Virginia widow saved Frank Lloyd Wright home by moving it 13 miles
A historic Frank Lloyd Wright home in Virginia was saved from demolition in the 1960s when it was moved 13 miles to a new location. The effort was led by Marjorie Leighey, who fought to preserve the Usonian-style structure after the government planned to seize the land for highway construction.
Why it matters
The story serves as a case study in historic preservation and the cultural value of architectural heritage against urban development.
Sixty years ago, a house was reconstructed at Woodlawn, a National Trust-owned property outside of Washington, DC, after a historic and hard-fought battle to save it from destruction. Originally built in Falls Church, Virginia for Loren and Charlotte Pope, the 1,200-square-foot Frank Lloyd Wright home was under threat due to the construction of the new Interstate 66, but was saved by a historic hard-fought battle led by Marjorie Leighey, a 57-year-old widow, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Today, thousands of guests visit the unique house, the only property designed by America's greatest architect that is open to the public in the National Capital region.A dream houseIt was in 1939 that Loren Pope wrote to the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, begging him for a home for himself and his wife Charlotte.
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