Date
1947 - 1949
Project Type
Residential
Location
Ligonier, PA USA
Languages
Dutch
English
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Japanese
Spanish
People/Firms
A. L. Colombo
A. N. Marquis Co.
Abraham and Straus, Inc.
Agostini, Alfredo
Albers, Josef
Albert, Edouard
Aldrich, Nelson
Allen, Deborah
American Architect and Architecture
American Designers Committee for French Civilian Relief
American Embassy (Bogotá, Colombia)
American Standard
Amsterdamsche Bank
Andrews, Wayne
Andruss, D.
In early 1947, Marion Thompson, the widow of the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, commissioned a large house from Breuer. The commission came through her son, Rolland Thompson, who was Breuer's employee and former student. Mrs. Thompson had more traditional taste than many of Breuer's clients. She collected 18th-century English furniture and intended to use that furniture, rather than the built-in cabinets and modern designs Breuer favored. The sprawling stone-clad, one-story house had three bedrooms, a living room, indoor and outdoor dining rooms (in addition to a small dining room for the servants), a library, a wine cellar and a separate guest wing. One of Breuer's distinctive outdoor staircases - with a metal railing supporting concrete treads - led up to a roof terrace. The design incorporated extensive landscaping, including three heated ponds and low stone walls that defined the terraces and outdoor enclosures.
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