Most homes don't have their very own Wikipedia page, but then again, most homes aren't located on their own private island either. Based 50 miles north of NYC, a simple 15-minute helicopter ride away, the Massaro House sits atop the heart-shaped Petre island in the middle of Lake Mahopac and has quite the backstory, hence the free encyclopedic page in its honor.
Back in 1949, the famed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, was commissioned to design a home for the island by the engineer A.K Chahroudi. Due to money issues, the house was never built and a modest cottage, also designed by Wright, was put up instead until about 50 years later, when Joseph Massaro bought the whole property for $700,000. Instead of just getting an island, Massaro, who made his money as a sheet metal contractor, also acquired the blueprints and renderings of the original home. In 2000, he decided to sell his business and focus on the creation of the house and hired Wright historian Thomas A. Heinz to help finish the design.
Throughout the years, controversy and rumors have surrounded the home. It has been sued by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, harshly criticized for its domed skylights and faulty interpretation of Wright's desert masonry—and—rumored to be bought by Angelina Jolie for $20 million back in 2012. The latter never panned out and the home/island is once again on the market, this time priced at $14.9 million. The listing bills the property as an ideal family retreat. With a 6 bedroom-3.5 bath house, two guest houses, a tea house, a dock, and a helipad, the heart shaped private island with a Frank Lloyd Design Home is a true oasis for whomever can afford it.
5 Comments
Anybody want to pitch in and purchase this, in case we need a landing pad to wait out the Trump years? :)
Gorgeous!!!!
Hideous.
The masonry is particularly awful. Looks like flat stones glued on to the wall and then plastered around. It would have been better to have just plastered the walls.
worst stone ever? yup.
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