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[Description and dates], Item number, MS 22.0, Architectural Drawings of the Darwin D. Martin House and Graycliff, 1904-1988 (bulk 1904-1930), University Archives, State University of New York at Buffalo.
See the Special Collections' preferred citations instructions for additional information.
Acquisition InformationItems numbered 1-35 were gifts of Darwin R. Martin and Dorothy Martin Foster to the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Items 36-45 were purchased for the University Archives as part of accession 83-033.
Photocopies of additional plans, primarily details of the Martin House, circa 1904-5, 1909, were acquired as part of accession 82-56 and numbered 82-56-1 to 82-56-31.
Plans of the Fireplace Mosaic, Darwin D. Martin House, were reconstructed by students in the School of Architecture, State University of New York at Buffalo in 1988 and located in the basement of Hayes Hall by the archivist around 2005.
Terms of AccessThe Architectural Drawings of the Darwin D. Martin House and Graycliff, 1904-1988 (bulk 1904-1930), are open for research.
CopyrightCopyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.
Items 82-56-1 to 82-56-31 may be consulted for study at the University Archives but as the Archives does not own the originals, the Archives cannot give permission for their reproduction or use outside the Archives.
Alternate FormItems 1-35 have been microfilmed for the University Archives (mf 10).
Digital copies of items 2-5, 8,10, 19, 21-26, 28, and 82-56-3 available on Discs 62-63 in MS 22.91 , Darwin D. Martin Digitization Project, 2007-2008.
Processing InformationProcessed by University Archives staff.
Accruals and AdditionsNo further accruals are expected to this collection.
| 1865 | Darwin D. Martin born - Boucville, Madison Co., New York | |
| 1867 | Frank Lloyd Wright born - Richland Center, Wisconsin | |
| 1869 | Isabelle Reidpath, the future Mrs. Martin, born - Buffalo, New York | |
| 1878 | Brothers Darwin D. Martin and Louis Frank Martin selling soap for Larkin Company in New York City | |
| 1879 | Darwin D. Martin, aged thirteen, begins work at Larkin Company in Buffalo | |
| 1885 | Darwin D. Martin invents cardex | |
| 1887 | Frank Lloyd Wright begins studies at the University of Wisconsin | |
| 1888 | Darwin D. Martin begins building house on Summit Avenue in Buffalo | |
| 1889 | Darwin D. Martin marries Isabelle Reidpath | |
| Frank Lloyd Wright builds Home and Studio in Oak Park | ||
| 1890 | Frank Lloyd Wright joins Alder and Sullivan | |
| Darwin D. Martin replaces Elbert Hubbard as Secretary of Larkin Soap Company | ||
| 1893 | Frank Lloyd Wright starts his own practice | |
| 1902 | October 29 -- Darwin D. Martin meets Frank Lloyd Wright | |
| Darwin D. Martin purchases site for Martin House Complex, Jewett Parkway | ||
| 1903 | October 11 - Construction begins on Barton House | |
| 1904 | July 20 - Construction begins on Martin House | |
| October - Barton House occupied | ||
| 1905 | Martin House Complex completed | |
| 1910 | Frank Lloyd Wright designs Bar Beach Cottage (Bay Beach, Ontario, Canada) for Darwin D. Martin (unexecuted) | |
| 1923 | Darwin D. Martin commissions Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for James and Dorothy Martin Foster, daughter of Darwin D. Martin (unexecuted) | |
| 1925 | Martin retires from the Larkin Company | |
| 1926 | Construction begins on Graycliff | |
| 1928 | June 20 - Graycliff occupied | |
| Frank Lloyd Wright designs the Blue Sky Mausoleum for Darwin D. Martin's ploy in Buffalo's Forest Lawn Cemetery (unexecuted) | ||
| 1935 | Darwin D. Martin dies in Buffalo | |
| 1936 | Fallingwater (Bear Run, Pennsylvania), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmanns | |
| 1945 | Isabelle R. Martin dies in Buffalo | |
| 1959 | Frank Lloyd Wright dies |
| 1926 | April 5 - Darwin D. Martin writes to Frank Lloyd Wright requesting 1910 Bay Beach Cottage design; Darwin D. Martin is considering building on shores of Lake Erie | |
| April 18 - Darwin D. Martin looks at site in Derby, New York | ||
| April 19 - Darwin D. Martin purchases 250-foot front on Lake Erie, with 60-foot cliff | ||
| April 21 - Darwin D. Martin informs Frank Lloyd Wright that he's not interested in 1910 cottage design, but a two-story stone house designed by Frank E. Newman for E.W. Russell of Greenwich, Connecticut | ||
| May 3 - Frank Lloyd Wright sends Darwin D. Martin preliminary drawings | ||
| May 5 - Darwin D. Martin informs Frank Lloyd Wright that Isabelle R. Martin is Frank Lloyd Wright's client | ||
| August 19-20 - Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo to see site | ||
| August 27 - Isabelle R. Martin sees the site for first time | ||
| September - Construction on garage begun. | ||
| September - Due to marital problems, Frank Lloyd Wright asks his son John Lloyd Wright to take over the project; the Martins did not approve the change | ||
| November - Frank Lloyd Wright resumes his service to the Martins; construction continues on the site | ||
| 1927 | April 5-6 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site | |
| June 4 - Darwin D. Martin writes to Frank Lloyd Wright of the completion of the foundation of the main house | ||
| June 15-16 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site | ||
| August 31-September 2 - Chimney and masonry of main house completed | ||
| September - Frank Lloyd Wright finalizes designs for landscape, tennis court, circle, and guest house; the guest house was not executed | ||
| September - Furniture designs by Frank Lloyd Wright are executed | ||
| 1928 | March 10, 12 - Furniture bought for main house | |
| June 20 - Martins "open" house | ||
| September 20 - Paul A. Harsh, a house guest at Graycliff, suggests the name "Graycliff" | ||
| 1929 | April - Isabelle R. martin asks Frank Lloyd Wright to design a screened walk to cross the esplanade behind the stone bench for servants | |
| June 15 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site | ||
| July - Martins request Frank Lloyd Wright to design a "concrete tent house" for the Foster family (unexecuted) | ||
| July - Martins request Frank Lloyd Wright to design a third-floor to main house (unexecuted) | ||
| July 29 - Construction on evergreen garden, stone seat begun; Frank Lloyd Wright selects and ships furnishings for the main house from Marshall Fields in Chicago; Frank Lloyd Wright suggests wicker and overstuffed chairs fo the main house | ||
| 1935 | Darwin D. Martin passes away | |
| Isabelle R. Martin continues to summer at the site, and winters with the Foster family | ||
| 1938 | November - Engineering report on site compiled by G.E. Seitzmiller for insurance purposes | |
| 1941 | Isabelle R. Martin continues to summer at the site, but moves into garage apartment | |
| 1942 | Isabelle R. martin spends her last summer at the site; she moves permanently to Buffalo to live with the Foster family | |
| 1945 | IRM passes away | |
| Stewardship of the site falls to a holding company belonging to Darwin R. Martin, son of Darwin D. Martin | ||
| 1950 | Piarist Fathers, a Hungarian order, purchases site from Darwin R. Martin | |
| Mid-1950s | Chapel addition constructed over south terrace of main house | |
| Garage addition and a storage building constructed | ||
| Circa 1956 | School building/dormitory constructed to house Hungarian refugees | |
| 1958 | August - Frank Lloyd Wright visits the site | |
| 1996 | Piarist Father's place property for sale | |
| Graycliff Conservancy is formed to acquire and restore the site | ||
| 1997 | October - Graycliff Conservancy signs a contract to purchase the site |
Architectural and landscape plans for the Darwin D. Martin House Complex, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in Buffalo, New York, including blueprints and drawings showing the original plans for the house, outer buildings, gardener's cottage, furniture and landscape architecture, as well as plans for subsequent alterations; also plans for the Martin Family Country House, Graycliff, built on the Lake Shore of Lake Erie at Derby, New York. Also included (item 35) is a letter book, 1905-1906, concerning the Martin House kept by general contractor, O.S. Lang.
Collection is arranged in four series, then by item number:
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I. Martin-Foster Donations
1904-1930 |
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Items in folders numbered 1-35 were gifts of Darwin R. Martin and Dorothy Martin Foster to the State University of New York at Buffalo. |
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Items 1-33 are stored in the map case. Item 35 is in a manuscript box in the stacks. |
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| Oversize-folder | Contents | |||||||||||||||||
| 1+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright,
undated Blueprints on boards |
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| 2+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright
undated Blueprints |
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| 3+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright,
May 15, 1905 Blueprint, revised |
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| 4+ | Martin House, home and conservatories alterations, June 1916 | |||||||||
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| 5+ | Martin House, Andrew Willatzen, Architect, Seattle,
March 10, 1920 Blueprints |
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| 6+ | Martin House, S.J. Tauriello, Architect, undated | |||||||||||
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| 7+ | Martin House (alterations), Edgar Tafel, Architect
1967 Photocopies |
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| 8+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright,
undated Tracings on Japanese paper |
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| 9+ | Martin House,
undated Photograph, |
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| 10+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright
undated Blueprint |
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| 11+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright,
undated Original tracing in pencil |
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| 12+ | Martin House
February 28, [?] Blueprint |
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| 13+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright
March 3, 1905 Blueprint |
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| 14+ | Martin House,
undated Sized linen |
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| 15+ | Martin House, Foster and Glidden,
undated Sized linen |
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| 16+ | Martin House, Pierson Sefton Co., Jersey City, New
Jersey,
December 5, 1904 Original tracing in pencil |
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| 17+ | Martin House, Pierson Sefton Co., Jersey City, New Jersey, December 4, 1904 | |||
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| 18+ | Martin House, Pierson Sefton Co., Jersey City, New Jersey, December 4, 1904 | |||
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| 19+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright, Barn and
Conservatories
May 7-October 8, 1904 Blueprints |
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| 20+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright,
undated Original red and black drawing on sized linen |
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| 21+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright, February 15, 1905 | |||||
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| 22+ | Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright
undated Blueprint |
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| 23+ | Martin House, Walter Burley Griffen, Landscape
Architect,
October 15, 1910 Blueprint |
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| 24+ | Martin House, J. Wilkinson Elliott, Landscape Architect,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
undated Blueprint |
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| 25+ | Gardener's Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright
November 23, 1905 Blueprints |
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1a. Floor plans
1b. Floor plans, revised
2. Elevations
3. Details
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| 26+ | Gardener's Cottage, Frank Lloyd Wright,
November 29, 1905, revised
May 1908 Blueprints |
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| 27+ | Martin House, H.T. Buttolph, Surveyor, October 3, 1903 | |||||
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| 28+ | Martin House, O.S. Lang, April 8, 1905 | |||||
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| 29+ | Martin House, Frederick K. Wing, Engineer, September 4, 1918 | |||||
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| 30+ | Martin House, Krehbiel and Krehbiel, Engineers, Photocopy, June 5, 1961; June 28, revised; February 1, 1963, resurveyed | |||
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| 31+ | Martin House, Newspaper article, October 9, 1904 | |||
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| 32+ | Lake Shore House, Frank Lloyd Wright,
August 19, 1926 Ink drawings on sized linen (date in pencil) |
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| 33+ | Lake Shore House, Frank Lloyd Wright,
August 19, 1926 Blueprints (date in pencil) |
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| 34+ | Lake Shore House, Jones Iron Works,
April 8, 1929[?] Blueprints |
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| Box | Contents | |
| 1 | Martin House, O.S. Lang, Contractor's Letterbook,
1905-1906 290 pages |
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[In stacks] |
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II. Photocopies
1904-1930 |
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Items 36-45 were purchased for the University Archives as part of accession 83-033. |
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| Oversize-folder | Contents | |||||
| 36 | Martin House, Jewett Refrigerator Company,
December 1904 Blueprints |
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| 37 | Martin House, Penn-American Plate Glass Company,
May 16, 1904 Blueprint |
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| 38 | Martin House, Penn-American Plate Glass Company,
May 16, 1904 Blueprint |
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| 39 | Martin House, Penn-American Plate Glass Company,
May 16, 1904 Blueprint |
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| 40 | Gardner's Cottage, O.S. Lang,
July 28, 1905 Blueprints |
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| 41 | Casement, O.S. Lang[?],
October 15, 1905 Blueprint |
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| 42 | Martin House, Matthews Brothers,
March 15, 1909 Blueprint |
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| 43 | Martin House, Matthews Brothers,
January 9, 1913 Blueprint |
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| 44 | Martin House, Tracing undated | |||
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| 45 | Martin House, O.S. Lang,
October 9, 1905 Blueprint |
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III. Photocopies of Plans of the Darwin D. Martin House,
circa 1904-5,
1909 |
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Photocopies of additional plans, primarily details of the Martin House, were acquired as part of accession 82-56 and numbered 82-56-1 to 82-56-31. |
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| Item | Contents | |
| 82-56-1 | Section through interior piers and walls, September 17, 1904 | |
| 82-56-2 | Martin House - Details of Billiard Room Chimney, October 10, 1904 | |
| 82-56-3 | Light fixture, October 9, 1905 | |
| 82-56-4 | Clothes post, December 9, 1905 | |
| 82-56-5 | D.D. Martin Residence Dining Room Chairs, December 28, 1905 | |
| 82-56-6 | D.D. Martin Residence Detail for Dining Room Chairs, February 21, 1906 | |
| 82-56-7 | Additional Balcony, August 6, 1909 | |
| 82-56-8 | Addition Skylight, August 6, 1909 | |
| 82-56-9 | Extension of South Wall of Reception Room July 24, 1914 | |
| 82-56-10 | Section through interior piers and walls, September 17, 1904 | |
| 82-56-11 | Conservatory [?], North End, November 1914 | |
| 82-56-12 | Chimney | |
| 82-56-13 | Details of barn door | |
| 82-56-14 | Window | |
| 82-56-15 | Window | |
| 82-56-16 | Monogram (IRM) | |
| 82-56-17 | Piano (D.D. Martin) | |
| 82-56-18 | Fireplace (D.D.) Martin, O.S. Lang, September 15, 1905 | |
| 82-56-19 | Exterior entrance to basement of stable with screen, front elevation | |
| 82-56-20 | West elevation/south elevation | |
| 82-56-21 | Section through basement windows at north and south terraces | |
| 82-56-22 | Dining table light fixture, March 15, 1906 | |
| 82-56-23 | Floor plan | |
| 82-56-24 | Pergola [?] between residence and barn | |
| 82-56-25 | Detail of stone basis | |
| 82-56-26 | Barton House basin | |
| 82-56-27 | Full size of trays | |
| 82-56-28 | Water basin (Dwelling of D.D. Martin) | |
| 82-56-29 | Carpets | |
| 82-56-30 | Basement light fixture | |
| 82-56-31 | Greenhouse, O.S. Lang | |
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IV. Plans for the Fireplace Mosaic, Darwin D. Martin
House 3 sheets(86.5 x 61 cm.) plus 2 copies |
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Plans were reconstructed from original photographs and structure by students in the School of Architecture, State University of New York at Buffalo, in 1988 and discovered in the basement of Hayes Hall by the archivist in 2005. |
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A note on the plans includes: |
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1. Reconstruction of mosaic panels "A" and "C" by Mark Schryver, School of Architecture and Environmental Design, SUNY-Buffalo, 1987. |
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2. Reconstruction of panels "B" and "E" by Christopher Nolte, School of Architecture and Planning, SUNY-Buffalo, 1988, based upon original photographs, existing historic fabric/structure, and previous work of Mark Schryver. |
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| Item | Contents | |
| 2005-1 | East/West Elevation, 1988 | |
| 2005-2 | North/South Elevation, 1988 | |
| 2005-3 | Plan View, 1988 | |
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog.
