A Remarkable Partnership

The Martin House grew from an exceptional collaboration between Darwin D. Martin and Frank Lloyd Wright. Martin was a highly accomplished business and civic leader, and Wright was an architect then relatively unknown outside architectural circles in Chicago and the Midwest. In 1902, Martin invited Wright to Buffalo to discuss designing an administrative headquarters for his firm, the Larkin Company, a burgeoning soap manufacturing and mail-order conglomerate, and he was also interested in building a new home for his wife Isabelle and their family. Recognizing Wright's genius, Martin commissioned him for both projects, the two most important works of the architect's early career. Martin gave Wright a nearly unlimited budget for the construction of his city estate, and Wright responded with a unique residential complex in which the buildings integrate with the site and surrounding landscape. Martin became a reliable patron and fervent supporter, and their enduring friendship, built on mutual respect, had a lasting impact on Wright throughout his prolific professional life. Wright's Larkin Administration Building, his first major commercial project, was completed in 1906 and was celebrated for technical innovations that also supported employee welfare; although it was demolished in 1950, it is considered a monument of twentieth century architecture. In later years Martin asked Wright to design Graycliff, a summer cottage for his family on the bluffs above Lake Erie, completed in 1931 in Derby, New York, 22 miles southwest of the Martin House. Together, the Martin House and Graycliff reflect the unique, long-lasting relationship between one architect and one family.

Buffalo, New York · United States