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The Graycliff estate was designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
, and built between 1926 and 1931. It is located southwest of downtown
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
, at 6472 Old Lake Shore Road in the
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of Highland-on-the-Lake, with a mailing address of
Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
. Sometimes called "The Jewel on the Lake", Graycliff is sited on a bluff overlooking
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...
with sweeping views of downtown Buffalo and the
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
shore. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying photographs''
/ref> Graycliff is one of the most ambitious and extensive summer estates Wright ever designed.Arlene Sanderson & Jack Quinan, ''Wright Sites'', pp.84-85, Princeton Architectural Press; 2001


History

The Graycliff estate was the summer home of Isabelle R. Martin (1869–1945) and her husband, Buffalo entrepreneur Darwin D. Martin (1865–1935). Graycliff was the second of two complexes Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the couple, the first being the Martin House Complex, their city residence. By the time of Graycliff's commission, Wright and the Martins had been personal friends as well as clients for over twenty years. Between the time of the completion of the Martin House Complex and the construction of Graycliff grew a great long-term friendship, to the extent that the Martins provided financial assistance and other supportJack Quinan, ''Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House'', p.216, Princeton Architectural Press; 2004 to Wright as his career unfolded. In the early years of their long relationship, Darwin Martin was actively involved with the selection of Frank Lloyd Wright as the architect for the
Larkin Administration Building The Larkin Building was an early 20th century building. It was designed in 1903 by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1904-1906 for the Larkin Soap Company of Buffalo, New York. The five story dark red brick building used pink tinted mortar and ...
, Wright's first major commercial project. Martin was an executive with the Larkin Company, and Wright also designed houses in Buffalo for fellow Larkin Company executives William R. Heath and Walter V. Davidson. Isabelle R. Martin was the client of record for Graycliff, and it was designed by Wright for her pleasure.Brendan Gill, ''Many Masks'', p.320, Da Capo Press; 1998 Graycliff is one of only five of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs that were built between 1925 and 1935, and the only Wright-designed structure built between
Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the court ...
(1925) and
Fallingwater Fallingwater is a house designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, about southeast of Pittsburgh in the United States. It is built partly over a waterfall on Bear Run in the Mill ...
(1936) using stone. Wright believed stone to be the only true building material and may be why he insisted the Martins incorporate it at Graycliff. Graycliff is considered to be one of Wright's most important mid-career works in his Organic Style.


Design

Graycliff is a complex of three buildings integrated within an landscape. It is sited high on a bluff with views of
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...
across to
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. The buildings, in Wright's
Organic Architecture Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches that aim to be sympathetic and well-integrated with a site, so buildings, furn ...
style, are set amidst extensive grounds and gardens also designed by Wright. The largest building, the Isabelle R. Martin House, is perhaps most remarkable for its two stone veneered sections framing a central pavilion-like center of transparent glass walls, allowing visitors to actually see through the building itself to the lake beyond, revolutionary for a 1926 design. It also features spacious
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
ed balconies, expansive terraces, and "ribbons" of windows that allow the experience of nature from within and through the house. On especially clear days the spray of
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...
is visible through the framed opening created by the cantilevered upper bridge and the stone veneered massing at each end of the home. The Foster House was originally designed as a garage, with an apartment above for the
chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to special ...
and his family. In 1929 the Martins owned a Pierce-Arrow touring car as well as a Detroit Electric car. After their first summer in residence, the Martins asked Wright to alter and expand the building. Once complete, the Martins' daughter Dorothy, together with her husband James Foster and their children Margaret and Darwin Martin Foster, spent many happy summers in residence. Like the Martin House, the Foster House has strong horizontal lines echoing the lake beyond, cantilevered balconies, and numerous windows. The smallest building of the complex is known as the Heat Hut. Like the other two buildings, it is constructed of stone found at the lake's edge, ochre stucco, and a red cedar shingle roof. Garden walls, composed of the same stone and stucco as the Foster and Martin Houses, enhance the horizontal planes of the architecture. The gardens and grounds feature water elements designed by Wright, including a
porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; , late 17th century, literally 'coach gateway'; plural: porte-cochères, portes-cochères) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like ...
that extends from Martin House, cantilevering beyond its stone pier supports over a stone basin from which water flows into a large irregularly shaped pool. This was intended to create an illusion of the lake flowing through the house. On the west side, a broad
esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...
connects the terrace to the cliff and lake. The esplanade was designed to carry water, pumped from Lake Erie, down its length and over the bluffs, completing the illusion of water flowing through. Deemed financially extravagant, this feature was halted after only the esplanade itself was completed. Other architectural features of the landscape include a sunken garden, a hidden garden, and stone walls in a "waterfall" pattern. Not surprisingly, it was Darwin Martin who first introduced Wright to Niagara Falls, less than to the north. The extensive of grounds and gardens were also designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, with one of the few, if not only, landscape designs in his own hand. These include a tennis court designed by Wright, as well as trees and shrubs designed to complement the architecture. Additional significant design-work was done by Ellen Biddle Shipman, one of the early and renowned women landscape architects, and one of the creators of the Arts & Crafts and
American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its ...
style landscape design, supplementing those of Wright with colorful flowers and a picking garden.


Restoration

Although the Martin family lost much of its fortune due to the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and was forced to abandon the city house in 1937, they kept Graycliff, and returned annually until 1943. The property was purchased from the family by the
Piarists The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...
, a Roman Catholic teaching order, in 1951. The Piarist Fathers, from
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
, established a boarding school on the grounds, as well as Calasanctius, a private high school for gifted children in Buffalo, named after the order's founder. Although they added two structures to Wright's original design, all Wright-designed buildings were left intact. Eventually enrollment dwindled and the schools closed; the number of priests in residence also declined dramatically. Finally in late 1997, the Piarists decided they could no longer afford to maintain the property, and put it up for sale. Soon after, a group of concerned individuals purchased the property, which was threatened with destruction due to its prime lakeside location and attractiveness to private developers. The group formed the non-profit Graycliff Conservancy in order to buy the property, restore it to its original condition, and open it to the public. This effort, aided by volunteers from throughout the community, has undertaken extensive restoration, both to remove the non-Wright additions and to restore the nearly ninety-year-old buildings, and has created a schedule of public tours. The Graycliff Conservancy is the recipient of a
Save America's Treasures Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust fo ...
grant from the
US Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...
, and has received many awards for its work. Graycliff is now a New York State Landmark and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.


Gallery

File:Isabelle R. Martin House (4).JPG, Rear of Graycliff File:View from Isabelle's Balcony, Graycliff.jpg, View from Isabelle's balcony File:South Terrace, Graycliff.jpg, South Terrace File:Stone Walls, Graycliff.jpg, Stone walls at Graycliff File:View thru Kitchen Window, Graycliff.jpg, View through kitchen window File:Diamond Window, Graycliff.jpg, Diamond window


Other buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Buffalo area

*
Larkin Administration Building The Larkin Building was an early 20th century building. It was designed in 1903 by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1904-1906 for the Larkin Soap Company of Buffalo, New York. The five story dark red brick building used pink tinted mortar and ...
(demolished) * Darwin D. Martin House * William R. Heath House *
Walter V. Davidson House The Walter V. Davidson House, located at 57 Tillinghast Place in Buffalo, New York, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1908. It is an example of Wright's Prairie School architectural style. The house is a contributing property to t ...
* Blue Sky Mausoleum *


See also

* Joseph Slawinski


References


Further reading

* (S.225)


External links

*, member of the Great Lakes
Seaway Trail The Great Lakes Seaway Trail, formerly named and commonly known as the Seaway Trail, is a National Scenic Byway in the northeastern United States, mostly contained in New York but with a small segment in Pennsylvania. The trail consists of a se ...

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