MARTIN HOUSE
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Wright ALL Day Discovering Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buffalo in one inspiring day BY SAMANTHA WULFF
Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the world’s most famous architects. Most people can identify his famous stained glass. (It’s no secret he loved nature.) Most can spot one of his houses from a mile away. But what’s his story in Buffalo? Why are there so many of his houses here? I decided to find out, and the most convenient way was on an All Wright All Day tour – one that included visits to five Wright-designed buildings and several other sites.
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I was glad I didn’t skip my morning coffee, since the tour started at 8:30 a.m. sharp at the Margaret L. Wendt Resource Center at Forest Lawn Cemetery. From there, we hopped on a bus, and within five minutes we were at the Martin House Complex, once the home of Darwin and Isabelle Martin. Situated on a 1.5-acre plot within the beautiful Parkside district in North Buffalo, the horizontal lines of the Martin House stand in stark contrast to the surrounding Victorian architecture that typified this turn-ofthe-century neighborhood. Once inside, I immediately “got it.” After taking in the five miles of interior wood trim, the sunburst fireplace, Tree of Life stained glass windows and the statue of Nike of Samothrace within the conservatory,
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I could understand why Wright considered the Martin House his “opus” and kept a copy of its plans above his drafting table for the rest of his career. It’s that impressive. Next, we took a trip to nearly-neverbuilt Wright buildings at the Fontana Boathouse and the Filling Station. The boathouse was designed in 1905 for a site in Madison, Wisconsin. It wasn’t constructed until 2007, right on Buffalo’s Black Rock Canal and is now home to the West Side Rowing Club. Standing on the balcony, overlooking the water, with a view of the historic Peace Bridge, I couldn’t help but feel like we were on a ship ourselves. Soon we were at the Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum to see the Filling Station,
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