Kentuck Knob opens doors to a Wright design

To most residents of southwestern Pennsylvania, the equation is a simple one: Frank Lloyd Wright + Ohiopyle = Fallingwater.

Few know that tucked away in the same Fayette county woodland, is another Wright-designed house that's open to the public.

Since 1996, Kentuck Knob has welcomed Wright devotees, architecture buffs and regular people who enjoy browsing through the interiors of other people's homes.

Located fewer than 10 miles from Wright's more famous house over the waterfall, Kentuck Knob is close enough to be paired with a tour of Fallingwater, but interesting enough to be toured for its own sake.

Wright designed the house for I.N. Hagan and his wife, Bernadine, in 1954. Hagan, who operated the family's dairy business in Uniontown, was familiar with Fallingwater from his business dealings with Edgar Kaufmann, Sr., who owned the more famous house.

The Hagans had purchased 79 acres of woodland south of Uniontown and were anxious to build a house that had the same feel as Fallingwater but was less elaborate.

'I like this one because it's more of a livable home,' says Dolores Love, a tour guide at Kentuck Knob since it opened in 1996.

What they got was a one-level home constructed from hand-set native sandstone and Tidewater red cypress set into the brow of the hillside. When completed in 1956, the house incorporated many of the elements that are a signature of Wright's approach to architecture. Small and compact, Kentuck Knob is organized around the kitchen as its central core. It features indirect lighting, built-in furniture, radiant heating beneath its flagstone flooring, carport stalls and bands of windows that provide wrap-around views of the treetops.

A small square red tile cemented into the stone wall near the entrance marks it as one of Wright's 19 signed houses.

The Hagans moved in in 1956 and lived there until 1984.

In 1986 Lord Peter Palumbo, a British real estate dealer, bought the house and land for $600,000 and began moving in some of his own family's collections of antiques and art. The Palumbos maintain Kentuck Knob as part-time personal residence. They drop by occasionally but infrequently, letting the visitors' center know in advance when they're coming. That's an additional reason to make reservations before you visit - there are no tours when the owners are there. The other reason being that each tour has space for only 15 individuals and the extremely popular tours often fill up.

Small Claes Oldenburg sculptures adorn the highly polished red cypress dining room table. An antique chair from Matisse's studio sits nearby. Pieces of original furniture designed by Stickley, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Nakashima are scattered throughout.

But what makes Kentuck Knob feel like home are the smaller more personal effects - framed family snapshots share desk space with photos of Palumbo and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. A disposable lighter lies on an end table. The bathroom counters are covered with containers of Q-tips and toiletries.

The patio terrace just outside the dining room features an outdoor pond equipped with a recirculating pump. 'Mrs. Hagan wanted to hear the sound of falling water,' says Love.

Once visitors have seen the interior of Kentuck Knob, there's more to see outside. It's possible to return to the visitors' center in the same small bus that brought you up the hill.

But those who choose can follow a downhill trail that meanders past many of the 16 outdoor sculptures that the Palumbos brought to Kentuck Knob. During the 30-minute stroll through open fields and sun-dappled woodland walkers will encounter Ray Smith's 1991 'Red Army,' an installation of 480 red silhouetted soldiers with both their hands raised over their heads in surrender. Andy Goldsworthy's 1992 'Wall' beckons just off the path in a wooded glade. George Rickey's aluminum 'Three Right Angles' turns slowly in the breeze from its perch in the middle of a small pond. Don't miss Claes Oldenburg's larger than life-size 'Applecore' on the lawn behind the visitors' center.

Inside the visitors' center, Wright devotees will enjoy the selection of books and Wright-inspired articles in the gift shop.

KENTUCK KNOB