Suntop Homes

I was on the west side of Philadelphia on other business and took the opportunity to locate and photograph the Suntop Homes. As you can see from the photographs, it was difficult to see much because of the trees surrounding the homes. A wooden fence surrounds the entire grouping of four homes, and there were private residences on all sides. The owners of one unit were working on renovating it at the time I stopped by and they gave me permission to photograph the outside of the building. 

Wright called these units his "Ardmore Experiment" and each has a roof terrace ("suntop"). Instead of stacking units on top of each other like an condominium complex, these are divided into quadrants. In today's market I suspect they would be called townhomes, but even then the quadrant arrangement would be unusual. 

You can see the dumpster that was parked in the driveway in this photograph.
You also get a feel that glass is heavily used in the homes.

The homes are not very visible. This is the view as you walk up the block towards them.

And this is the view from across the street.

And from across the street and up the block.

From the end of the visible driveway.

There are four units in the complex according the Storrer.
Of course the black and white photographs in his book look quite different because the trees were not grown.
This driveway leads to one that is not visible from the street.

This is the carport for one of the homes beside the home being renovated.

As you can see the fence needs some repair work.

This is a closer view of the entrance to the unit being renovated.

Another site with Suntop Homes pictures. I can't say it was an awe inspiring visit, but I'm sure the residents appreciate the privacy of the homes, especially with FLW fans like myself coming around.