During the later years of the Great Depression and on the eve of world war, Loren Pope, a busy copyeditor for the Washington Evening Star, was looking for a home where life could be simplified, and nature brought closer. By coincidence the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, was designing and building a new, simple style of home intended to be affordable for the middle class and to bring the natural environment to residents.

Known as “Usonian” (an abbreviation for United States of North America), the small, affordable and practical houses were designed to give the impression of being much larger and more spacious than they actually are. With no attics or basements, accumulating and storing large amounts of items was difficult. Materials used were wood, brick, concrete and glass; and paint was not required.

At Loren Pope’s request, Frank Lloyd Wright put his genius to work on Pope’s own Usonian home. Today, not far from Mt. Vernon in Alexandria, Va., on the grounds of Woodlawn Estate, Pope’s 1,200 square-foot house, designed by Wright from 1939 to 1940, continues to give visitors the feeling of serenity and connectedness to their natural surroundings. For anyone who has ever been fascinated by one of the 20th century’s greatest architects, a visit to the Pope-Leighey House is highly recommended.

As you approach the Pope-Leighey House, the driveway leads you to the structure’s overhang, which serves as a carport and also sets the stage for your entrance into the house. Entry is through glass doors, revolutionary for the 1940s. As you move from the overhang through the doors, the house seems to open up as you step into the living room, part of the home’s “public space.” This feeling of opening up is created by a Wright technique called compression and release, which he uses throughout the house.

The space of the living room and its limited furnishings, also designed by Wright, further open up the room. Your eye is drawn along the horizontal cedar boards of the wall and along the horizontal line of the bricks of the wall. Open book shelves line the far end of the room, carrying through the horizontal theme. Items on the shelves are vintage 1940s. Light filters through cutout designs in windows along the top of the wall, falling on the wall opposite and creating designs in sunlight that move as the sun moves — nature’s artwork. A fireplace on one end of the room is open on two sides, adding to the feeling of open space.

In the adjacent dining room, a lower ceiling gives the impression of the room being separate from the living room. Because of the dining room’s cantilever ceiling, corner glass doors can be opened without obstruction to create a sense of being outdoors while being inside. Lights above the dining room table are inset. The room’s furniture is quite portable, providing instant accommodation for visitors. Tables and chairs can be moved from one room to the other, becoming dining table and chairs or living room occasional table and sofa, depending on their location in the house. Most of the furnishings in the Pope-Leighey house are original.

Moving from the public to the private rooms requires a walk through a long narrow hallway that also relies on the architect’s compression and release technique to give the sense that the room is larger. The private section of the house consists of two bedrooms and a bathroom. Visitors will marvel at the use of built-ins that save space and contribute to the feeling of spaciousness. Ceilings in the bedrooms are low to encourage residents to spend time in the public part of the house.

The kitchen is a narrow room with a high ceiling, modeled after a Pullman railroad car galley. Lighting is under the cabinets rather than overhead to prevent shadows in the room.

The house’s final room is the office, or “sanctum” as Wright called it. Screens made of copper cover the windows on the inside, casting a golden glow in the room.   

Innovation is seen throughout the house. A designer ahead of his time, Wright used indirect lighting in the living room and kitchen, bifold doors for the closets, a heating system under the floor and many other inventive solutions.

The Pope-Leighey House has had only two private owners: Loren and Charlotte Pope, and Robert and Marjorie Leighey. The house was originally built in Falls Church, Va., and later moved to the grounds of Woodlawn Estate to make room for the building of Route 66. The house is now owned and operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is one of three Frank Lloyd Wright houses in the Washington, D.C., area (the others are in McLean, Va., and Bethesda, Md.) and the only Wright home open to the public.

The Pope-Leighey House is located at 9000 Richmond Highway on the grounds of Woodlawn Estate in Alexandria and is open March through December, Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is also open on select holidays and Mondays in March. Tours are provided every 30 minutes, with the last tour beginning at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $7.50 for adults and $3.00 for children (ages K–12). Reservations are required for groups of 10 or more or for people with special needs. For reservations call 703-780-4000, ext. 23. Technical, in-depth tours are given the first Sunday of each month, March through December.