Lynn Hall
Modernist restaurant and dance hall turned architect's studio.
Lynn Hall, a sprawling Modernist Movement structure in Port Allegany, Pennsylvania, was designed and built by self-taught practitioner Walter J. Hall. Completed in 1935, it originally served as a restaurant, dance hall, and family residence. The building slightly resembles Fallingwater because in 1936 Walter was asked to join that project as general manager and chief stone mason. Lynn Hall also housed the offices of Walter’s son, Raymond Viner Hall, who opened his architecture practice there in 1939. After Walter’s death in 1952, Raymond closed the restaurant and adapted the entire building into a studio where he apprenticed dozens of aspiring architects. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 2007. Today, Lynn Hall is being rehabilitated and offers short-term rental accommodations with authentically restored mid-century modern suites.
Quick Facts
- Location
- W side of US 6, 1.5 mi. W of Port Allegany, Liberty Township
- Built
- 1935
- Architect
- Walter J. Hall, Raymond Viner Hall
- Architecture
- Modern Movement, Wrightian
- Added
- February 7, 2007
Facts from the source article.
Background
Walter J. Hall, a self-taught practitioner of the Modernist Movement, designed and built Lynn Hall in phases, completing the first in 1935. The building’s slight resemblance to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater is no coincidence: in 1936, Walter was asked to join the Fallingwater project as general manager and chief stone mason. After Walter’s death in 1952, his son Raymond Viner Hall closed the restaurant and transformed the entire building into a studio. There, Raymond developed his own style of organic architecture—dubbed Allegheny Modernism—and apprenticed dozens of aspiring architects. Raymond’s work can be found locally and regionally. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 2007. Today, rehabilitation efforts aim to restore Lynn Hall to its former glory, offering short-term rental suites with period furnishings, art, and modern luxuries.
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