Usonia Historic District

	Usonia Historic District
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
	Interactive map showing Usonia Historic District
Location	Usonia & Rocky Vale Rds., Laurel Hill & Orchard Brook Drs., Pleasantville, New York
Coordinates	41°07′42″N73°44′56″W / 41.12833°N 73.74889°W
Area	95.1 acres (38.5 ha)
Built	1946-1964
Architect	Wright, Frank Lloyd, et al.
Architectural style	Modern
NRHP reference No.	12000600
Added to NRHP	September 5, 2012

Last updated March 12, 2025

Usonia Historic District is a planned community and national historic district in the Town of Mount Pleasant, adjacent to the village of Pleasantville, Westchester County, New York.

History

In 1945, a 100-acre (0.40 km²) rural tract was purchased by a cooperative of young couples from New York City, who were able to enlist the students of Frank Lloyd Wright to build his Broadacre City concept. Wright decided where each house should be placed. Wright designed three homes himself and approved architectural plans of the other 44, which were designed by such architects as Paul Schweikher, Theodore Dixon Bower, Ulrich Franzen, Kaneji Domoto, Aaron Resnick and David Henken – an engineer and Wright apprentice.^[2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012 as the Usonia Historic District.^[1] The historic district encompasses 43 contributing buildings, one contributing site, and three contributing structures.^[2]

Description

The layout of the neighborhood was planned by Wright in a circular manner, preserving most of the original trees and "encouraging the flow of the land". The balance of the homes were decreed to be in the modern "organic" style ordained by Wright. The community was named "Usonia" in homage to Wright, whose ideas on the way Americans should live together guided their plan.

Gallery

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian homes in Pleasantville are:

Other homes include:

The Aaron Resnick-designed Mel Smilow home

Notable residents

References

1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 9/10/12 through 9/14/12. National Park Service. September 21, 2012.
1 2 "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)" (Searchable database). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . Retrieved December 1, 2015.Note: This includes Kathleen LaFrank (March 2012). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Usonia Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved December 1, 2015. and Accompanying photographs

External links

"Usonia Community Remembers Its Past", The New York Times
"Wright Find Recalls His Influence On A Community". The New York Times
"Updating Wright's Ideal", The New York Times
"Green Before It Had a Name", The New York Times
Pleasantville has the Wright Stuff ^[usurped], Retro Info!
Photos on Flickr
Reisley, Roland (2001). Usonia, New York: Building a Community with Frank Lloyd Wright . Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-245-8.

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[nps-1] 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 9/10/12 through 9/14/12. National Park Service. September 21, 2012.

[NysNrhpNom-2] 1 2 "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)" (Searchable database). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . Retrieved December 1, 2015.Note: This includes Kathleen LaFrank (March 2012). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Usonia Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved December 1, 2015. and Accompanying photographs

[1]

[2]

v t e Frank Lloyd Wright
List of works
Personal homes	Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Taliesin Taliesin West
Private houses	Adams, M. Adams, W. and J. Adelman Affleck Allen–Lambe Alsop Arnold Bach Bachman–Wilson Baird Baker Balch Baldwin Barton Bazett Beachy Becker Blair Blossom Bogk Boulter Boynton Bradley Brandes Broad Margin Brown Buehler Bulbulian Charnley–Norwood Charnley–Persky Cheney Christie Cooke Coonley Copeland Crimson Beech Dana–Thomas Davidson Davis DeRhodes Dobkins Ennis Fabyan Fallingwater Fawcett Forest Foster Fountainhead Freeman Fredrick Fricke Friedman Fukuhara G. Furbeck R. Furbeck Gale, L. Gale, T. Gale, W. Gerts Gilmore Gillin Glasner Goetsch–Winckler Gordon Grant Graycliff Gridley Hanna–Honeycomb Hardy Haynes Heath Heller Henderson Heurtley Hickox Hills Hoffman Hollyhock Jacobs I Jacobs II Johnson Jones Kalil Keland Kentuck Knob Keys Kinney Kraus Lamberson Lamp Laurent Levin Lewis Lewis, L. Manson Marden D. D. Martin W. E. Martin May McBean McCarthy Millard Miller Millard, G. Moore Mosher Mossberg Murphy Neils Olfelt Palmer Pappas Parker Pauson Penfield Peterson Cottage Pew Pope–Leighey Rayward Rebhuhn Reisley Richardson Roberts Robie Roloson Rosenbaum Rudin Samara Sander Schaberg Schwartz Serlin Shavin Smith, G. W. Smith, M. Smith, R. Sondem Spencer Staley Stockman Storer Stromquist Sturges Sullivan Sunday Sutton Sweeton Tan-Y-Deri Thaxton Thomas Tomek Tonkens Tracy Trier Turkel Wall Walker Walser Walter Westcott Westhope Weltzheimer Willey Williams Willits Wingspread Winslow Woolley Wright, D. and G. Wright, D. and J. Wright, R. Wynant Yamamura Young Zeigler Zimmerman
Housing systems	American System-Built Homes Erdman Prefab Houses Fireproof House for $5000 Galesburg Country Homes Ravine Bluffs Development Suntop Homes Usonia Homes Textile block house
Other	Anderton Court Shops Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Arizona Biltmore Hotel Auldbrass Plantation Banff National Park Pavilion Beth Sholom Synagogue Child of the Sun at Florida Southern College Community Christian Church Como Orchard Summer Colony Coonley School Playhouse E-Z Polish Factory Eddie's House Fasbender Medical Clinic German Warehouse Guggenheim Museum Hillside Home School I Hillside Home School II Hoffman Auto Showroom Horse Show Fountain Humphreys Theater Imperial Hotel Jiyu Gakuen Girls' School Johnson Wax Headquarters Kundert Medical Clinic Lake Mendota Boathouse Lamp Cottage Larkin Administration Building Lawrence Memorial Library (Springfield, Illinois) Lindholm Service Station Lockridge Medical Clinic Marin County Civic Center Midway Barn Midway Gardens Riverview Terrace Restaurant Roberts Stable Rookery Building Romeo and Juliet Windmill Park Inn Hotel Pettit Chapel Pilgrim Congregational Church Price Tower Frank L. Smith Bank Teater Studio Unitarian Society Meeting House Unity Chapel Unity Temple V. C. Morris Gift Shop Waller Apartments Wyoming Valley School
Posthumous	Blue Sky Mausoleum Gammage Memorial Auditorium King Kamehameha Golf Course Clubhouse Massaro House Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center
Unbuilt	Broadacre City Crystal Heights Gordon Strong Automobile Objective The Illinois Plan for Greater Baghdad Point Park Civic Center
Related	Taliesin Associated Architects Wasmuth Portfolio Prairie School Wright Building Conservancy Wright–Prairie School of Architecture Historic District UNESCO World Heritage Site Usonia
People	Olgivanna Lloyd Wright (3rd wife) Lloyd Wright (son) John Lloyd Wright (son) Anne Baxter (granddaughter) Eric Lloyd Wright (grandson) Maginel Wright Enright (sister) Richard Bock (associate) Mamah Borthwick (client and lover) Marion Griffin (associate) Walter Burley Griffin (associate) George Mann Niedecken Jaroslav Josef Polívka (associate)
Popular culture	The Last Wright: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Park Inn Hotel Shining Brow Loving Frank "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" Work Song: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright The Women The Wright 3
Commons Wikinews Wikiquote

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New York
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Other lists	Bridges and tunnels National Historic Landmarks New York City Outside New York City
Category List National Register of Historic Places Portal