Duncan House at Polymath Park Resort

W hen they moved into a home in the Laurel Highlands about 13 years ago, Thomas and Heather Papinchak had no idea their neighborhood included two houses with ties to Frank Lloyd Wright. The Balter and Blum family abodes, built by a Wright protégé, weren’t household names, even though they’re located within 30 miles of Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob, the famous retreats Wright designed for the families of magnates Edgar Kaufmann and I.N. Hagan.

The Papinchaks also didn’t foresee they’d eventually acquire the Balter and Blum homes — or that a few years later they’d buy an authentic Wright home originally constructed in suburban Chicago and reassemble it, piece by piece, near the other two in Westmoreland County. Now, thanks to the Papinchaks, the cluster of three restored homes — Wright’s Duncan House and the Blum and Balter homes, designed by Wright apprentice Peter Berndtson — are becoming a western Pennsylvania destination.

The Duncan House is one of only a handful of Wright homes that welcome overnight guests. All three homes offer tours and stays within Polymath Park Resort in Acme, where the Papinchaks ensure the homes stay true to the great American architect’s vision.