Frank Lloyd Wright 'Usonian' Home In Hudson Valley Hits The Market

NYACK, NY — Tourists will drive for hundreds of miles just to see a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home, but you can move into one of your very own — if the price is right.

The rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed midcentury home on 2.5 private acres in the Hudson Valley hamlet of Blauvelt in Rockland County, is on the market now for $1.525 million in a listing with Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty.

The 1961-built Socrates Zaferiou House, a Wright prefab design produced by Marshall Erdman and Associates, can be found on Clausland Mountain at 48 Clausland Mountain Road, within the 500-acre Blauvelt State Park.

The "architecturally striking" 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath house is considered a modified Usonian-style single-story home.

The house features an extra bedroom and basement not found in the original plans. The unique design element was approved by Wright.

Closely referencing the home’s original drawings and Frank Lloyd Wright archives, current owner and architectural designer Sarah Anderson-Magness has carefully renovated the home, preserving key features, including the period red Formica kitchen and handmade tile bathroom.

The home is co-listed by Brandon Wagner and Richard Ellis of Nyack-based Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty.

"Sarah Anderson-Magness, the current owner, and Socrates Zaferiou, the original owner who met Wright at the site, share a passion about preserving this historic home, and a desire that future owners will respect it in the same way," Ellis said, announcing the listing. "Accordingly, we’re looking for a caretaker as much as a purchaser."

“I love the property for its classic Frank Lloyd Wright style and the drama it creates,” Wagner agreed.

Wright himself proposed the use of "Usonian" to describe the New World character of the American landscape as distinct and free of previous architectural conventions on display in his designs. The home features a flat roof, L-shaped open floor plan, living-dining-kitchen area centered around an oversized masonry fireplace, large window expanses, asymmetrical layouts, wood paneling and, of course, Wright’s trademark red flooring.

Wright visited the site during construction of the home but died in 1959, shortly before construction was completed. The project architect for, arguably Wright's most famous project, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, finished the home.

Wright is widely considered one of America's most influential architects. Despite the notoriety of his more ambitious projects, his design work played an important role in the evolution of midcentury homes. His work, spanning seven decades of projects large and small, cemented his place as the American Institute of Architect’s "greatest American architect of all time."

Keeping with Wright's signature vision of building in harmony with the environment and bringing the outdoors in with ample light and open spaces, the Hudson Valley home is built into a hill and incorporates rows of glass doors and windows to bring nature inside.

The listing for this unique Usonian can be found here.

48 Clausland Mountain Road, Blauvelt, NY
• Price: $1525000
• Square feet: 2619
• Bedrooms: 4
• Bathrooms: 3
• Listing Description: Circa 1960, Socrates Zaferiou House, a rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed mid-century home on 2.5 private acres, and located in Clausland Mountain Park, a 532 acre, heavily wooded park, with wonderful, varied, wildlife. It is also the only house Wright designed on the West Bank of the Hudson. This architecturally striking, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath residence is considered a modified Usonian-style, single-story home, featuring an extra bedroom and walk-out basement with tall ceilings, not found in FLW's original style. Zaferiou appealed to Wright for two years to approve his site and expanded home style, and finally, this variation of the Usonian style design was eventually approved by Wright. 48 Clausland Mountain features a flat roof, L-shaped open floor plan, an extraordinary, oversized masonry fireplace, large window expanses, asymmetrical layouts, wood paneling and Wright's trademark red flooring. A carport completes the dramatic design. Wright visited the site during construction of the home but passed away in 1959 before it was completed. The project architect for the Guggenheim Museum of Art in NYC completed the home. Wright is considered one of America's most prolific and influential architects and played an important role in the evolution of mid-century homes. His visionary work, spanning over seven decades, cemented his place as the American Institute of Architect's "greatest American architect of all time." This is a very special home that needs to be preserved for its place in architectural history because of its provenance and striking architectural design. The Socrates Zaferiou House is centrally located and is a 5 minute drive to Nyack, Piermont, the Mario Cuomo Bridge or the Palisades Interstate Parkway. It is only 35 minutes to NYC. Nothing compares.

Listed by: Richard W Ellis, Ellis Sotheby's Intl Realty

For more information click here, and see more photos of the listing, courtesy of Ellis Sotheby's Intl Realty.

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