Jump to content

Graycliff: Difference between revisions

Edit links
Coordinates: 42°42′48.18″N 78°58′22.45″W / 42.7133833°N 78.9729028°W / 42.7133833; -78.9729028
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
mNo edit summary
Orviswiki (talk | contribs)
17 edits
→Restoration: Adding update on new visitor center building being added to the complex.
 
(24 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Historic house in New York, United States}}

{{other uses|Greycliff, Montana|Greycliffe (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox NRHP
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Graycliff
| name = Graycliff
| nrhp_type = nrhp
| nrhp_type = nrhp
| image = Isabelle R. Martin House.JPG
| image = File:Graycliff.jpg
| caption =
| caption =
|location = [[Highland-on-the-Lake, New York]]
| nearest_city = [[Buffalo, New York]]
| nearest_city = [[Buffalo, New York]]
| locmapin = New York
| locmapin = New York
| area =
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-marker = building
⚫
| coordinates = {{coord|42|42|48.18|N|78|58|22.45|W|display=inline,title}}
| mapframe-zoom = 12
⚫
| built =1926
|mapframe-caption = Interactive map showing Graycliff’s location
⚫
| architect= [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]
| area =
⚫
| architecture= Prairie School
⚫
| coordinates = {{coord|42|42|48.18|N|78|58|22.45|W|display=inline,title}}
⚫
| built = 1926
⚫
| architect = [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]
⚫
| architecture =
| added = October 1, 1998
| added = October 1, 1998
⚫
| refnum = 98001222<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2006a}}</ref>
| governing_body = [http://graycliffestate.org/about_GrayCliff_Conservancy.cfm The Graycliff Conservancy, Inc.]
⚫
| refnum=98001222<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2006a}}</ref>
}}
}}


The '''Graycliff''' estate was designed by [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], and built between 1926 and 1931. It is located about 20 minutes south of downtown [[Buffalo, New York]], at 6472 Old Lake Shore Road in the [[Hamlet (place)#New York|hamlet]] of [[Derby, New York]]. Sometimes called "The Jewel on the Lake," Graycliff is sited on a bluff overlooking [[Lake Erie]] with sweeping views of downtown Buffalo and the [[Ontario]] shore.<ref name="NysNrhpNom">{{cite web|url=https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ |archive-url=https://archive.is/20150701003048/http://cris.parks.ny.gov/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-07-01 |title=Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) |publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]] |format=Searchable database |accessdate=2016-07-01 }} ''Note:'' This includes {{cite web|url=https://cris.parks.ny.gov/Uploads/ViewDoc.aspx?mode=A&id=35907&q=false |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Graycliff |accessdate=2016-07-01 |author=Kathleen LaFrank |format=PDF |date=May 1998 }} and [https://cris.parks.ny.gov/Uploads/ViewDoc.aspx?mode=A&id=35909&q=false ''Accompanying photographs'']</ref>
The '''Graycliff''' estate was designed by [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] in 1926, and built between 1926 and 1931. It is approximately 17 miles southwest of downtown [[Buffalo, New York]], at 6472 Old Lake Shore Road in the [[Hamlet (place)#New York|hamlet]] of [[Highland-on-the-Lake, New York|Highland-on-the-Lake]], with a mailing address of [[Derby, New York|Derby]]. Situated on a bluff overlooking [[Lake Erie]] with sweeping views of downtown Buffalo and the [[Ontario]] shore,<ref name="NysNrhpNom">{{cite web|url=https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150701003048/http://cris.parks.ny.gov/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-07-01 |title=Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) |publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]] |format=Searchable database |access-date=2016-07-01 }} ''Note:'' This includes {{cite web|url=https://cris.parks.ny.gov/Uploads/ViewDoc.aspx?mode=A&id=35907&q=false |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Graycliff |access-date=2016-07-01 |author=Kathleen LaFrank |format=PDF |date=May 1998 }} and [https://cris.parks.ny.gov/Uploads/ViewDoc.aspx?mode=A&id=35909&q=false ''Accompanying photographs'']</ref> it is one of the most ambitious and extensive summer estates Wright designed.<ref name="sand">Arlene Sanderson & Jack Quinan, ''Wright Sites'', pp.84-85, Princeton Architectural Press; 2001</ref> It is now fully restored and operates as a historic house museum, open for guided tours year round (with reduced activity during the winter). There is also a summer Market at Graycliff, free and open to the public on select Thursday evenings. Graycliff Conservancy is run by Executive Director Anna Kaplan, who was hired in 2019.

Graycliff is one of the most ambitious and extensive summer estates Wright ever designed.<ref name="sand">Arlene Sanderson & Jack Quinan, ''Wright Sites'', pp.84-85, Princeton Architectural Press; 2001</ref>


== History ==
== 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 [[Darwin D. Martin House|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<ref>Robert M. Craig, ''Bernard Maybeck at Principia College'', p.478, Gibbs Smith; 2004</ref> and other support<ref name="quinan">Jack Quinan, ''Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House'', p.216, Princeton Architectural Press; 2004</ref><ref>Caroline Knight, ''Frank Lloyd Wright'', p. 124, Parragon; 2004.</ref> to Wright as his career unfolded.
Graycliff was the summer home of Isabelle Reidpath 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 [[Darwin D. Martin House|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<ref>Robert M. Craig, ''Bernard Maybeck at Principia College'', p.478, Gibbs Smith; 2004</ref> and other support<ref name="quinan">Jack Quinan, ''Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House'', p.216, Princeton Architectural Press; 2004</ref><ref>Caroline Knight, ''Frank Lloyd Wright'', p. 124, Parragon; 2004.</ref> 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]], 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 House|William R. Heath]] and [[Walter V. Davidson House|Walter V. Davidson]].
In the early years of their long relationship, Darwin Martin was actively involved with selecting Frank Lloyd Wright as the architect for the [[Larkin Administration Building]], 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 House|William R. Heath]] and [[Walter V. Davidson House|Walter V. Davidson]].


Isabelle R. Martin was the client of record for Graycliff, and it was designed by Wright for her pleasure.<ref name="gil">Brendan Gill, ''Many Masks'', p.320, Da Capo Press; 1998</ref><ref name="history">http://graycliff.bfn.org/history/history.html{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Isabelle R. Martin was the client of record for Graycliff, and it was designed by Wright for her pleasure.<ref name="gil">Brendan Gill, ''Many Masks'', p.320, Da Capo Press; 1998</ref><ref name="history">{{cite web |url=http://graycliff.bfn.org/history/history.html |title=Frank Lloyd Wright's Graycliff |website=graycliff.bfn.org |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101213044/http://graycliff.bfn.org/history/history.html |archive-date=1 January 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>


Graycliff is one of only five of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs that were built between 1925 and 1935,<ref name="quinan"/> and the only Wright designed structure built between [[Taliesin (studio)|Taliesin]] (1914) and [[Fallingwater]] (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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}
Graycliff is one of only five of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs that were built between 1925 and 1935,<ref name="quinan"/> and the only Wright-designed structure built between [[Taliesin (studio)|Taliesin]] (1925) and [[Fallingwater]] (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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}


== Design ==
== Design ==
Graycliff is a complex of three buildings integrated within an {{convert|8.5|acre|m2|adj=on}} landscape. It is sited high on a bluff with views of [[Lake Erie]] across to [[Ontario]]. The buildings, in Wright’s [[Organic Architecture]] style,<ref name="history"/> are set amidst extensive grounds and gardens also designed by Wright.
Graycliff is a complex of three buildings integrated within an {{convert|8.5|acre|m2|adj=on}} landscape. It is situated high on a bluff with views of [[Lake Erie]] across to [[Ontario]]. In Wright's [[Organic Architecture]] style,<ref name="history"/> 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]]ed balconies, expansive terraces, and "ribbons" of windows that allow the experience of nature from within and through the house.<ref name="history"/> On especially clear days the spray of [[Niagara Falls]] is visible through the framed opening created by the cantilevered upper bridge and the stone veneered massing at each end of the home.
The largest building, the main "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]]ed balconies, expansive terraces, and "ribbons" of windows that allow the experience of nature from within and through the house.<ref name="history"/> On especially clear days the spray of [[Niagara Falls]] is visible through the framed opening created by the cantilevered upper bridge and the stone veneered massing at each end of the home.


[[File:Foster House, Graycliff.jpg|thumb|left|The Foster House.]]
[[File:Foster House, Graycliff.jpg|thumb|left|The Foster House]]


The Foster House<ref name="history"/> was originally designed as a garage<ref>William A Storrer, ''The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright'', p.230, University of Chicago Press; 2002</ref> with an apartment above for the [[chauffeur]] and his family.<ref name="sand"/> 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 Martin’s daughter Dorothy, together with her husband James Foster and their children Margaret and Darwin Martin Foster, spent many happy summers in residence.<ref name="sand"/> Like the Martin House, the Foster House has strong horizontal lines echoing the lake beyond, cantilevered balconies, and numerous windows.
The Foster House<ref name="history"/> was originally designed as a garage,<ref>William A Storrer, ''The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright'', p.230, University of Chicago Press; 2002</ref> with an apartment above for the [[chauffeur]] and his family.<ref name="sand"/> 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.<ref name="sand"/> Like the Martin House, the Foster House has strong horizontal lines echoing the lake beyond, cantilevered balconies, and numerous windows.


[[File:Fountain, Graycliff.jpg|thumb|right|Fountain, Graycliff]]
[[File:Fountain, Graycliff.jpg|thumb|right|Fountain, Graycliff]]


The smallest building of the complex is known as the Heat Hut.<ref name="sand"/> Like the other two buildings, it is constructed of stone found at the lake’s edge, ochre stucco, and a red cedar shingle roof.<ref name="historyb">{{cite web|url=http://graycliffestate.org/timeline.cfm |title=Graycliff - Wright on the Lake |publisher=Graycliffestate.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-15}}</ref>
The smallest building of the complex is known as the Heat Hut.<ref name="sand"/> Like the other two buildings, it is constructed of stone found at the lake's edge, ochre stucco, and a red cedar shingle roof.<ref name="historyb">{{cite web|url=http://graycliffestate.org/timeline.cfm |title=Graycliff - Wright on the Lake |publisher=Graycliffestate.org |access-date=2012-08-15}}</ref>


Garden walls, composed of the same stone and stucco as the Foster and Martin Houses, enhance the horizontal planes of the architecture.<ref name="history"/> The gardens and grounds feature water elements designed by Wright, including a [[Porte-cochere|''porte cochere'']] 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 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.<ref name="sand"/> 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 forty miles to the north.
Garden walls, composed of the same stone and stucco as the Foster and Martin Houses, enhance the horizontal planes of the architecture.<ref name="history"/> The gardens and grounds feature water elements designed by Wright, including a [[porte-cochère]] 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]] 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.<ref name="sand"/> 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 {{convert|40|mi}} to the north.


The extensive {{convert|8.5|acre|m2}} 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 and Crafts Movement|Arts & Crafts]] and [[American Craftsman]] style landscape design, supplemented those of Wright with colorful flowers and a picking garden.
The extensive {{convert|8.5|acre|m2}} 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 and Crafts Movement|Arts & Crafts]] and [[American Craftsman]] style landscape design, supplementing those of Wright with colorful flowers and a picking garden.


== Restoration ==
== Restoration ==
Although the Martin family lost much of its fortune due to the [[Great Depression]]<ref name="quinan"/> and was forced to abandon the city house in 1937, they kept Graycliff, and returned annually until 1943.
Although the Martin family lost much of its fortune due to the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]]<ref name="quinan"/> 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]], a Roman Catholic teaching order, in 1951.<ref name="historyb"/> The Piarist Fathers, from Hungary, established a boarding school on the grounds, as well as Calasanctius, a private high school for gifted children in Buffalo, named after [[Calasanctius|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.<ref name="historyb"/>
The property was purchased from the family by the [[Piarists]], a Roman Catholic teaching order, in 1951.<ref name="historyb"/> The Piarist Fathers, from [[Hungary]], established a boarding school on the grounds, as well as Calasanctius, a private high school for gifted children in Buffalo, named after [[Calasanctius|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.<ref name="historyb"/>


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 [http://graycliffestate.org/mission_statement.cfm 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,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://graycliffestate.org/restoration/.cfm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719064620/http://graycliffestate.org/restoration/.cfm |archive-date=2011-07-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> both to remove the non-Wright additions and to restore the nearly ninety-year-old buildings, and has created a schedule of public tours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://graycliffestate.org/tour_descriptions.cfm |title=Graycliff - Wright on the Lake |publisher=Graycliffestate.org |date= |accessdate=2012-08-15}}</ref>
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,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://graycliffestate.org/restoration/.cfm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719064620/http://graycliffestate.org/restoration/.cfm |archive-date=2011-07-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> both to remove the non-Wright additions and to restore the nearly ninety-year-old buildings, and has created a schedule of public tours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://graycliffestate.org/tour_descriptions.cfm |title=Graycliff - Wright on the Lake |publisher=Graycliffestate.org |access-date=2012-08-15}}</ref>


The Graycliff Conservancy is the recipient of a [[Save America’s Treasures]] grant from the US [[Department of the Interior]], 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]].<ref name="nris"/>
The Graycliff Conservancy is the recipient of a [[Save America's Treasures]] grant from the [[US Department of the Interior]], 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]].<ref name="nris"/>

In November 2024, the Graycliff Conservancy began construction on a new visitor center. As part of the new construction plan, the estate temporarily closed and is expected to resume tours in March of 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://experiencegraycliff.org/about/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=Experience Graycliff |language=en-US}}</ref> The new visitor center is due to be completed in 2026, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for the Graycliff estate.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-12 |title=Frank Llyod Wright's Graycliff visitor center begins construction |url=https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/frank-llyod-wrights-graycliff-visitor-center-begins-construction-wny-buffalo-money/71-522f0f6c-0de8-43b3-926c-8032e6a408a8 |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=wgrz.com |language=en-US}}</ref>


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


==Other buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Buffalo area==
==Other buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Buffalo area==
*[[Larkin Administration Building]] (demolished)
*[[Darwin D. Martin House]]
*[[Darwin D. Martin House]]
*[[William R. Heath House]]
*[[William R. Heath House]]
*[[Walter V. Davidson House]]
*[[Walter V. Davidson House]]
*[[Blue Sky Mausoleum]]
*[[Blue Sky Mausoleum]]
*[[:sk:Fontana Boathouse|Fontana Boathouse]] (Slovak text)
*{{ill|Fontana Boathouse|sk|Fontana Boathouse}}{{in lang|sk}}


==See also==
==See also==
* [[List of Frank Lloyd Wright works]]
*[[Joseph Slawinski]]
*[[Joseph Slawinski]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |author=Storrer, William Allin |title=The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion |year=2006 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |ISBN=0-226-77621-2}} (S.225)


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Isabelle R. Martin House}}
{{Commons category|Graycliff}}
*[https://experiencegraycliff.org/ Graycliff] official site, member of the Great Lakes [[Seaway Trail]]
*{{Official|experiencegraycliff.org}}
*member of the Great Lakes [[Seaway Trail]]
* https://martinhouse.org/wright-in-wny/
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061028220336/http://www.pierce-arrow.com/flw%20filling%20station.htm Filling Station]
* https://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/wright-road-trip/
*Information about Buffalo's architecture: [http://www.wrightnowinbuffalo.com Wright Now in Buffalo]
*[http://www.wrightnowinbuffalo.com Wright Now in Buffalo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703101247/http://www.wrightnowinbuffalo.com/ |date=2008-07-03 }}, information about Buffalo's architecture
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070706224938/http://www.gobuffaloniagara.com/video.cfm Podcast] of remarks about Buffalo architecture by Dr. Neil Levine, author of ''The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright'', and Emmet Blakeney Gleason, Professor of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070706224938/http://www.gobuffaloniagara.com/video.cfm Podcast] of remarks about Buffalo architecture by Dr. Neil Levine, author of ''The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright'', and Emmet Blakeney Gleason, Professor of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University


{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}

Latest revision as of 15:08, 16 November 2024

For other uses, see Greycliff, Montana and Greycliffe (disambiguation).
Graycliff
Graycliff is located in New York
Graycliff
Map
Interactive map showing Graycliff’s location
LocationHighland-on-the-Lake, New York
Nearest cityBuffalo, New York
Coordinates42°42′48.18″N 78°58′22.45″W / 42.7133833°N 78.9729028°W / 42.7133833; -78.9729028
Built1926
ArchitectFrank Lloyd Wright
NRHP reference No.98001222[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 1, 1998

The Graycliff estate was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1926, and built between 1926 and 1931. It is approximately 17 miles southwest of downtown Buffalo, New York, at 6472 Old Lake Shore Road in the hamlet of Highland-on-the-Lake, with a mailing address of Derby. Situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie with sweeping views of downtown Buffalo and the Ontario shore,[2] it is one of the most ambitious and extensive summer estates Wright designed.[3] It is now fully restored and operates as a historic house museum, open for guided tours year round (with reduced activity during the winter). There is also a summer Market at Graycliff, free and open to the public on select Thursday evenings. Graycliff Conservancy is run by Executive Director Anna Kaplan, who was hired in 2019.

History

[edit]

Graycliff was the summer home of Isabelle Reidpath 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[4] and other support[5][6] to Wright as his career unfolded.

In the early years of their long relationship, Darwin Martin was actively involved with selecting Frank Lloyd Wright as the architect for the Larkin Administration Building, 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.[7][8]

Graycliff is one of only five of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs that were built between 1925 and 1935,[5] and the only Wright-designed structure built between Taliesin (1925) and Fallingwater (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.[citation needed]

Design

[edit]

Graycliff is a complex of three buildings integrated within an 8.5-acre (34,000 m2) landscape. It is situated high on a bluff with views of Lake Erie across to Ontario. In Wright's Organic Architecture style,[8] are set amidst extensive grounds and gardens also designed by Wright.

The largest building, the main "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 cantilevered balconies, expansive terraces, and "ribbons" of windows that allow the experience of nature from within and through the house.[8] On especially clear days the spray of Niagara Falls 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

The Foster House[8] was originally designed as a garage,[9] with an apartment above for the chauffeur and his family.[3] 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.[3] Like the Martin House, the Foster House has strong horizontal lines echoing the lake beyond, cantilevered balconies, and numerous windows.

Fountain, Graycliff

The smallest building of the complex is known as the Heat Hut.[3] Like the other two buildings, it is constructed of stone found at the lake's edge, ochre stucco, and a red cedar shingle roof.[10]

Garden walls, composed of the same stone and stucco as the Foster and Martin Houses, enhance the horizontal planes of the architecture.[8] The gardens and grounds feature water elements designed by Wright, including a porte-cochère 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 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.[3] 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 40 miles (64 km) to the north.

The extensive 8.5 acres (34,000 m2) 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 style landscape design, supplementing those of Wright with colorful flowers and a picking garden.

Restoration

[edit]

Although the Martin family lost much of its fortune due to the Great Depression[5] 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, a Roman Catholic teaching order, in 1951.[10] The Piarist Fathers, from Hungary, 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.[10]

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,[11] both to remove the non-Wright additions and to restore the nearly ninety-year-old buildings, and has created a schedule of public tours.[12]

The Graycliff Conservancy is the recipient of a Save America's Treasures grant from the US Department of the Interior, 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.[1]

In November 2024, the Graycliff Conservancy began construction on a new visitor center. As part of the new construction plan, the estate temporarily closed and is expected to resume tours in March of 2025.[13] The new visitor center is due to be completed in 2026, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for the Graycliff estate.[14]

[edit]
  • Rear of Graycliff
    Rear of Graycliff
  • View from Isabelle's balcony
    View from Isabelle's balcony
  • South Terrace
    South Terrace
  • Stone walls at Graycliff
    Stone walls at Graycliff
  • View through the kitchen window
    View through the kitchen window
  • Diamond window
    Diamond window

Other buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Buffalo area

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
  2. ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-01. Note: This includes Kathleen LaFrank (May 1998). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Graycliff" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-01. and Accompanying photographs
  3. ^ a b c d e Arlene Sanderson & Jack Quinan, Wright Sites, pp.84-85, Princeton Architectural Press; 2001
  4. ^ Robert M. Craig, Bernard Maybeck at Principia College, p.478, Gibbs Smith; 2004
  5. ^ a b c Jack Quinan, Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House, p.216, Princeton Architectural Press; 2004
  6. ^ Caroline Knight, Frank Lloyd Wright, p. 124, Parragon; 2004.
  7. ^ Brendan Gill, Many Masks, p.320, Da Capo Press; 1998
  8. ^ a b c d e "Frank Lloyd Wright's Graycliff". graycliff.bfn.org. Archived from the original on 1 January 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  9. ^ William A Storrer, The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, p.230, University of Chicago Press; 2002
  10. ^ a b c "Graycliff - Wright on the Lake". Graycliffestate.org. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "Graycliff - Wright on the Lake". Graycliffestate.org. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  13. ^ "About". Experience Graycliff. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  14. ^ "Frank Llyod Wright's Graycliff visitor center begins construction". wgrz.com. 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-11-16.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Storrer, William Allin (2006). The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-77621-2. (S.225)
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Graycliff.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Graycliff&oldid=1257768011"