Darwin D. Martin House facts for kids

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Darwin D. Martin House Complex
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark


Location	125 Jewett Parkway, Buffalo, New York
Built	1903–1905
Architect	Frank Lloyd Wright
Architectural style	Prairie School
NRHP reference No.	86000160
Added to NRHP	1975
Designated NHL	1986

The Darwin D. Martin House Complex is a famous historic house museum in Buffalo, New York. It was designed by the well-known architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The buildings were constructed between 1903 and 1905. This house is seen as one of Wright's most important works from his "Prairie School" period.

History of the Martin House
Design and Style
The Complex Buildings
Gallery of Drawings
Decline and Restoration
- Restoring the Martin House
See also

History of the Martin House

The Martin House Complex was built for a businessman named Darwin D. Martin. It was also home to his wife and family. His sister, Delta, and her husband, George F. Barton, also had a house in the complex.

Darwin Martin and his brother, William, owned a company together. In 1902, William asked Wright to design his home. Darwin was so impressed by his brother's house that he visited Wright's studio. He then convinced Wright to visit his property in Buffalo. Darwin planned to build two houses there.

In 1904, Martin helped choose Wright to design the Larkin Administration Building. This was Wright's first big business project. Because Martin worked for the Larkin Soap Company, Wright also designed homes for other Larkin employees. He even designed a factory for Martin's company in 1905.

Wright designed the complex as a group of connected buildings. It included the main Martin House and a long walkway called a pergola. The pergola connected to a conservatory (a type of greenhouse). There was also a carriage house and a smaller home for Martin's sister, the George Barton House. A gardener's cottage was the last building finished.

Martin wanted a bigger conservatory. He had a 60-foot-long greenhouse built. This greenhouse was not designed by Wright. Martin even turned down Wright's offer to "put a little architecture on it."

Wright and Martin became good friends over the next twenty years. The Martins even helped Wright with money and support.

Later, in 1926, Wright designed another big project for the Martin family. This was Graycliff, a summer home by Lake Erie. Wright also designed the Blue Sky Mausoleum for the Martins in 1928. It was never built then, but it was finally put in Buffalo's Forest Lawn Cemetery in 2004.

Design and Style

Nike of Samothrace statue at Darwin D. Martin House conservatory

The Martin House shows off Wright's "Prairie School" style. It is similar to other famous homes he designed. Wright loved the Martin House design very much. He called it his "opus" and a "well-nigh perfect composition." He even kept the Martin site plan near his drawing board for 50 years.

Wright wanted to make houses with fewer separate rooms. He wanted light, air, and views to flow through the whole house. This created a feeling of togetherness.

In 1901, Wright published a house design called "A Home in a Prairie Town." The Martin House, designed in 1903, looks very much like that design. The outside walls are almost the same.

A special feature of the complex is its 394 stained glass windows. Wright designed fifteen different patterns for them. Some windows have over 750 tiny pieces of colorful glass. They act like "light screens" that connect the inside of the house with the outside views. More art glass designs were made for the Martin House than any other of Wright's Prairie Houses.

The grounds around the house were designed by Walter Burley Griffin. They were made to fit the building's design. A round garden with many different plants surrounded the Martin House porch. The plants were chosen to bloom all growing season. The garden also had two sculptures by Wright's friend, Richard Bock.

The Complex Buildings

The complex is in the Parkside East Historic District of Buffalo. This area was planned by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1876. Darwin Martin bought the land in 1902. Building started in 1903 and finished in 1907. The original Martin House Complex was about 29,080 square feet.

The Martin House

The Martin House was built between 1902 and 1905. It is different from Wright's other prairie style houses. It is unusually large and has an open layout. On the first floor, an entry hall divides the house. To the right, a large living room sits behind a double-sided fireplace. A dining room and library are on either side of the living room. They create one long, open space. The living room also opens onto a large covered porch. To the left of the entry hall are a reception room, the kitchen, and smaller rooms.

Martin did not set a budget for the house. Wright is thought to have spent nearly $300,000. For comparison, Martin's brother's house cost about $5,000. The Ladies' Home Journal house design was estimated at $7,000.

The Martin House is at the south end of the complex, at 125 Jewett Parkway in Buffalo.

The Barton House

Building the Barton House started first, in 1903. It was the first building in the complex to be finished. It was also Wright's first building in Buffalo. The main living areas are in the middle, two-story part of the house. The reception, living, and dining areas all open into each other. The two main bedrooms are on the second floor. On the first floor, the kitchen is at the north end. A porch extends from the reception hall to the south.

The Barton House is on the east side of the complex, at 118 Summit Avenue, Buffalo.

The Carriage House

The carriage house first held horses and carriages. But it soon became a garage for cars. It also had an apartment upstairs for a driver. The carriage house also held the heating system for the whole complex. It was built between 1903 and 1905. The original building was torn down in 1962. It was rebuilt during the restoration from 2004 to 2007. The carriage house is at the north end of the complex. It is north of the Martin House entrance and west of the conservatory.

The Gardener's Cottage

Built in 1909, the gardener's cottage is small. It is made of wood and stucco. Wright usually liked to "open up" the boxy shape of traditional houses. But this cottage was too small for that. Still, he made it look like the Martin House by adding tall panels at each corner. The gardener, Reuben Polder, had to bring fresh flowers to every room in the Martin House daily. He did this until Darwin Martin died in 1935.

The gardener's cottage is on the west side of the complex, at 285 Woodward Avenue, Buffalo.

The Conservatory

The conservatory was built for growing plants. It has a glass and metal roof. Brick pillars support the roof. A white statue of the Winged Victory of Samothrace stands at the entrance. It creates a beautiful view through the pergola. The original conservatory was torn down in 1962. It was rebuilt between 2004 and 2007 as part of the restoration. The conservatory is at the north end of the complex. It is between the carriage house and the Barton House.

The Pergola

The pergola is a long walkway. It runs from the Martin House entrance hall to the conservatory entrance. It is about 100 feet (30 meters) long. The original pergola was torn down in 1962. It was rebuilt between 2004 and 2007. The pergola is in the center of the complex. It runs north to south between the Martin House and the conservatory.

Gallery of Drawings

Landscape plan
1916 map of the Martin House complex
1901 illustration
First floor
Second floor

Decline and Restoration

After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, the Martin family lost their money. Darwin Martin died in 1935. The family left the house in 1937. Martin's son tried to give the house to the city or the state university. He wanted it to be a library, but they said no. By 1937, the house was already falling apart. The walls were crumbling, and the conservatory had leaks.

For the next twenty years, the empty house was damaged by vandals. In 1946, the city took over the property because of unpaid taxes. In 1951, a church group bought it. They planned to use it as a summer place for priests, but it stayed empty.

In 1955, an architect named Sebastian Tauriello bought the complex. This saved the house from being torn down. He turned the main house into three apartments. The land was divided. The carriage house, conservatory, and pergola were already in ruins. They were torn down, and new apartment buildings were built in the 1960s.

In 1967, the University at Buffalo bought the complex. They used it as the university president's home. The university continued to sell off parts of the property. The Barton House was sold in 1967, and the gardener's cottage soon after. The university tried to restore the Martin House. But this mostly meant adding modern updates and finding some original furniture. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Restoring the Martin House

The Martin House Restoration Corporation (MHRC) was started in 1992. This group works to bring the complex back to how it looked in 1907. They also want to open it as a public museum. The MHRC bought the Barton House in 1994. In 2002, the Martin House itself was given to the MHRC by the University at Buffalo.

The restoration began with fixing the roof of the Martin House. The Gardener's Cottage was bought in 2006. The carriage house, conservatory, and pergola, which had been torn down, were rebuilt. This part of the project was finished in 2007. The whole restoration cost $50 million and was completed in June 2017. This was the first time a Wright building that had been torn down was rebuilt in the United States.

One of Richard Bock's sculptures, Spring, was copied in 2008. The original is now in the Bock Museum.

Today, the MHRC offers guided tours for the public. They also have educational programs. In 2008, the Gardener's Cottage was finally included in the tours.

A new visitor center, the Eleanor & Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion, opened on March 12, 2009. It was designed by Toshiko Mori.

In June 2017, a special Wisteria Mosaic Fireplace was revealed. It is a 360-degree artwork made of thousands of glass tiles. This marked the end of the $50 million restoration project.