Darwin
D. Martin House Complex - Table of Contents
Landscaping
- Darwin D. Martin House Complex
September 28, 2011 photo.
Left: Carriage House .... Middle background: Martin bird houses sit atop the corners of the Conservatory ... Right: Martin House
June 2018 photo.
Copper Beech sapling chosen by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905 ... Looking east on Jewett Avenue ... Martin House in left background
June 2018 photo ... Copper Beech
June 2018 photo.
Colors for the Reception room may have been influenced by copper beeches
Partial reprint
Restoring landscaping at the Darwin Martin House
By WKBW Staff, May 30, 2018 (online July 2019)
Crews have begun work to restore the Frank Lloyd Wright designed landscape at the Darwin Martin House estate in Buffalo.
Local and state leaders were on hand Wednesday morning for the ceremonial turning of the soil.
The project will be primarily funded by Phase 2 of the Buffalo Billion and is the final stage of a more than two-decades long restoration effort that reflects a $50 million dollar investment in the National Historic Landmark and New York State Historic Site.
Restoring the landscaping is essential for the complete restoration of the estate, because Wright intertwined both architecture and landscaping in his design. Wright is described as having created homes in harmony with nature, taking an integrated design approach unifying buildings, their interior decorative elements and exterior landscape in an organic style.
Under Wright's design, gardens took on the character of outdoor rooms.
Scheduled for completion this fall, landscape elements to be created include:
The total estimated cost of this restoration project is $50 million, which includes design and construction of a visitor center – the Eleanor and Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion – an award-winning building adjacent to the historic site. The restoration effort was supported by $24 million in funding from New York State, beginning in 1993. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo closed the gap on capital funding as part of a recent $5 million commitment included Buffalo Billion Phase 2 awards. Those final funds will be used primarily to rehabilitate the historic landscape and to preserve the Barton House, a secondary residence on the estate.
- Restoration of the visual and spatial relationships between the site's architectural and landscape features.
- Recreation of the floricycle, the most intricately designed element of Wright's plan which was aided by his apprentice Walter Burley Griffin.
- Replacement of vegetative screening elements; naturalistic shrub massing's; selected ornamental flowering shrub focal points; vine trellises; urn, fountain, and box plantings; and perennial gardens.
- Reinstallation of the English border gardens that flanked the pergola, contrasting the more naturalistic plantings that defined the boundaries of the historic property.
- Redefinition of the outdoor "rooms" and architectonic garden elements conceived by Wright and Griffin.
- Preservation of the mature Copper beech tree—one of only two remaining vegetative features from the historic period.
- Replacement of trees at historic locations on the property, as well as the return of street trees along the borders of Jewett Parkway and Summit Avenue in conjunction with the City of Buffalo.
June 2019 photos
June 2019 photo ... Left: Greatbatch Pavilion
June 2019 photo ... Porte-cochere
June 2019 photo.
June 2019 photo.
June 2019 photo ... Looking kitty corner: Church of the Good Shepherd
June 2019 photo ... Looking east toward Summit Avenue (detail below:)
June 2019 photo ... Looking east toward Summit Avenue
June 2019 photo ... Barton House
June 2019 photo ... Barton House
August 19, 2020 photos
August 19, 2020 photo ... Far left: Greatbatch Pavilion ... Martin House south elevation facing Jewett Avenue ... Far right: Barton House
August 19, 2020 photo ... Greatbatch Pavilion Visitors Center in background
August 19, 2020 photo ... Left side of the porte cochere
August 19, 2020 photo ... Permeable walkway between the Greatbatch Pavilion Visitors Center and the driveway
August 19, 2020 photo ... Greatbatch Pavilion Visitors Center in left background
August 19, 2020 photo ... First floor reception room at left
August 19, 2020 photo ... Detail below:
August 19, 2020 photo ... Hydrangeas in bloom
August 19, 2020 photo ... Verandah at right
August 19, 2020 photo ... One of a number of urns that are part of an integrated design approach unifying buildings, their interior decorative elements and exterior landscape in an organic style.
August 19, 2020 photo ... Front right corner of the house ... House in background is on Jewett; used as Martin House Restoration Corp. administrative offices
August 19, 2020 photo ... Background: Church of the Good Shepherd
August 19, 2020 photo ... East side of the Pergola
August 19, 2020 photo ... West side of the Pergola and Martin House ... Posts supported outdoor laundry lines