Glass House facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Glass House

Location	798–856 Ponus Ridge Road, New Canaan, Connecticut
Public transit access	New Canaan

The Glass House, also known as the Johnson House, is a famous historic house museum in New Canaan, Connecticut. It was built between 1948 and 1949. The house was designed by the well-known architect Philip Johnson to be his own home. Many people consider it his most important work.

The Glass House is often compared to the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Even though the Farnsworth House was finished later in 1951, Johnson had seen models of it. He even helped organize an exhibit about Mies van der Rohe's work at the Museum of Modern Art in 1947.

This building was a very important project for Johnson and for modern architecture. It shows how simple structures, shapes, and the use of clear and reflective materials can create amazing effects. The property also has other buildings designed by Johnson, showing his work over many years. In 1997, it was named a National Historic Landmark. Today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation owns the Glass House. You can take guided tours, which start at a visitor center in downtown New Canaan.

The house is a great example of using new industrial materials like glass and steel in home design. Philip Johnson lived in this weekend retreat for 58 years. For 45 of those years, he lived with his partner, David Whitney. Whitney was an art critic and curator who helped design the gardens and collected much of the art displayed there.

What Makes the Glass House Special?

The Glass House

The Glass House is mostly hidden from the street. It sits behind a stone wall on a hill overlooking a pond on Johnson's property. Paths of grass and gravel lead to the building. The house is about 56 feet (17 meters) long, 32 feet (9.8 meters) wide, and 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) high.

The main living areas, like the kitchen, dining, and sleeping spaces, were all in one large glass room. Johnson first lived here, along with a separate brick guest house. Later, the glass building was used mostly for entertaining guests. The outside walls of the Glass House are made of charcoal-painted steel and glass. The brick floor is about 10 inches (25 cm) above the ground.

Inside, the space is open and divided by low walnut cabinets. A round brick structure holds the bathroom and is the only part that reaches from floor to ceiling.

Inspiration Behind the Design

The house uses ideas from German architects of the 1920s who explored "glass architecture." Johnson famously said that the landscape outside was his "very expensive wallpaper." He was also inspired by Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House. The Glass House even has furniture designed by Mies.

Johnson once said his idea for the Glass House came from seeing a "burnt wooden village" where only foundations and brick chimneys remained. The landscape around the house was carefully designed by Johnson and Whitney. They created manicured areas, grouped trees, and shaped the ground. This design was partly inspired by a painting called The Funeral of Phocion by Nicolas Poussin. Johnson designed the views from the glass walls to look like the painting. The estate overlooks a river valley to the west. The northern and southern views also match the painting's style.

History of the Glass House

A model of the Glass House on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City

Philip Johnson spent three years designing the Glass House. It was originally one of two buildings on an 11-acre (4.5-hectare) piece of land. The other building was the brick guest house.

The Glass House made Philip Johnson famous, not just among architects but also with the general public. It was featured in magazines like Life and the New York Times Magazine. Michael Sorkin wrote in 1978 that Johnson was good at getting attention. The Glass House helped establish Johnson as a leader of the Modernist style in 1949. Life magazine noted in 1949 that Johnson lived alone, "accompanied only by weather, paintings and books."

The house became so well-known that a police officer was once stationed nearby to keep people from trespassing. Johnson even put up a sign asking visitors to respect his privacy. A New York Times critic, Nicolai Ouroussoff, wrote in 2007 that the Glass House was "once one of the most famous houses in the United States." He added that its fame helped make Modernism popular among wealthy people.

The house also caused a stir with Mies van der Rohe, who was reportedly upset when he saw it. Even though Johnson's house was finished before Mies's Farnsworth House, many people felt Johnson's design was inspired by Mies's work. Johnson himself admitted his debt to Mies in a 1950 interview.

Before becoming an architect, Philip Johnson was involved in journalism and politics. He later changed his path and entered architecture school. He was investigated by the FBI for some of his earlier contacts, but was cleared and served in the Army during World War II.

For many years, students from Yale University's architecture program would try to sneak onto the property. It was a kind of tradition to see how long they could explore before David Whitney found them and asked them to leave.

After Philip Johnson's Lifetime

Johnson wanted his estate to be a public monument. He even built a structure called "Da Monsta" to be a visitor pavilion. However, after his death, the National Trust decided to build the visitor center in downtown New Canaan instead.

The Glass House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1997. Philip Johnson passed away in the house on January 25, 2005, at the age of 98. His partner, David Whitney, died later that same year. Whitney left money to help support the site's programs and upkeep. Johnson had given ownership of the Glass House to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It opened to the public in April 2007. The Trust also bought more land, expanding the property to 200 acres (81 hectares).

When the Glass House estate first opened for tours in 2007, tickets sold out very quickly. By July 2010, 15,000 people had visited.

Other Buildings on the Estate

The Brick House served as a guest house

Interior of Sculpture Gallery

The Study

Johnson's large estate includes 14 other buildings he designed. These include:

• The "Brick House" (1949–1950), which was a guest house.
• The Pavilion on the Pond (1962).
• The Painting Gallery (1965), which holds 20th-century American art.
• The Sculpture Gallery (1970), also with 20th-century American art.
• The Study (1980).
• The Ghost House (1982).
• The Kirstein Tower (1985), named after his friend, choreographer Lincoln Kirstein.
• "Da Monsta" (1995).

The buildings on the property have different shapes, some rectangular and some circular. The Glass House itself is rectangular, but it has a round brick fireplace inside. The Brick House is also rectangular and faces the Glass House. However, a round concrete sculpture by Donald Judd and small circular pools nearby help balance the straight lines.

Some buildings had specific uses: the Glass House was for entertaining, the Study for working, and the galleries for showing art. Johnson called some of his other buildings "follies" because their size or shape made them hard to use. Examples include the low-ceilinged Pavilion on the Pond and the Ghost House. The Ghost House is made of chain-link fencing on an old barn foundation, with lilies planted inside. It was inspired by his friend, architect Frank Gehry. Johnson also remodeled three other existing houses on the estate.

Painting Gallery: Art Underground

Entrance to the Painting Gallery

The Painting Gallery is built underground. Its entrance looks like the ancient Tomb of Agamemnon. Inside, large 20th-century paintings by artists like Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Julian Schnabel, Andy Warhol, and Cindy Sherman are displayed. They are on a system of three revolving racks covered in carpet. Johnson and Whitney collected a lot of art over 40 years. Much of it was later given to the Museum of Modern Art. The gallery still has an 8-foot-tall portrait of Johnson by Andy Warhol. This portrait shows the same thoughtful image of the architect nine times in a grid. Whitney, who was an art curator and friend to many artists, played a big role in building the art collection.

Da Monsta: A Unique Shape

"Da Monsta"

The red and black "Da Monsta" building has no right angles and is made from a special concrete called gunite. It is one of the few structures you can see from the road. Near it is a 20-foot (6.1-meter) high entrance gate made from a sailboat boom. In a 1997 documentary, Johnson talked about the buildings on his property as his "diary," focusing on "Da Monsta" as his newest creation. Johnson was a friend and supporter of architects Frank Gehry and Peter Eisenman, and their influence can be seen in Da Monsta's shape. Johnson said his idea for Da Monsta came from a museum design by his artist friend Frank Stella. He even first named it "Dresden Zwei" (Dresden Two) and gave a model to Stella. The name "Da Monsta" came from a conversation with an architecture critic, as Johnson felt the house seemed alive.

Visiting the Glass House

Visitor center in downtown New Canaan

Tour groups are limited to 15 people. The tour includes a 3/4-mile (1.2-km) walk through the estate. Tours start and end at the Visitor Center in downtown New Canaan, Connecticut. This center is across from the train station. Vehicles take each group to the Glass House site.

"Standard" tours last 90 minutes, and you cannot use flash photography. There is also a "pure glass tour" that only visits the main house and lasts an hour. Longer tours are two hours and cost more. Tours are also offered at twilight and as "personalized" tours. Special events include picnics, film festivals, and "Conversations in Context." These events feature important people in architecture and design and take place inside the Glass House for a limited number of guests.

The Visitor Center is designed to match Johnson's simple style. It has a "media wall" with 24 computer screens showing multiple videos at once. These videos are not meant to be watched in any specific order. They show different parts of the architecture, art, landscaping, and other features of the estate. Each screen shows a video loop about a different theme, with quotes from Johnson, Whitney, or their friends.

Besides regular tours, special tours are available for architects, artists, and museum curators. These special tours might spend more time in the Painting Gallery and Sculpture Gallery.

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