NEWS ARTICLE: BUFFALO NEWS (3/07) DARWIN MARTIN CARRIAGE HOUSE RESURRECTED When Frank Lloyd Wright designed the carriage house for the Darwin D. Martin House, his client knew horse-drawn vehicles were on the way out. This was the early 1900s, after all, and Martin — perhaps having spied Buffalo automaker George Pierce putt-putting around the Pan-American Exposition in a Pierce Motorette — believed motorized buggies on rubber tires were the ride of the future. Sure enough, the elegant carriages initially kept in the outbuilding behind the Martin House, and the horses that pulled them, soon clippety-clopped into history. The building became a garage that at one point housed four cars. A century later, the long-vanished carriage house is back, not as a shelter for horses, carriages or even automobiles but as the home of the Wisteria Shop in the restored Martin House Complex at 125 Jewett Parkway. The two-story brick structure and firstfloor gift shop will officially debut at a public open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, along with the pergola and conservatory. All are “lost buildings” that have been faithfully re-created from Wright’s blueprints. Though this phase of the $50 million project was substantially completed last fall, much needed to be done over the winter to bring these components back to the future — as they appeared in 1907. Finishing touches included the installation of a cypress trellis in the conservatory, where the pergola — the covered walkway extending northward from the rear of the Martin House — intersects the lateral passageway between the George Barton House and the carriage house. Preparations for the open house were completed this week with the installation of the Wisteria Shop, designed by Hadley Exhibits of Buffalo, around a display that includes a replica Tree of Life window — Wright’s most famous art glass design — and a frosted glass panel on which many of the brass strips and glass pieces for a Tree of Life window are shown in an “exploded” pattern. The items were donated by Buffalo News Publisher Stanford Lipsey and his wife, Judith. Hadley’s Jean DuBow, Pat Haggerty and Mike Stefura created displays that avoid interfering with carriage house sightlines by keeping the fixtures below eye level, with finishes and styling that “separate the shop from the architectural space.” The adjoining room houses the rebuilt stable — four cedar-sided stalls where Martin’s horses lived in equine luxury. The upstairs chauffeur’s quarters also have been reproduced. Managed by Rebecca Lee, the shop will feature Wright-themed calendars, windows, books and other articles, as well as items unique to the Martin House, said Mary F. Roberts, chief operating officer. The open house will include free guided tours of the Martin House and the “lost buildings” and the occasional talk with Wayne Scott of L.P. Ciminelli Construction, project construction manager. Artist Chris Guerra will sign art-print posters of his Martin House rendering for Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects that will be given away with Wisteria Shop purchases. All items will be sold at a one-day 15-percent discount. The reconstructed buildings will become part of the regular, year-round public tour schedule. For information, call 856-3858 or visit www.darwinmartinhouse.org tbuckham@buffnews.com