, when it was purchased by Palumbo, he furnished the interior and landscaped the property as he felt Mies van der Rohe would have intended. The grounds and interiors today reflect the Palumbo era.
Check out the rest of our virtual tours of National Trust Historic Sites, exploring places related to Commerce and Industry, Sacred Places, Garden Glory, Architectural Traditions, Presidential Retreats, and Southern History.
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