Look Up! Wright was years ahead in ‘Ardmore Experiment’

Frank Lloyd Wright’s only big project in the Philadelphia area, with its high-profile address on Old York Road in Elkins Park, was the pyramidal Beth Sholom Synagogue, built in 1959.

Twenty years earlier, Wright designed his only other significant project in the area. Originally dubbed “The Ardmore Experiment” by the architect, the Suntop Homes, 152-158 Sutton Road, sit on a subdued, suburban street among a mix of more traditional middle-class houses of varying styles. Blocked by the more recent addition of garden fences and thick greenery, the Suntops fade into the landscape.

But Wright’s signature Usonian style is hard to miss.

The Tod Company commissioned four sets of the homes for Ardmore to increase single-family density in the burbs, but construction costs surpassed the developer’s budget, and only one set was erected.

The design is a pinwheel, with each unit facing a different direction. Each quadrant of about 2,000 square feet included a roof sundeck/terrace, utility and living rooms, mezzanine workspace, bedrooms, balcony, radiant heating in the floors, and a carport (for “modern motor-car convenience,” Wright’s plans explain). Construction materials were brick, concrete, wood and glass.

Over the years, two of the original homes were destroyed by fire, but were rebuilt with changes to the interior spaces.

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Contact the writer at ajaffe@planphilly.com.


“Look Up!” The Art Deco Palace of Mt. Airy
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Look Up!” The French Village in Mt. Airy
“Look Up” and check out the nouveau mansions of North Broad

“Look Up” and check out elegant Southwark
“Look Up” and check out Henry Disston’s company town
“Look Up: and check out Spruce Hill
“Look Up” and check out Green Street
“Look Up” and check out West Laurel Hill
“Look Up” and check out Parkside
“Look Up” and check out Awbury Arboretum
“Look Up” and check out Nicetown
“Look Up” and check out Overbrook Farms
“Look Up” and check out Girard Estate
“Look Up” and check out Rittenhouse/Fitler Square

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