Massaro family wins 2026 USModernist Pinnacle Award for Petra Island preservation

The Massaro family received the 2026 USModernist Pinnacle Award in June for preserving and completing Frank Lloyd Wright’s Petra Island design on a private lake island in Mahopac, New York. The honor spotlights a decades-long effort to turn a long-unbuilt Wright concept into a toured architectural landmark.

Why it matters: - The award recognizes one family's role in preserving a Frank Lloyd Wright design that sat unbuilt for 50 years. - Petra Island now gives the public a rare chance to visit a Wright house that would otherwise exist only on paper. - The site is one of the closest Frank Lloyd Wright home experiences to New York City that is open for touring.

What happened: - The Massaro family was honored this past June with the 2026 USModernist Pinnacle Award. - USModernist founder George Smart presented the award to Joe Massaro and the Massaro family. - The award recognized the family's preservation work on Petra Island and their effort to bring Wright’s design to life. - The Massaro House and the Chahroudi House are open for tours today.

The details: - Frank Lloyd Wright drafted the Petra Island residence plans in 1950. - The design remained unbuilt for 50 years and stayed as blueprints in a closet belonging to the original owners. - Joe Massaro worked with architect Thomas Heinz and contractor Lidia Wusatowska to build the home. - The project includes about 5,000 square feet of cantilevered concrete, mahogany and glass. - Smart said the house was brought up to code on a granite outcrop reachable only by boat. - Massaro said he installed the copper panels, the light rails around the patios and the air-conditioning ductwork himself. - Massaro said he lived in the house for 20 years before realizing other people would want to visit it. - Petra Island is a naturally heart-shaped island that is reached only by boat. - Massaro said the lake had not frozen in years, adding to the site's difficulty. - The family has spent the past four seasons offering public guided tours. - The Chahroudi House and the Massaro House are the two Frank Lloyd Wright homes closest to New York City that are open for touring. - Petra Island also includes the original Chahroudi Cottage, which Frank Lloyd Wright visited.

Between the lines: - The award is also a recognition of private preservation work that made a major architectural landmark available to the public. - The project shows how long-delayed modernist designs can still become active cultural sites when owners commit time, money and technical work. - Smart said thousands of people have now stood inside a Wright-designed space that would otherwise have remained unrealized.

What's next: - Petra Island will continue to offer tours of the Massaro House and Chahroudi House. - More information is available through the Petra Island website or by contacting visitus@wrightoverwater.com. - Petra Island Tours also maintains social channels on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X.

The bottom line: - The Massaro family turned a long-unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright vision into a public architectural destination, and USModernist is calling that effort award-worthy.