FIRST EVER RECONSTRUCTION OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT BUILDINGS UNVEILED IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK (10/06) Darwin D. Martin House Complex Premiers The Most Extensive Restoration of Any Wright Property BUFFALO, NEW YORK – The Martin House Restoration Corporation (MHRC) and local, state and federal dignitaries today unveiled reconstructed buildings of the Darwin D. Martin House Complex, a National Historic Landmark in Buffalo, New York, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Three newly reconstructed buildings include Wright’s 100 foot long Pergola, the glass-roofed Conservatory, and the two-story Carriage House and Stable. Also rebuilt was the Martin’s greenhouse. "Reconstructing these ‘lost buildings’ is the most significant step we will ever take in the restoration process,” said Robert Gioia, MHRC President. “We now have the entire Martin House Complex of buildings reassembled for the first time in more than 50 years for visitors throughout the world to come and enjoy.” The Martin House, whose design process began in 1903, is being restored to its condition as of 1907. Wright scholars consider it a significant turning point in his Prairie House concept. Wright called the Martin House his “opus,” and had its plans tacked above his drafting board for decades. “In Darwin Martin, Wright had, for the first time, a client with an unlimited budget,” said Stanford Lipsey, Vice President of the MHRC and Publisher of The Buffalo News. “Moreover, the site sits in the center of a National Historic District designed by the famous landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. “It’s a perfect marriage of the nation’s top architect and top landscape designer.” The Martin House is the largest Wright Prairie House in existence with 7 buildings totaling nearly 32,000 sq. feet. It was designed with 394 art glass windows, more than Wright crafted for any other building he designed. “These are faithful Frank Lloyd Wright reconstructions – structures built exactly as Wright designed them in 1904. We have used Wright’s original drawings and the archival photographs of the buildings taken during its construction a century ago,” said Mary Roberts, MHRC Chief Operating Officer. “There also are hundreds of letters written between Wright and Martin about the Complex.” The $8 million reconstruction of the four buildings completes Phase III of the multi-year restoration project. Upcoming work will include the construction of a Visitor Center, being designed by Toshiko Mori, Chair of the Department of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Future phases will also consist of work on the main Martin House exterior and interior, including restoration and replication of its furnishings, and additional work on the Barton House, another Wright designed Prairie House on the Complex. In addition, the gardens and grounds will be replanted as originally designed by Wright. The Martin House Restoration Corporation is a New York not-for-profit corporation founded in 1992. It has a 30-member board of directors and more than 350 active volunteers. The historic Martin House site is open for tours on a year-round basis. More information about this National Historic Landmark can be found at www.darwinmartinhouse.org. Detailed information about this project can be found at the Martin House Styles and Usage Guide for journalists located on the website.