Architect Frank Weise went to Simon Gratz High School and studied architecture at Penn. Despite a series of successes outside of the city—at Harvard and in Chicago—he came back to establish a practice here in 1949, and worked on retaining riverfront access for the city during the building of I-95. He was a prolific city architect who nonetheless developed a distinctive Mid-Century Modern style. For Philadelphia, he was involved in the restoration and renovation of Head House Square; the adaptation of Eastern State Penitentiary; the founding of both the Wilma Theater and the Theater of the Living Arts. Weise taught at a variety of institutions. The house in Gladwyne that's currently for sale is very dramatic. He designed it between 1955 and 1957. Fortunately, it's been modernized since then.
This house, officially the William G. Holland House, won an AIA Silver Medal Award. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and 2,700 square feet. All the main rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows with electric shades. The owners invested more than $2.3 million, and it shows: new roof, furnace, hot water, AC, electric, plumbing, doors, stainless hardware, windows, security, sound/video, driveway, retaining walls, irrigation, cedar and zinc siding.
We asked the realtor, Todd Levinson, to ask the owners what they'd miss most about the house. They told "the peace, stillness and beauty of the space." But it couldn't be helped: They had to move to New York.
Gladwyne is one of the wealthiest zip codes in the U.S., so it's no surprise this house isn't cheap. But considering its pedigree, it could be worse: It was just reduced to $1,695,000.
Below, some other Frank Weise structures:
· Listing: 1621 Monk Road, Gladwyne [Livinphilly]
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