Buffalo: Frank Lloyd Wright

I was surprised on our recent trip to Buffalo to learn that the city has the highest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings outside of Oak Park in Chicago. A few of them have sadly been demolished over the years—including one of his first commercial commissions, the Larkin Administration Building. Darwin Martin was an executive at the Larkin Soap company, and in addition to the administration building, he commissioned Wright to build two houses in Buffalo—a primary residence, and a vacation home on Lake Erie.

The Martin House complex comprises multiple structures, including a main house connected via pergola to a conservatory, carriage house with chauffeur's quarters and stables, gardener's cottage and the Barton House, which was built for Martin's sister. All of these are done in Wright's Prairie style of architecture and are considered to be some of his best examples of this style.

Before the house was designated as a landmark in 1986, it was in a sorry state of disrepair, and three of the original buildings were demolished (they have since been expertly rebuilt). There is still ongoing restoration work, especially in some of the interiors, but it's a beautiful, sprawling complex that seems just as visionary and modern today as it must have felt when it was built in the early 1900s.

The Greycliff Estate was the Martins' summer home, and is in an earlier state of the restoration process than the Martin House. Most of the interior is gutted, and after the Martins died their family sold the house to the Piarist Fathers, an order of Roman Catholic Priests from Hungary. The lakefront backyard has fallen victim to a receding shoreline, but it's not hard to see why the Martins were smitten with the view.

Greycliff reminded me somewhat of Falling Water and Kentuck Knob in its connection and consideration of the surrounding landscape. You can see that even in the 1920s Wright had begun to experiment with his corners of glass that he would perfect for Falling Water.

Of course everyone knows FLW for his houses and commercial structures, but I had no idea until our trip that he also designed a mausoleum. The Blue Sky Mausoleum was the last of four Martin commissions. It was conceived between 1925-1928, but wasn't built when Darwin Martin died in 1935. In 2004, Forest Lawn Cemetery finally realized Wright's vision with help from his notes, drawings and a Wright-trained architect.

Like most things Wright designed, the mausoleum is not a traditional "box" structure, but instead is integrated into the sloping landscape. It appears as if only two people are currently housed in the mausoleum, which includes twenty-four, double-tier crypts. After having a transformative experience at Falling Water, I wasn't sure it was possible to respect FLW's portfolio any more, but finding out that he dipped his toe into the world of cemetery architecture definitely makes me even more of a fan.*

EDIT* I had no idea when I posted this that today is FLW's 149th birthday - HBD FLW!