Modernism Amid the Allegheny Mountains

The Lynn Hall property and nearby cottage are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are considered early examples of Organic Modern architecture.

It was designed and built by Walter J. Hall –– a self-taught practitioner of the style.

“Food Superlative”

Early advertisments speak of the dining with a 100 mile view and a view of the allegheny river below

Lynn Hall was conceived as a Country Inn, and although the hotel aspect of the project was never realized, it was a popular restaurant and dance hall known throughout the region. Eventually it became the architectural offices for Hall’s son, Ray Viner Hall. Ray would carry on his father’s passion by developing his own style of organic architecture.

***Lynn Hall's restaurant circa 1936.***

The first phase was completed in 1935 just as vast numbers of Americans began taking road trips; Hall hoped to capitalize on this by adding a gas station out front. Tourists traveling Roosevelt Highway 6 (the first transcontinental highway) could stop in to fill up and grab a bite to eat.

Carved out of the mountainside, Lynn Hall overlooks the Allegheny River valley, which considering the tools available in the ’30s presented quite a challenge. Ever the re-purposer, Hall used stone quarried from the property, leftover lumber from barns and recycled railroad tracks to construct the ultimate organic structure.

Interior spring-fed fountain was once stocked with trout for a fine dining experience.

***Phase one/circa 1937 with a restaurant downstairs and dance hall above.***

Walter’s skillful use of horizontal lines, varied ceiling heights, narrow and widening steps and hallways … water features inside and out … cantilever cabinetry … radiant in-floor and in-wall heating … fireplaces that recirculate heat … cisterns fed by natural springs that use gravity to supply water … dozens of signature touches such as mahogany panels with red inlays help create a balance between man and nature.

The first phase was completed in 1935. It was at this time that Walter’s innovative use of poured concrete and mosaic stonework was discovered by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright would ask Walter to join the Fallingwater project as general manager and stone mason after the original two contractors walked off the job due to the difficulty of the design.

***Walter and Ray with their Port Allegany crew at Fallingwater circa 1936.***

Walter and Ray with their Port Allegany crew at Fallingwater c.1936.

Walter, along with a small team of local builders would spend the next two years working on and off on Fallingwater before committing to the completion of his own masterpiece.

Lynn Hall also served as the offices for Walter’s son, Raymond Viner Hall. Raymond would fulfill his father’s dream by developing his own style of organic architecture. In 1952, upon Walter’s death, he closed the restaurant and adapted the entire building into a studio where he apprenticed dozens of aspiring architects in the modernist style. Raymond’s work can be found locally and regionally and is commonly referred to as Allegheny Modernism.

Today, Lynn Hall is being lovingly rehabilitated to its former glory and stands ready to claim its place once again in the story of American modern architecture.

When you visit Lynn Hall, be sure to take notice of the mosaic stonework that seamlessly merges into the terrain and the built-in planter boxes that cap many of the walls and window sills. The affect is a marriage of nature and man-made. Fused glass block produced at the local Pitt/Corning plant draws light into the subterranean spaces. A 30-degree angle — a technique inspired by Japanese Zen Gardens and known as Sakuteiki — is employed in the walkways, terraces and at the ends of the retaining walls, because a 90-degree angle is inconsistent with natures intent. Nestled above Lynn Hall is the Usonian Cottage — a prototype for the work that would become the hallmark of Raymond Viner Hall’s career.