Enjoy browsing, but unless otherwise noted, these houses are private property and closed to the public.
So don't go tromping around uninvited! CTRL-F to search within the page.
WILLIAM EDMOND LESCAZE, FAIA (1896-1969)
Born in Onex, Switzerland, he studied at Collège Calvin and at École des Beaux-Arts before completing his education at the ETH Zurich in 1919. Lescaze contributed to the post-World War I reconstruction effort then immigrated to the United States in 1920. He worked for some time at the architectural firm of Hubbell and Benes in Cleveland OH. In 1923, he was offered a modeling job and moved to New York City and set up a design firm. His first major work was the design of the Oak Lane Country Day School outside Philadelphia. After a brief time in New York, he returned to Cleveland. In 1927, he designed the Sutton House Apartments project in New York City which allowed him to move back. In 1929, he formed a partnership with George Howe. Their first major project was the 1932 Philadelphia Savings Fund Society Building, considered the first International Modernist skyscraper in the US; also the first building with full air conditioning. He became known for introducting glass blocks into common construction use.
In 1935, William Lescaze established his own firm and taught industrial design at the Pratt Institute 1943–1945. He was married to Mary Hughes. Lescaze died of a heart attack at his home at 211 East 48th Street in Manhattan. In Geneva, Switzerland, a street was named after him. His son, Lee Adrien Lescaze (1938–1996), was an editor at The Washington Post. 1980 article about the FBI renting his home for a sting operation gained him national attention. Bio adapted from Wikipedia.
1931 - The Frederick V. Field House aka Sun Terrace, 393 Stub Hollow Road, New Hartford CT. Designed with George Howe.One of the earliest Modernist houses in the US. In 1936, he added a three-car garage of block construction at the northeast section. A 1941 addition included a single-story wing with two bedrooms and a bath on the west side, plus a dining space at the rear. Field fled to Mexico in 1953, abandoning the house. Sold in 1977 to Michael Taylor, who renovated it, removing many original features and built-ins. Sold to the Timothy Lyman Trust and restored by architect Gary Morgenroth in 1991. Despite heavy alterations, it was added to the National Register in 1978.
1932 - The Leonard and Dorothy Elmhurst House, aka High Cross House, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon, United Kingdom. They built it for William Curry, then headmaster of the nearby Dartington Hall School. The building deteriorated from 1987 and was used as a student hostel. It was restored in 1995 by architect John Winter and became the first British Modernist house to open to the public. Less than two years after signing a management lease, the National Trust abandoned the property citing low visitor figures (despite the fact that the home attracted 21,000 visitors, almost double the number attracted to the Trust's Erno Goldfinger’s Willow Road home in Hampstead). As of 2025, home to an artist while the C20 Society lobbies for repairs.
1934 - The William and Mary Lescaze House, 211 East 48th Street, New York NY. The house was the first to useglass blocksin New York. Sold in 1985 to the William Kaufman Organization, which conducted renovations but largely maintained the house's historic design. Sold in 2020 to Hendale LLC.
1935 - The Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House, 32 East 74th Street, New York NY. Kramer alterations, house built in 1901. Sold to Urania New York LLC c/o Withers Bergman LLP. Sold in 2015 to 32 E. 74 Street LLC/Pretoria LLC. Transferred to family or business partner 32 E 74th Street LLC C/O New Start Development LLC.
1936 - The F. S. Dunn House, Woodbridge CT. Lescaze also designed a cottage there in 1939. Status unknown.
1935 - The Roy F. Spreter House. House and studio for Roy Spreter, the designer of the camel and pyramid logo on the Camel cigarette package. Studio was designed in 1933, house was adjacent to studio. The 3rd photo is an aerial from 1948 showing the building seen in the first photo on the right hand side. In 2009, because of fear of demolition, preservationists reached out to architect Martin Jay Rosenblum for help. Rosenblum found a client who saved the structure, but removed the additions to the original building and added a new addition that was respectful to the original house. A dynamically designed breezeway bridge connects the old with the new. Last photo courtesy of mjra-architects.com
1935 - The Benjamin J. Buttenwieser House, 17 East 73rd Street, Manhattan, New York NY. Original house built in early 1870's by J. W. Marshall, who designed most of the row of houses. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer demolished the row of houses between 7 and 15 in 1900. His son Ralph bought 17 for him and his new wife in 1904. They hired the firm of Foster, Gade and Graham to do a remodel in 1905, replacing the front facade with limestone and updating the interior.. However, they never lived there as they had another home as well. He leased it for several years and more interior changes were made, before selling it to the Buttenwiesers in 1934. Before they moved in they hired William Lescaze to redesign the interiors. Most of the exterior was left the same, just removing a few ornaments and substituting casement windows. He sold the home in the early 1950's to the Republic of Guinea as its permanent Mission to the United States. In 1969 it was converted to a 3 family residence with a doctor's office on the ground floor. This is most likely when the mansard roof was converted to glass walled penthouse. It is still owned by the 1973 buyers, 17 E. 73rd Street Corporation and is leased out as a 3-unit co-op.
1936 - The Vincent K. Cates House, 69 Burrell Street, Melrose MA. In 2018, the house was up for sale and the local DOCOMOMO US/New England chapter in partnership with Compass Realty held an open house hoping to save the home as it had no historic protections. Sold in 2019 to Karen Stein and Matthew Stanley
1936 - The William Butler House, Harvey Cedars NJ. Designed with George Daub. Status unknown.
1936 - The Lloyd Good House, Harvey Cedars NJ. Designed with George Daub. Status unknown.
1937 - The Howard Markel Country House, Redding CT. Status unknown.
1937 - The Fred V. Nash House, 17840 Breezy Point Road, Wayzata MN. Sold to Charles Sweatt Jr. Sold in 1995 to Mark Lovvas. Status unknown.
1937 - The Williamsburg Houses, Brooklyn NY, a 20-building modernist
housing project. Status unknown.
1937 - The Bernard Rogers House, Rochester NY. Status unknown.
1938 - The Alfred L. Loomis Guest House, 61 Crow's Nest Road, Tuxedo Park NY. 13 acres. Published in Architectural Forum. A unique double envelope design. Loomis had a long affair with Garret Hobart's wife, Manette, that eventually broke that marriage, with Manette marrying Loomis. Loomis was secretly been experimenting with radar technology for the US and UK governments at a private lab on the property. The Secret of Tuxedo Park was the subject of a PBS special. Sold before 1977 to Edith Smith. Sold in 2015. For sale in 2020.
1938 - The Garret A. Hobart III House, aka Hawk Haven, Tuxedo Park NY. Hobart's wife, Manette, had a long affair with Alfred Loomis, above, that eventually broke the marriage, with Manette marrying Loomis. On the former site of Craghurst, the John Murray Mitchell and Lillian Talmage Mitchell estate built in 1900. Sold before 1977 to Ovila L. Bibeau. Status unknown.
1939 - aka House for 2089, included a helipad on the roof. Status unknown.
1941 - The Edward and Dorothy Norman Residence, 124 East 70th Street, New York NY. 6200sf. B/W photos by Gottscho. Status unknown.
1961 - Manhattanville Public Housing, New York NY. Six 20-story buildings. Converted to private ownership in 2025.
Sources include: Modern Houses of 1940.