Isabel Martin Residence (Graycliff)

Unfortunately, the timing of my transit on a business trip did not allow me to take the tour of Graycliff, but the docent in the gift shop was kind and allowed me to step out and take a quick photograph of the buildings. The restoration is in progress as you'll see. Visit the official web site for Graycliff and definitely take the tour if you're in the area. (About 40 minutes from Buffalo.) You may want to check out the Darwin Martin Complex while you're in Buffalo.

The visitor's center and gift shop used to be the gymnasium.

Walter V. Davidson Residence

This is a private residence not far from the Darwin Martin Complex. Note the tree damage from a early heavy snow storm about a week earlier.

William R. Heath Residence

This prairie style house was built not long after the Darwin Martin Complex and is privately owned. Buffalo had a major early snow storm about a week earlier so you'll see some tree damage in some of the photos.

Unique art glass common in FLLW's prairie houses.

Darwin D. Martin Complex

While in transit to Erie, Pennsylvania on a business trip I was able to take an afternoon in Buffalo to tour the Darwin Martin Complex and visit some other Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the area. You can learn more about the Darwin Martin Complex at the official web site.

The Darwin Martin Complex consists of four buildings in addition to the George Barton Residence. The Martin house is being restored and the Pergola, Conservatory, and Carriage House/Stable are being rebuilt as they had been demolished. As Sandy, our tour guide noted, these are the only Frank Lloyd Wright buildings that have been rebuilt (vs. being restored.) The total effort is costing $35 million!

The following photograph shows the "martin houses" on top of the Conservatory. A taste of Wright's sense of humor.

The front door is hidden between the two left urns.

In the next photograph, notice the gutters that follow the prarie style horizontal line. There are no downspouts, but instead there are catch basins on the ground. You can also see some of the art glass windows.

The next photograph is of a decal in a window to indicate what will be there eventually as the building is restored. There are examples inside the building where this is done (wallpaper) including the glass mosaic around the hearth. This will be a magnificant building to tour when it is completed, but it is fascinating to see the restoration process underway too.

This is an art glass window ("tree of life" pattern) on the upper story.

Compare the urns in the following photograph with the nearby William Heath Residence.

Wanted a place to slip this in: Buffalo viewed from the south shore of Lake Erie.

George Barton Residence

This building is part of the Darwin Martin Complex, but since it is listed separately in Storrer's book I list it separately here. Our tour guide, Sandy, said that the house was built before the Martin house as something of a test for Frank Lloyd Wright by Darwin Martin. The house was built on time, but significantly over budget. Fortunately for both Wright and Martin, they had developed a friendship, so the budget was not the obstacle that it might have been otherwise. Frank Lloyd Wright was not noted for maintaining a budget, either for his clients or for himself.

This is the back of the house. As you'll see throughout all of the photos this is a site under construction. There were about a dozen workers on site during the tour.

The Darwin Martin Complex is the source of some of the best known Frank Lloyd Wright window patterns.

The following photograph shows how the Barton House is positioned relative to the Martin House.