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:
  • 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.
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.





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   ...   BackgroundChurch 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






Special thanks to the following for their cooperation:   Executive Director Mary F. Roberts, Director of Operations Margaret P. Stehlik, and Marketing Manager Caitlin Deibel

Photographs by Chuck LaChiusa
Photos © 2018 Martin House Restoration Corporation


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