2025 marked 90 years since Walter J. Hall began work on the first phase of what would become Lynn Hall, a dream he and his wife Beda shared. Together, they envisioned a “Country Inn” where they would raise their family and run a roadside restaurant. The timing for such an undertaking was propitious. The Allegheny had recently been designated a National Forest — the only one in Pennsylvania — and ecotourists, campers and hikers alike couldn’t wait to visit. And Lynn Hall would be right on the way.

Sadly Beda passed away just as they were breaking ground. But Walter was determined to bring their grand vision to fruition. It is doubtful he could foresee that 90 years later Lynn Hall would be recognized as an important piece of American architecture. Nor could he imagine his dream would result in the job of a lifetime working with one of the 20th Century’s greatest architects — Frank Lloyd Wright on Fallingwater a year later.

It is unclear how Walter — a boy from a rural area with no formal training — could achieve such a feat. What we do know is that as early as 1904, he was known locally as a builder of the modern style. So, what led him to experiment with the early use of cantilevered concrete floor and roof-lines, tapestry stone work, Japanese-influenced aesthetics that were only just being considered, or his use of re-purposed and found materials that led to Modernism’s ultimate organic appeal? It’s obvious he was a genius with an inquiring mind. We also like to think it was his commitment to his beloved Beda to create a stately home and welcoming inn, that would stand — and celebrate — the test of time.

Walter and the Port Allegany crew at Fallingwater circa 1936

Lynn Hall seemingly emerges from the hillside