McLean, Va.:
Wright designed this house overlooking the Potomac River for National Geographic writer and photographer Luis Marden and his mathematician wife Ethel in 1952. This tribute to Marden says it all:

"Luis Marden was, besides a brilliant photo-journalist who pioneered 35mm color and underwater photography, a self-taught polymath interested in virtually everything, a linguist who spoke 6 languages and read hieroglyphics, a real renaissance guy who got along with people as diverse as King Hussein of Jordan, Jacques Cousteau, Bushmen and Eskimo hermits. Marden was a connoisseur of the world's diverse cultures, a bibliophile, and an art lover who convinced Frank Lloyd Wright to design a house for him. He was a pilot, an underwater archaeologist who found the HMS Bounty, a sailor who replotted the course of Columbus' maiden voyage. He was a naturalist who discovered a rare orchid and an underwater flea. And he brought it all home beautifully to the readers of the Geographic, whose mission of exploring "the world and all that is in it" he truly embodied."
[source]

I can't imagine a more fitting residence for Marden than an FLW house -- this hemicycle design is very similar to the nearby Robert Llewellyn Wright House.

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Update 12/29/05: Thanks to a recent article in the Washington Post Magazine and imagery from Windows Live Local, I have discovered that I had incorrectly placemarked the Marden House (corrected placemark attached). In the GE imagery, the house is almost invisible, and it is dwarfed by its monstrous next door neighbor, "The Falls," the brand new 21,000-square-foot home of AOL founder James V. Kimsey. Fortunately, Kimsey bought the Marden house to protect his view, and it is now being restored, although it will not be open to the public. Click here to view the article and photos.
P. S. I just discovered that Marden's name for the house was "Fontinalis."


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Edited by Yellowstone (12/29/05 06:04 AM)