D. D. Martin House - Buffalo, NY
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 56.153 W 078° 50.883
17T E 675587 N 4755941
The Darwin D. Martin House is one of several houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo. It is considered by many to be his finest prairie style house.
Waymark Code: WM41R9
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 06/24/2008
Views: 78
After losing his mother in a tragic death while he was young, Darwin Martin yearned someday to have his whole family close to him in a complex of houses. After starting off as a "soap slinger" for the Larkin Company, he gradually worked his way up to become a high ranking executive. William Heath, another Larkin executive, urged Martin to visit Chicago to see some of the houses Wright built there. Martin immediately fell in love with his designs and immediately commissioned Wright to build a house for his sister and brother-in-law. The Barton House is located adjacent to what would eventually become the Martin House complex of buildings.
After completion of the Barton House, work commenced on Martin's house which would include a pergola, conservatory and carriage house. The complex was completed in 1905 and Martin and his wife lived there until their deaths. Martin's wife was never fond of the poor natural lighting and wide open plan, so they had Wright design a summer home for them a short distance away on the shores of Lake Erie.
In total, Martin was responsible for over 15 of the projects Wright designed. Martin and Wright were close friends throughout their lives, with Martin bailing out Wright financially on several occasions later on in his career. Darwin Martin died in 1935 and his wife Isabelle moved to their summer house permanently because she wasn't able to maintain this house by herself.
The house was eventually sold, and was almost demolished in the 1940s. A local architect bought it in 1955, but in order to maintain it, he sold off the land which contained the pergola, conservatory and carriage house. The new owner of those properties promptly demolished those buildings in order to build three apartment buildings. The University of Buffalo bought the house in 1966 and was used by the university president as his personal home for many years.
Finally in 2001, the Darwin House Restoration Committee acquired the house and adjacent properties with the hopes of restoring the entire complex to its original state. In early 2007, the entire pergola, conservatory and carriage house were rebuilt and looks just like it did back in the early 1900s. Following that, restoration work began on the house and was completed earlier this year. Work is now underway to restore the Barton House and build a new visitors center.
City, State or City, Country: Buffalo, NY
Year Built: 1904
Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright
Webpage from GreatBuildings.com or other approved listing: [Web Link]
Other website with more information about building: [Web Link]
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