Reisley House (Usonia Historic District)

The Reisley House was designed for Roland Reisley and his wife Ronny by Frank Lloyd Wright, who at the time of the home’s construction was in his mid-eighties. Begun in 1951, the custom home was move-in ready in 1952. The Reisley House contains a number of design elements of architectural significance including: a complex roof framing covered in dentilated fascia that overhangs the carport, a cantilevered extension of the living space, and an extensive rectangular stone fireplace. The interior remians almost completely original and exemplifies the Usonian traditions of using natural materials, using very few right angles and bringing elements of the outdoors inside. The Reisley House is part of the Usonia Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is one of the most well known and respected American architects of the twentieth century. His beliefs that characterized his design work were that a home should be in harmony with its setting, that nature-inspired homes could be affordable, and that quality and simplicity intertwined with intention. Wright himself designed five houses for Usonia, three of which were built. In total, he directly influenced forty of the forty-seven completed Usonia homes by not only his direct participation but also his influence on the other Usonia architects, who were his apprentices and disciples.

Roland Reisley is the author of Usonia, New York: Building a Community with Frank Lloyd Wright, that was published in 2003. The book explains in great detail Usonia's origin story and discusses the challenges and successes that the founding group of participants experienced from 1950 onward. As of 2021, Reisley continues to reside in the home that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for him and has shared the home on various occasions and through numerous photographs.

Roland Reisley, and his wife had first learned about the Usonia community in Pleasantville from architect David Henken's sister, Judith Podell, who worked in the same office as Roland Reisley's father. The Reisleys corresponded with Frank Lloyd Wright by mail in October of 1950 and then visiting him at his Taliesin studio in Wisconsin the following month. They contracted Wright to design their home.

Wright visited the Reisley's site at Usonia in the fall of 1950, when he was 84 years of age. Preliminary drawings for the new home were produced in the spring of 1951, and in September of that same year, excavation work was begun. Wright would visit again in the summer of 1952 after the Reisleys moved into their new home, and again in 1954. The Reisleys did not consider the home complete, however, until 1957 after the addition of a one-story bedroom wing and dining area, completed two years before Wright's death at the age of 92.

The Reisley home is a one-story triangle-based residence. It exhibits a pitched roof with overhanging eaves, radiant heating, and fireplaces in both the main living area and the largest bedroom. It is constructed of concrete slab, stone, and cypress with horizontal V-joint siding. Having been built into a steeply sloping hillside, it contains an exposed lower level, a cantilevered deck, and a sweeping triangular carport resting on a massive stone pier.

1. “A Visit to the Roland Reisley House in Usonia New York.” The Weekly Wright-Up. Aug 1, 2013. Accessed Oct 5, 2021. https://wright-up.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-visit-to-roland-reisley-house-in.html 
2. Reisley, Roland. Usonia, New York: Building a Community with Frank Lloyd Wright. Princeton Architectural Press. 2003.
3. “Usonia Historic District #12000600.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service. Sept 5, 2012. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323279