Before RiverRock, Willoughby Hills Had the Louis Penfield House
Located on the same property as RiverRock, the Louis Penfield House is one of only three Frank Lloyd Wright-built homes in Ohio that is open to the public.
by Julia Lombardo | Mar. 2, 2026 | 5:00 AM
Photographed by Suzuran Photography
RiverRock’s older and wiser neighbor is named after its original owner, a former Mayfield High School art teacher and architecture student at Ohio State University who commissioned both homes from Frank Lloyd Wright. The Louis Penfield House, built in 1955, is unique for its two-floor design, 12-foot ceilings, and open-concept kitchen and living space, all designed to accommodate Penfield’s 6-foot-8 stature. Despite being less compressed and more spread out than most of Wright’s Usonian projects, the home still upholds the same design principles for its deep connections to nature.
“The first time I walked in this house, I felt hugged by something,” says Sarah Dykstra, the current homeowner. “It’s always had a very emotional feel.”
Some restoration efforts by Louis’s son, Paul, emphasized this even more, bringing in black cherry hardwood from fallen trees to update furniture and cabinetry in 2003.
“Not all the shelves and built-ins were what (Paul) grew up with,” Dykstra says. “The banquette seating wasn’t there. He also taught himself how to do veneer and made his own veneer press.”
Located just some yards away from RiverRock, the Louis Penfield House shares the same landscape on the outskirts of the Chagrin River. But the Louis Penfield House employs a warmer color scheme of reds and yellows, contrary to RiverRock’s blues and greens. Its walls and foundation are primarily textured wood and concrete block, while RiverRock highlights natural stones sourced locally from Van Ness Stone Inc. in Newbury, and others that Louis himself pulled from the river.
READ MORE: RiverRock Brings Frank Lloyd Wright’s Final Home Design to Life in Willoughby Hills
At the Louis Penfield House, Buddhist statues in the living room and a bamboo garden just outside the windows, added in the late 2000s to shield the nearby freeway, channel Wright’s enamoration with Japanese culture and architecture while creating globally inspired design that takes your senses to a climate far beyond Ohio’s winters.
“If you look at the house from the outside, it almost looks like a pagoda,” Dykstra says of how the home’s stories are uniquely stacked and broken up with wooden beams. “It goes with the Asian flair.”
RiverRock rendering at the Louis Penfield House. | Photographed by Suzuran Photography
The Cherokee Red tile was considered Frank Lloyd Wright's 'stamp of approval' on his projects. | Photographed by Suzuran Photography.
Frank Lloyd Wright photograph in the Louis Penfield House. | Photographed by Suzuran Photography
But it’s still cohesive, cozy and right at home in Willoughby Hills.
For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.
Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, featuring immersive stories, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.
Julia Lombardo
Julia Lombardo is the editor of Cleveland Magazine’s home and style section and contributes to coverage of arts, culture and dining. She graduated from The Ohio State University in 2023 with an English degree. As both a journalist and poet, she is inspired by stories with creative flair. When she puts down the pen, she enjoys going to concerts, ranking coffee shops and walking aimlessly through wooded trails.
