Buffalo Day 3

June 4, 2015

Day 58

We enjoyed another terrific day in Buffalo. We took an 11:00 tour of the Darwin D. Martin house which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Martin had been instrumental in choosing the young architect to design the Larkin Administration Building,which was Frank Lloyd Wrights's first commercial building.  Unfortunately, the Larkin Administration building was eventually torn down.  Over the years Martin and Wright became very good friends and Martin commissioned him to build he and his wife and family their home. He later designed their summer home, Graycliffe on the shores of Lake Erie and their family mausoleum in Forest Lawn that wasn't built until 2004 due to Martin's loss of his fortune. The Darwin D. Martin Complex exemplifies Wright's Prairie School ideal and always remained one of Wright's personal favorite of all his works.

Darwin D Martin house

The home fell into a state of decay and disrepair after Martin died, their family fortune was lost in the Wall Street Crash and Depression and his wife literally walked away from the house. We really enjoyed the tour and were stunned by the beauty and design. The building is slowly being restored which started in 1997. Some of the buildings had been demolished such as the gardener's cottage and were rebuilt. It is an amazing place. After lunch we went to Forest Lawn Cemetery which is a cemetery like no other we have seen with many famous people buried there and beautiful memorials to loved ones. Red Jacket (famous Native American chief from area), President Millord Filmore, Rick James, Shirley Chisholm and Darwin Martin are buried here. 

Red Jacket

Millord Filmore

 We drove back to the house. Tom and Sue hosted their friends Michael and Nancy (the other couple we met in Germany) and us to dinner and a great evening of conversation. Michael and Nancy were headed off to Cambridge tomorrow and then a cruise to Bermuda the next day. Later in the year, they are going on a 49 day cruise in Europe, through the Suez Canal and landing in Singapore.