Frank Lloyd Wright’s distinctive brand of American architecture is peppered throughout the country. With more than 532 designs, the greatest concentration is in his home state of Wisconsin, which has a trail through eight sites, including his first home and studio, Taliesin in Spring Green, as well as around Chicago, where he launched his career in 1887.
Though his final days were spent in the warmer haven of Scottsdale, Arizona, where he built Taliesin West, the final mark of his legacy can be spotted in a surprising location: Willoughby Hills, Ohio.
RiverRock House, Wright’s final residential commission, according to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, was built according to the design found on the legend’s drawing board in Taliesin West after he died in 1959. And it opened to the public this month.
Now the three-bedroom and one-and-three-quarter bath home is available for overnight stays for up to six guests, with two queen and two extra-long twin beds.
The new rental offers a unique way to “experience his genius for yourself in the way he intended … by living inside his vision,” the site for the home says. “There are no ropes or crowds, this house is yours to live in and enjoy, all on your own.”
Set in the midst of 30 acres of Lake County woods at 2217 River Road, the cozy home with a wood fireplace, makes for an idyllic retreat in the woods, complete with the Chagrin River running through the property. But it’s also within easy reach to urban conveniences, a 15-minute drive from so many of Cleveland’s key landmarks in University Circle, from the Cleveland Museum of Art to the Natural History Museum.
What makes RiverRock House so special is just how close it came to never being realized. Artist and schoolteacher Louis Penfield originally commissioned Wright in 1952 to design Penfield House, altering Wright’s Usonian trademark architecture to accommodate Penfield’s 6’8″ height. When construction started a year later, plans for a new interstate freeway threatened the land through eminent domain.
So Penfield reached back out to Wright to build a second home. The then 91-year-old Wright said that though he had stopped designing homes, the request had come in “under the wire” and he would take it on but only because Penfield was a former client.
Wright died on April 9, 1959. The week of his funeral, the Penfields received a surprise: a mailing tube with the drawings for the project. The design was found on the famed architect’s desk after his death.
Still, RiverRock remained on paper for decades. It wasn’t until Sarah Dykstra bought the property in 2018 and worked as co-general constructor with her mom Deborah Dykstra that the home took shape. Earlier this month, a ribbon cutting took place, according to local paper The News-Herald, bringing to life Wright’s blueprint more than six decades later,
“When we set out to build this home, we gave a mandate to the professional team involved: if you must change something due to current building regulations and code, products, etc., do so under the ‘skin’, so the house will look exactly the same,” Dykstra said, according to Cleveland Magazine. “The design and the artistic aspect of this home should remain the same as intended in 1959.”
Rates start at $800 per night Mondays through Thursdays and $1,000 on Fridays through Sundays, while seven-night stays begin at $5,500. For details, visit riverrockhouse.com
