Darwin D. Martin House, Buffalo (must see)

The Darwin D. Martin House, located in Buffalo, stands as one of the most significant works from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School period and remains a crown jewel of American residential architecture. Built between 1903 and 1905 for businessman Darwin D. Martin and his wife Isabelle, the estate represents Wright’s philosophy of harmony between architecture and nature.

Wright’s connection to the Martin family began through Darwin’s brother, William E. Martin, who commissioned a house in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1902. Impressed by Wright’s vision, William urged Darwin to hire him for both his own home and the Larkin Company headquarters, where Darwin served as secretary. That partnership not only led to the creation of the Martin House but sparked a lasting collaboration between Wright and several Larkin executives.

The Martin House complex was designed as a unified architectural composition, featuring six interconnected structures: the main Martin residence, a long pergola, a conservatory, a carriage house-stable, the George Barton House (built for Darwin’s sister Delta and her husband), and a gardener’s cottage. A greenhouse-added later by Martin without Wright’s input-was used to supply fresh blooms for the home and gardens.

The house reflects Wright’s hallmark Prairie style with its horizontal lines, expansive overhangs, art glass windows, and integration with the landscape. Wright considered it a masterwork-his “opus”-and kept the estate’s site plan pinned up in his studio for decades as a personal favorite.

Wright and the Martins developed a lasting friendship, with the couple offering him support through difficult times. In 1926, he designed their summer home, Graycliff, near Lake Erie. A family mausoleum he planned was built posthumously in 2004. Today, the Martin House stands as a historic museum and a testament to early 20th-century American architectural innovation.