Celebrating Frank Lloyd Wright’s Birthday With A Visit To Petra Island

June 21, 2023

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Photo of the Massaro House by Joseph David, AIA

A Trip to Petra Island To Celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright’s Birthday

In June, we celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright’s Birthday. To commemorate the occasion, five AIA New Jersey members took a guided tour of Petra Island in Mahopac, NY, to visit the Chahroudi House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Massaro House, inspired by a Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) design for the same site. Current owner of the island and both residences, Joseph Massaro, conducted the tour.

L-R: AIA NJ Past Presidents Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, and Judith Donnelly, AIA; ALNNJ Past President Joseph David, AIA; Helen Logan, AIA; ALNNJ Past President Fay Logan, AIA; and Petra Island Owner Joseph Massaro.

Architects League Past President Joseph E. David, AIA, remarked, “There are two buildings at Petra Island, an original Frank Lloyd Wright guesthouse and the more recently completed main residence. While both buildings are quite nice and well positioned on a spectacular site, you can really tell which one was designed by Wright and which one was inspired by him. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation was not involved with the new building, and when you’re there it’s hard not to imagine how much better the building and detailing would have been if they were.”

On the tour, we heard that the Chahroudi family previously owned Petra Island and commissioned FLW in 1949 to design a dream house masterpiece for the island, but could not afford to construct the house as designed, nor the second, reduced scale version, so the completion of the detailing and construction documents were abandoned and FLW instead designed a summer cottage for the island so that the family could finally start enjoying their property. This stands today as the Chahroudi House. The structure and built-in furniture are all original to the house and constructed under Frank Lloyd Wright’s watchful eye. Freestanding furniture and accessories are by the Massaro’s. The three-bedroom structure felt spacious and very livable.

Chahroudi House Images by Joseph David, AIA

When Joseph Massaro purchased the island and FLW design plans in 1996, he was determined to construct the main house but faced one roadblock after the next. Fay Logan, AIA, recalls from Joe’s remarks on the tour, that he had a friend (maybe the mayor) in town and asked him how would he be able to “get this done”. The friend said, “Well, there is an opening on the town council” which Joe pursued and after was able to grease the wheels. The house is only Frank Lloyd Wright inspired as Joe was unwilling to “hire” the Wright Foundation, who claimed copyright over Wright’s design documents, to finish the construction documents and supervise the construction. The placement and overall concept are from the set of design drawings and elevations that Wright produced while alive.”

For clarification, in the reproduced FLW sketches and drawings that you will see in these photos, the Massaro House is labeled House for Mr. and Mrs. Chahroudi and the current Chahroudi House (original FLW guest cottage) is labeled Chahroudi Cottage.

During the completion of the design and construction documents, Joe personally visited a number of other FLW-designed homes, and together with his architect, Thomas A. Heinz, incorporated design elements that they thought would support FLW’s intent. Mrs. Massaro remarked that FLW loved Art Deco and so does she, so she intentionally sought out art deco furniture and finishes to decorate the homes. Those decisions have been debated by many experts and laypeople. More information on that is available HERE.

In 2000, Joe began the permitting process and construction commenced in 2002. Tour attendee Helen Logan, AIA, noted, “One of the fascinating facts for me was that one winter the ice in the lake was over 3ft thick, enabling the construction crew to easily transport materials and heavy machinery across the water to the construction site! After the ice thawed, it was too late to remove the backhoe, so it’s still on the island!”

Massaro House Images by Joseph David, AIA

Massaro House Images by Stacey Kliesch, AIA

Joe moved into the home in 2007 and you can tell it is his pride and joy! He lives there full-time, traveling to the mainland by pontoon boat. His wife and daughters live across the lake, on sites accessible by car. Joe has committed considerable time and money to what he considers honoring the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Joe Massaro and Joe David on the cruise back to the mainland.

“When planning this outing, I was frankly confused if we were visiting an actual Wright house or not. I found it surprising that there was a noteworthy FLW structure an hour away that I had never heard of. I did not hesitate to register and get to the bottom of this mystery. Not surprisingly, the summer cottage was my favorite part of the tour, although the four-bedroom main house cuts a very impressive silhouette on the water when viewed from a distance,” commented AIA NJ past president Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA.