One of New Yorks Best Architectural Secrets Is Just 90 Minutes Outside the City

A hidden Frank Lloyd Wright escape is just 90 minutes away from Manhattan.

Iknew there were several Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Buffalo that the public could tour. I know about the three Usonian houses in Westchester County that are all still in private hands and can’t be toured. But I had never heard of a Wright home in Mahopac, about 50 miles north of New York City, and I’d certainly never heard that it was open to the public for semi-private tours in the summer and early fall each year. The fact that it makes for the perfect day trip from Manhattan is the icing on the cake.

When I was invited to visit a Frank Lloyd Wright house with a group of other media, I could not resist the chance, so a few weeks ago, I jumped on Metro-North and headed upstate for the day to tour the house (or rather, houses). Mr. Massaro and his family have been offering limited private tours for 3 years (2026 is the fourth), but to date, only 2,500 people have toured the home on these tours. And there is, of course, a back story.

When Joe Massaro, who owned and operated a sheet metal firm in upstate New York, bought Petra (or “Petre” depending on the source) Island in 1995, it already contained the 1,200-square-foot Chahroudi Cottage, which was commissioned by Ahmed Chahroudi in 1949 and built it in 1952 (with the direct involvement of Frank Lloyd Wright, who had been working on the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan at the time).

Though modest in size, the cottage served as the family’s summer retreat for the better part of a decade. However, Mr. Massaro had acquired several original drawings of the original house plan from the son of the original owner, including a floor plan and ideas for built-in and stand-alone furniture, and three elevations (five drawings in all). When he sold his company and retired, he had the means and time to build the new house.

Wright had designed the existing cottage as a guest house; but the showpiece of the project was to be a 5,000-square-foot main house, which was planned to cantilever 30 feet out over the water of Lake Mahopac, to fit within the natural landscape of the island (encompassing a giant boulder, which still sits in the main entry hall), and be grander in scope than Fallingwater, the Pennsylvania house that is widely considered to be his masterpiece.

Massaro built the house in 2004 after having architect Thomas Heinz, a Wright historian, finish the interior plans. The house plan was not produced or endorsed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, so it can’t be called a “Wright” home; rather, it’s a “Wright-inspired” home. But a particularly striking one. And the gigantic living room jutting out over the lake is magnificent, as are the multiple fireplaces and redwood-beamed interior. Unlike many Wright homes, this one has modern conveniences such as air conditioning and radiant-heated floors.

Best of all, anyone can visit the home during the visiting season from June 1 through October. And if you are driving, you can combine a tour of the Petra Island Houses with another upstate location like the Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, the U.S. Military Academy in West Point (Real ID required), Garrison, or Cold Spring (all of which are within an hour of Mahopac).

Know Before You Go

Petra Island Tours Meeting Point: 883 S. Lake Blvd., Mahopac, NY 10541.

Small-group tours are offered Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday at noon and 2 pm and cost $150 (no kids under 12 allowed). Tours include boat transportation to Petra Island and a guided tour with a family member.

Getting There

Mahopac is about 50 miles (approximately 90 minutes) north of NYC via the Taconic Parkway (take exit 20 to Mahopac, then drive approximately 6 miles on U.S. 6 to Mahopac). The area is also reachable by Metro-North (Harlem Line to Croton Falls), then by Uber to the boat dock. If you take the train, you can get food and use the restroom at Hygrade Market, directly across from the train station. If driving, Brooklyn Organic Kitchen (closed Mon.) is almost directly across from the boat dock.