Revealing a Modern Masterpiece: The Story of the Undiscovered Frank House
October 8 with AIA Pittsburgh. The Frank House joins the citywide celebration of Pittsburgh Architecture Week! Darcy Frank Mackay will share a personal look inside the house, illuminating the bold vision behind its creation and how it is now poised to be revealed to a new generation. Presented as part of Pittsburgh Architecture Week by AIA Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Architecture Foundation. Following Darcy’s presentation, she will be signing pre-purchased Alan I W Frank House books. To order your copy, click here. Thursday, October 8, 7:30pm | Bakery Square Experience Center (6425 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206) Click here to register
Revealing a Modern Masterpiece: The Story of the Undiscovered Frank House
What was it like to grow up inside one of America’s greatest Modernist homes? Watch highlights from Darcy Frank Mackay’s presentation at Modernism Week in Palm Springs. In this 4-minute video, Darcy shares an intimate look at the history, significance, and ongoing preservation of this masterpiece. View the highlights video here. You can also hear more from Darcy in her conversation with George Smart and USModernist Radio. Her interview begins around 57:10 and is available on all major podcast platforms, or here at this link.
On Exhibit in Europe: Original Anni Albers Fabric from The Frank House
Anni Albers (1899–1994) was a trailblazing textile designer of the 20th century. A student and later a teacher at the Bauhaus in Germany, Albers emigrated to the United States and taught at the famous Black Mountain College. She was a close collaborator of Frank House architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and designed a gorgeous, handwoven wall-covering textile for the Frank House’s master bedroom. A swatch of this original fabric was recently donated to the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation and is currently on display in the exhibition "Anni Albers: Constructing Textiles". Albers developed original textile patterns using progressive woven techniques and became the first textile designer to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. "Anni Albers: Constructing Textiles", a major exhibition of her distinguished work, premiered at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland, in November 2025 and will travel to the Belvedere in Vienna, Austria, in April 2026. More information on the exhibition can be found at https://www.albersfoundation.org/exhibitions/anni-albers-constructing-textiles On Exhibit in Europe: Original Anni Albers Fabric from The Frank House Anni Albers (1899–1994) was a trailblazing textile designer of the 20th century. A student and later a teacher at the Bauhaus in Germany, Albers emigrated to the United States and taught at the famous Black Mountain College. She was a close collaborator of Frank House architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and designed a gorgeous, handwoven wall-covering textile for the Frank House’s master bedroom. A swatch of this original fabric was recently donated to the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation and is currently on display in the exhibition "Anni Albers: Constructing Textiles".Albers developed original textile patterns using progressive woven techniques and became the first textile designer to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. "Anni Albers: Constructing Textiles", a major exhibition of her distinguished work, premiered at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, Switzerland, in November 2025 and will travel to the Belvedere in Vienna, Austria, in April 2026.
Signature News Coverage
The Frank House masterpiece was featured in The Wall Street Journal article “Pittsburgh Home by Renowned Architects Remains Virtually Unchanged Inside and Out Since Its 1940 Completion”, written by Anthony Paletta, and an article in the New York Times “Bauhaus at 100”, written by Jade-Snow Joachim, Alex Marshall, Josephine Sedgwick and Eden Weingart.
Conversation and Book Signing: The Alan I W Frank House, The Modernist Masterwork by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer
Conversation and Book Signing: The Alan I W Frank House, The Modernist Masterwork by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer Dec 7, 2019 1:30 pm–3:00 pm CMOA Theater: Pittsburgh, PA To celebrate the launch of the new publication, Alan I W Frank House: The Modernist Masterwork by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, attendees joined us for an informal conversation between Alan Frank, who has lived in the Shadyside house since childhood, and Raymund Ryan, curator of the Heinz Architectural Center. Published by Rizzoli, this remarkable book recounts the story of one of Pittsburgh’s most important works of midcentury architecture. Featuring several critical texts, and with new photography by Richard Pare and Richard Barnes, it is essential reading for all those interested in Pittsburgh design culture. A book signing followed the conversation, with copies available for purchase through the CMOA store. The event was free and is co-sponsored by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. For more information, visit: CMOA.org
The Alan I W Frank House Book
The Alan I W Frank House Book offers a rare opportunity to explore the house. It is the most important residence Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, two of the best architects of the twentieth century, ever designed. In keeping with the Bauhaus “total work of art” philosophy they created every aspect of the building, its furniture, and the site. The Alan I W Frank House book is available via Amazon. Shop Here +
Washington Visitors
Like many others from around the world, 53 visitors came from Washington, DC, in November 2015 to see the house.
From a Pink Beach
Two stonemasons carefully lower an 800-pound block of Kasota stone into place on the roof. The stone came from an ancient inland sea that existed in Minnesota about 450 million years ago.
Work on the North Terrace
A red oak embraces the north terrace as painters remove old paint from the outside of the railing. The inside of the railing is made from Robert Frank’s Copperweld Steel Company copper-covered steel wire. The special stainless steel lighting fixture has just been restored. A ginkgo tree watches in the background.
Pink Sand Beach
450 million years ago, a beautiful pink stone formed under an ancient sea. Known as Kasota stone, it wraps the exterior of The Alan I W Frank House in warm, natural beauty. On a trip to Minnesota, where the original stone was quarried, Alan met with Howard J Vetter, chairman of the board of Vetter Stone Company, and grandson of the man who actually cut the original stone in 1939. Mr. Vetter personally selected a piece of stone to match a piece on the house that had weathered. He said that he was “honored to supply the stone” and autographed it as a donation to the preservation of the house.