Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired home in Swan Acres in Ross on the market for $425K

A stone gargoyle stands guard outside the house, and it’s one of the first sights you see as you approach the residence in Swan Acres in Ross.

“I like the gargoyle,” said Patty Helwich, realtor with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. “It’s a unique detail. Gargoyles are protectors.”

The home is listed for sale for $425,000.

Helwich describes the residence on Circle Drive as Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired. Its “brickwork and intersecting planes” resemble a Wright design, according to the book “Pittsburgh: A New Portrait” by the late Franklin Toker. In the book, Toker also said that Swan Acres “had its moment of fame in the 1930s as the first totally modern housing development in the nation.”

The house is unique from the gargoyle figurine to the decorative railings that catch your eye as you walk up the steps because of their unusual shape.

“The railings are super cool,” said Helwich.

 

Once inside, the entrance is a glass block wall that partially divides the living room and dining room, which have parquet flooring. The art deco house has a wood-burning stone fireplace in the living room with a built-in bookshelf. The home is gas heat — Swan Acres was the second neighborhood in Pittsburgh to have all gas heat, Helwich said.

 

Built in 1940, the house had an addition put on in 1991.

The current owner utilizes the extra space as a den with numerous bookshelves, plenty of room for furniture and lots of natural light. From that room on the first floor is an operational elevator to the second floor for another bedroom.

 

There is a two car garage – one attached, one integral.

The 2,956-square-foot 11-room house is made of brick.

The kitchen has updated appliances with plenty of cabinets and a nook, perfect for breakfast and a cup of coffee in the morning, Helwich said.

The entire home has plenty of windows and natural light.

A nearby park, which was a gift to Swan Acres, is available for residents use for $120 a year (an optional fee).

There are separate furnace and air conditioner units for the original and new sections of the house, which has four bedrooms, two full, and two half baths.

 

The original rod railings remain on the staircase, which has an added detail of shelves.

There is a cedar-lined closet adjacent to one of the bedrooms and a chute that leads to the first floor laundry room.

The house has a flat rubber roof and a wraparound porch that extends to a patio space in the back of the home. There are copper gutters and downspouts. Some of the casement windows have a diamond-shaped design. A roomy back yard at one time had a pool.

“This house looks really nice at night with all the outdoor lantern lights,” Helwich said. “I love this house. There is something neat around every corner.”