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"To Europeans these buildings on paper seem uninhabitable; but they derive height and air by quite other means, and respect an ancient tradition, the only one here worthy of respect -- the prairie."

Frank Lloyd Wright
Studies and Executed Buildings ("Wasmuth folios")
(View more Quotations) 

Index of Buildings

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Graphics links are still being replaced so please check back later.

I started this site in 1998 to journal my visits to buildings designed by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. In addition to posting my own entries I am posting journal entries with photographs by other interested Wright enthusiasts. If you have original photographs of one or more Frank Lloyd Wright buildings and would like to see your photographs and notes posted on the web just leave a comment on this page and I will contact you. All postings will be fully credited and the copyright will remain with the contributor.

David Sides

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.

Joseph Euchtman Residence

On a business trip to Baltimore I stopped by to snap a few pictures of this 2-bedroom Usonian house. The lot has an unusual wedge shape and Wright used it to provide a high degree of privacy. Not much was visible from the street. You can see the siding has been painted.

Bartlesville Community Center

The Bartlesville Community Center was designed by Wesley Peters, a Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice. The building is located across the street from the Price Tower.

A series of photographs walking around the building.

A view of the Price Tower from the Bartlesville Community Center.
No, the tower is not leaning, but I evidently was by the end of this long travel day!

Harold Price, Jr. Residence

I debated about making an entry for this building at the website since I was not able to obtain any photographs of it on my trip to Bartlesville. The address is not listed in The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion and the personnel at the Price Tower told me that there was no view of the building available to the public. I cruised the street that it is supposedly located on, but was not able to find the house. There are evidently tours or events hosted there occasionally, so if you've attended one and have any photographs you'd like to share please let me know.

Price Tower

Unlike many Wright buildings that I've enjoyed searching out over the years, the Price Tower stands out in the landscape and is easy to find. It ranks high on my list of favorite Wright buildings next toFallingwater, Taliesin East and Taliesin West.

I may write more later, but I wanted to get the photographs posted.

See the official website for the Price Tower for additional information.

There is a book available on the Price Tower: Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and the Skyscraper

Bartlesville Community Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's apprentice Wesley Peters, is across the steet from the Price Tower.

See below for information about Bruce Goff, a well known organic-style architect with several buildings in Bartlesville and elsewhere.

All photographs were taken in the late afternoon.

The view from across the street with the sun in the background.

The entryway to the building. It houses a museum as well as a hotel.

Looking up the building. The fire escape is on the left side of the photograph.

The antenna on top of the building.

Some details as viewed from the ground.

The supports for the parking carport in front of the building.
These reminded me of the supports that I saw at Florida Southern College.

This is the view from the Bartlesville Community Center.

The Walt Whitman inscription inside the building.

Bruce Goff

The Price Tower has the Shin'En Kan Gate by Bruce Goff on display.

There is more information about the exhibit at the Price Tower website page

If you'd like to learn more about Bruce Goff the following links may be useful:

A Film of Bruce Goff Buildings
Bruce Goff at greatbuildings.com
Article at Architecture Week
Friends of Kebyar
Bruce Goff Castle (Bed and Breakfast in Southern Illinois)

There is a booklet available (~ $18) from the Price Tower Arts Center Free Thought: The Art and Architecture of Bruce Goff that includes a listing and map of Bruce Goff designed homes in the Bartlesville area. If you happen to be touring and take photographs I would welcome the chance to start a Bruce Goff gallery.