Graycliff

Graycliff: First Floor

The terrace and the living room (living area really) constitute the transparent center of the house on the first floor . One standing in front or behind the center of the house could see through the house to the trees to the south and the esplanade and Lake Erie to the north.

Bedrooms are above the living room on the second floor.

Note
The photographs on this page were taken in August 2000. A limited amount of renovation had taken place by this time. The bulk of the changes are scheduled for 2001. Thus, some of these photos will be out of date after 2000 ends, but hopefully of some long-range interest to viewers. Of more lasting value is the information found in the captions which was gathered primarily in an interview with Conservancy Vice-President Patrick Mahoney.

Click on photos for larger size


Sun Room	Fern bed in fern room.	Detail of the fern bed shows the oversized casement windows. Wright was always loathe to use screens.	Wicker table chosen by Wright from a nearby retail store.

The front terrace closed off to form a chapel by the former occupants, Piarist priests..	Terrace facing east away from the lake. The priests who occupied the house turned the terrace into a chapel in 1956. Front terrace was turned into a chapel by the Piarist priests. See Frank Lloyd Wright's Last Visit To Graycliff,	Terrace. Walls: Tichenor limestone Floor: flagstone	Terrace facing living room and the lake. These doors were added by the priests. During restoration, they will be replaced with the original doors.

The living room looking into the fern room and into the family sun porch beyond it.	Living room facing north towards esplanade and lake. The beams in the ceiling are support beams for the bedrooms above.	Living room. Straight ahead are the fern room and sun room. To the right is the esplanade leading to the stair tower.	Photograph showing living room as it was furnished c. 1935 when the Martins lived here.

Adirondack-style fire place. Note vertical logs	Reproduction Wright-designed floor lamp. Taliesin North lamp reproduction. Original from Sherman Broth house in Glken Coe Illinois	Reproduction Wright-designed plant stand. Artisan: Howard Lehning of East Aurora. Howard Lehning.	Original table to site. . Found by architectural historian John Conlin in the priests' gym in storage The conservancy purchased the table from priests.

Wright-designed hexagonal table. Original to the house.	Reproduction Wright-designed barrel chair. Original from Darwin Martin house in Buffalo.	Bradley & Hubbard designed the lighting fixtures which Wright intended to eventually remove these, although he didn't.	Octagonal hardware used throughout the house was specified by Wright. Very similar to Robie House (Chicago) hardware. .

To the right of the living room: the dining room (dining area, more accurately) fireplace.	Dining area fireplace and shelf.	Dining area picture window and casement windows. Lake Erie is in the background.	Reproduction of Wright-designed dining room chair. Original was designed for the Dana House in Springfield, Ill.
			Graycliff - Table of Contents
Front entry hall.	Front entry hall. Porte cochere pier is visible through windows.	Front entry hall.

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