Darwin D. Martin-Frank Lloyd Wright collection, oral histories
Scope and Contents
Collection contains recordings and transcripts of interviews with persons familiar with the Darwin D. Martin house, Larkin Company administration building, and another house in Buffalo, New York, all designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Dates
- 1971-1980
Creator
- University Archives (Organization)
Language of Materials
Collection material in English.
Terms of Access
The Darwin D. Martin-Frank Lloyd Wright collection, oral histories, 1971-1980, are open for research. Sound recordings may only be accessed onsite within the library at this time. Access to sound recordings in this collection requires 3 business days’ notice. Contact lib-archives@buffalo.edu to schedule an appointment.
Copyright
Copyright 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.
Chronology: Martin Family - Frank Lloyd Wright, 1865-1959
- 1865
- Darwin D. Martin born - Boucville, Madison Co., NY
- 1867
- Frank Lloyd Wright born - Richland Center, Wisconsin
- 1869
- Isabelle Reidpath, the future Mrs. Martin, born - Buffalo, NY
- 1878
- Brothers Darwin D. Martin and Louis Frank Martin selling soap for Larkin Company in NYC
- 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
Chronology: Graycliff, 1926-1997
- 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, NY
- 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
Extent
1.30 Linear Feet (1 manuscript box; 1 legal manuscript box; 10 reel to reel audiotapes; 6 cd-roms; 1 media box; 15 cassette audiotapes)
Abstract
Oral history interviews with persons associated with the Darwin D. Martin House, Buffalo, New York, and other buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in nine series: I. Mary E. Burke; II. Dorothy Martin Foster; III. Ruth Tauriello Gorman; IV. Mrs. Wilmot (Heath) Jacobsen; V. Lorelei Z. Ketter; VI. Marjorie F. Leighey; VII. Darwin R. Martin; VIII. Jerry O'Connor; and IX. Edgar Tafel,
Acquisition Information
Oral history interviews were performed by University Archives staff and others between 1971 and 1980.
Accruals and Additions
No further accruals are expected to this collection.
Processing Information
Processed by University Archives staff.
Reprocessed and finding aid revised in April 2010 by Karen Spencer.
Finding aid encoded by Danielle White, February 2015.
Some sound recordings digitized and trasnferred to CD by WNED in 2005. Other sound recordings digitized in 2020.
- Darwin D. Martin House (Buffalo, N.Y.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Graycliff (Derby, N.Y.)
- Larkin Building (Buffalo, N.Y.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Martin, D.D. (Darwin D.)
- Oral histories (document genres) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
Source
- Aronoff, Jason (Contributor, Person)
- Burke, Mary E. Lawson (Mary Elizabeth Lawson) (Contributor, Person)
- Densmore, Christopher (Contributor, Person)
- Finnegan, Marchand M. (Contributor, Person)
- Foster, Dorothy Martin (Contributor, Person)
- Gorman, Ruth Tauriello (Contributor, Person)
- Greenwood, Susan M. (Contributor, Person)
- Jacobsen, Evelyn Heath (Contributor, Person)
- Ketter, Robert L., 1928-1989 (Contributor, Person)
- Leighey, Marjorie (Contributor, Person)
- Martin, Darwin R. (Darwin Reidpath) (Contributor, Person)
- Obien, Rodney G. (Contributor, Person)
- Quinan, Jack (Contributor, Person)
- Tafel, Edgar (Contributor, Person)
- Tamalonis, Frederick M. (Contributor, Person)
- Tauriello, Sebastian J. (Contributor, Person)
- Buffalo and Western New York Architecture Collection (State University of New York at Buffalo) (Organization)
- Title
- Finding Aid for the Darwin D. Martin-Frank Lloyd Wright collection, oral histories
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by University Archives staff.
- Date
- 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives Repository
420 Capen Hall
Buffalo New York 14260-1674 US
716-645-2916
716-645-3714 (Fax)
lib-archives@buffalo.edu