Built between 1902 and 1905 by Frank Lloyd Wright. What is different from other prairie style houses its the unusually large size and open plan.
Unfortunately the museum does not allow for photos inside the residency.
The original complete Martin House Complex was 29,080 square feet (2,702 m2)
The elongated lines of the walls are emphasized by a reddish-tan Roman brick (custom made for Wright) and with light concrete caps delineating parapets. Red roof tiles attest to Wright’s commitment to natural materials and colors.
The house is based on a modular grid.
The house had a pergola, extending from the main residence on the south. There was conservatory on the north which defines one axis, while the carriage house and the Barton House (residency built for the Martin’s sister in law) each flank the conservatory on a cross axis.
Such intersections of axes determined the interior plans, which are based on a modular grid.
The photo below shows the carriage and the pergola.
A very peculiar detail in this house is that there is a basement. Most of Wright’s house do not have one.
The Barton’s house was also designed by Wright. Back then the house cost $7’000 while the Martin’s $300,000.
What is so interesting and unbelievable is that after Martin died in 1935, the main house stood vacant for 17 years, with all the furniture inside.
In 1954, a local architect, Sebastian Tauriello, bought the Martin House but sold off the land containing the pergola, carriage house, and conservatory, all those buildings which were razed to build a 20-unit apartment complex.
In 1967, the State University of New York at Buffalo purchased the Martin House for its president’s living quarters. They used the house for dorms.
In the early 1990s, with the state’s backing, the nonprofit Martin House Restoration Corporation (MHRC) was created, they were able to raise money to buy the Barton House and restore them both to be use as a museum.
During the restoration they demolishing the apartment buildings and reconstruct the pergola, the conservatory, and the carriage house.
