Frank.LloydWright.info

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867—1959)

An idea is salvation by imagination

Featured work

Residential
Avery Coonley
Arthur Heurtley
A. Goetsch & K. Winckler
Fallingwater House
George Barton House
I. N. Hagan House
Living room & bedrooms
John Storer
Frederick C. Robie
Taliesin West
Ward W. Willitts
Institutions
N/A
Towers
Price Tower
Commercial
Anderton Court Shop
Imperial Hotel & Annex
Museums
Guggenheim Museum
Places of worship
Annunciation Church
Beth Sholom Synagogue

• About FLW
• His work; The list
• Shop for Books

 

Hagan House Book

Frank Lloyd Wright's House on Kentuck Frank Lloyd Wright's House on Kentuck Knob is splendidly written; simple, alive and captivating. Donald Hoffmann draws the reader right into the adventure of how Mr. and Mrs. Hagan acquired the site and got Wright, by then a quirky octogenarian, to design the building. Clearly the book, with all its illustrations, will be a steady seller for visitors who combine visits to Falling Water and Kentuck Knob. Donald Hoffmann served as art and architecture critic for the Kansas City Star from 1965 to 1990, was assistant editor of The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians from 1970 to 1972, and is the author of seven books on the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, including Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water.

Book Description

This is the first thorough guide to the design and history of "Kentuck," a splendid mountain house in Southwestern Pennsylvania designed in 1953-1954 by Frank Lloyd Wright. Inspired by Falling water, the famous house only seven miles away that Wright designed above the waterfalls of Bear Run, local businessman I. N. Hagan and his wife, Bernardine, commissioned the 86-year-old Wright to design this home.

Kentuck, constructed on an isolated knoll, or knob, is now owned by Lord Palumbo of London and is open for public tours. This vivid account offers a straightforward story of how the house came to be, detailing the many complexities faced by the Hagan's -from difficulties in dealing with Wright, to topographical errors and the unresolved issues in the plans. Despite the many problems they encountered, the Hagan's and their contractor managed to construct a building of great beauty, dignity, and serenity. More than fifty photographs, drawings, and diagrams accompany a detailed descriptive text to illustrate how the peculiarities of the plan, based on the equilateral triangle, resulted in a house that generates countless vistas, indoors and out, and spatial effects of great charm and intimacy.

Frank Lloyd Wright's House on Kentuck Knob brings to life an unusual work of residential architecture. It is the perfect introduction to Kentuck, and for those who have visited there--a lovely reminder of this luminous but modest house.

About the Author

Donald Hoffmann served as art and architecture critic for the Kansas City Star from 1965 to 1990, was assistant editor of The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians from 1970 to 1972, and is the author of seven books on the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, including Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water.

House location & directions

Kentuck Knob is located on Chalk Hill - Ohiopyle Road, six miles north of U.S. Route 40 (the National Road) in Stewart Township, Fayette County. The home is only seven miles from Fallingwater.

Address: Kentuck Knob, P.O. Box 305, Kentuck Road, Chalk Hill, PA 15421-0305 (724) 329-1901

From Fallingwater: Go south on 381* thru Ohiopyle for four miles. Turn right at the State Park sign at the south end of the Meadow Run Bridge. Follow winding road for one and one half miles. At intersection at top of hill, turn left going toward Chalk Hill. Go three quarters of a mile to Kentuck Knob (on left).

From Downtown Pittsburgh: Go south on State Route 51 to Uniontown. Go south on U.S. Route 119 by turning right onto bypass from 51. Take U.S. Route 119 to U.S. 40. Go east on U.S. Route 40 to Chalk Hill. Turn left on Chalk Hill / Ohiopyle Road and go six miles to Kentuck Knob on the right.

From Pittsburgh International Airport: Take State Route 60 toward Pittsburgh. Take Interstate 79 south toward Washington, PA. to Interstate 70. Go east on Interstate 70 to exit 15A (Toll Road 43). Go south on 43 to U.S. 40. Go east on U.S. Route 40 to Chalk Hill. Turn left on Chalk Hill / Ohiopyle Road and go 6 miles to Kentuck Knob on the right.

To Motorcoach: Go south on 381 to U.S. Route 40 (about 10 miles). Turn right on U.S. Route 40 and go west to the Chalk Hill/Ohiopyle road to Kentuck Knob on the Right. 

You can obtain general lodging information and accommodations by going to the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau.
 

 

Kentuck Knob, Pennsylvania, 1953

I. N. Hagan House living room & bedrooms

When the I.N Hagan family decided they need more furniture beside the one Wright already built-in they called upon Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. (sic) and designer Paul Mayen to assist them in their furniture purchasing. The Hagans, along with Kaufmann and Mayen, visited the George Jensen shop in New York and purchased pieces by Denmark designer Hans Wegner. Throughout the House you can see the Scandinavian furniture.
 

They choose Jack Lenor Larsen fabrics for the built-in Wright seating area. They also ordered Moroccan rugs for the living room and bedroom from the Kaufmann department store. " An article in the New York Times led the Hagans to George Nakashima of New Hope, Pennsylvania. Nakashima designed most of the walnut furniture including a coffee table, a cabinet for the foyer, a cushion chair, a stool, an ottoman, and six chairs for the dining table (seen above).

They also used a Nakashima table for the dining room rather than the cypress table Wright designed. Many of the Nakashima, pieces selected included 60 degree angles, similar to those of the house. The Hagans also commissioned a geometric screen from Eugene Masselink at Taliesin, but Wright apparently liked it so well that they did not have the piece until after Wright's death when it was sent to the Hagans and placed in the master bedroom.

The living room terrace is enclosed to contain the dining room. Around the table are a set of chairs (with space for up to 8 people) designed by the Vienna Secessionist architect and designer, Josef Hoffman. The dining table appear to have grown out of the walls with custom enclosed cabinets toward the east side, and fully lit by the many windows surrounding it.

When the I. N. Hagan family decided they need more furniture beside the one Wright already built-in they called upon Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. and designer Paul Mayen to assist them in their furniture purchasing. The Hagan's, along with Kaufmann and Mayen, visited the George Jensen shop in New York and purchased pieces by Denmark designer Hans Wegner. Throughout the House you can see the Scandinavian furniture.

They choose Jack Lenor Larsen fabrics for the built-in Wright seating area. They also ordered Moroccan rugs for the living room and bedroom from the Kaufmann department store. "An article in the New York Times led the Hagan's to George Nakashima of New Hope, Pennsylvania. Nakashima designed most of the walnut furniture including a coffee table, a cabinet for the foyer, a cushion chair, a stool, an ottoman, and six chairs for the dining table (seen above).

They also used a Nakashima table for the dining room rather than the cypress table Wright designed. Many of the Nakashima, pieces selected included 60 degree angles, similar to those of the house. The Hagan's also commissioned a geometric screen from Eugene Masselink at Taliesin, but Wright apparently liked it so well that they did not have the piece until after Wright's death when it was sent to the Hagan's and placed in the master bedroom.

Located between the master bedroom & the guest bedroom stands the unusual angles, semi diamond shape & narrow passageways of the second bedroom which was fully constructed from a built in point of view. Both bed rooms shared the Bath in between. The bed room alike the master bed room bedroom exposure is to the east side united by one terrace.

The guest bedroom is positioned to provide total privacy for guests and the family, carrying the same built-in concept as the rest of the house. The room has a semi diamond shape, custom work desk, small closet & plenty of shelving space. The guest bed room exposure is to the south with an independent entrance.

The fully functional kitchen located in the architectural core of the house, few steps from the dining room & the terrace. The Kitchen walls of stone anchor the two wings of the house but also rise to penetrate the horizontal plane of the copper roof.

The steps to the basement are angled with the hexagonal grid of the house. To the left are sketches of the impressive "Red Army" that is installed on the property. The Red Army is the work of the designer Ray Smith.

---