Martin House Annual Report 2017

DearFriends, Ourmission topreserve, interpret andpromote FrankLloydWright’sMartinHousewasmetwith great success in thepast year, highlightedby signifi- cant events generatingpositive results. Inspiredby Wright’s innovativedesignprinciples, our efforts and our successeswereenabledbyyour generous sup- port. Aswe thankyou,weoffer a snapshot of 2017– a transformativeyear at theMartinHouse. The recreatedwisteriafireplaceand the restoration of the secondfloorwoodwork, colorfinishes and master bedroomfurnishingswere thecapstones to a fully restoredMartinHouse. Withsupport froma $5milliongrant fromNewYorkStateand theBuffalo BillionPhaseTwoprogram,we turnedour attention in the fall to theBartonHouse, thefirst residence designedbyWright for theMartin familyestate. Inaddition, pre-constructionactivities related to thehistoric landscape rehabilitationwerealso in full swing leadingup to constructionseason2018. The 150 th anniversaryof thebirthofFrankLloyd Wright, commemoratedonJune8, 2017,was the highlight of anational andregional year-longcelebra- tion. InpartnershipwithGraycliff,wehosteda series of events inour “150HoursofFrankLloydWright” programwelcomingmore than2,500participants. We launchedanewbrand identitywithan iconic logo in the spirit ofFrankLloydWright’s signature redsquare. Thebrandcomponents introducedanew lookacross all digital andprint platforms aswell as retail product andon-sitecommunications. Withsupport fromVisitBuffaloNiagaraand the FrankLloydWrightFoundation, theMartinHouse receiveda recordnumber of earnedmediamentions indigital andprint publications. Wealsopartnered withBuffalobloggers and influencers, invested marketingefforts indigital advertising, andgrewour socialmedia following, engagingnewandrepeat visi- torsbothregionallyandnationally. While thepast year yieldedmany tangible results and impressivenumbers, ournewly revisedStrategic Planwill set the stage for thenext threeyears. Our plan focusesoncompletingall restorationprojects, preservingandmaintaining thehistoric site, achiev- ingfinancial sustainability, increasingvisitation, assembling thebest teamof board, staffandvolun- teers, andcontinuing toenhanceour community relevance. FrankLloydWright stated, “Wecreateour buildings and then theycreateus.” Likewise,weconstruct our circleof friends andour communities and then they construct us. Thankyou for beingapart of theMartin Housecommunity. Weask for your continuedsup- port inorder tosustainourmission. Pleaseconsider agift to theMartinHouse so that, together,wecan continue toshare the stories that theMartinHouse hasbuilt fordecades. Sincerely, MaryF. Roberts KeithM. Stolzenburg EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD PRESIDENT M A R T I N H O U S E A N N UA L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 LETTER FROM EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR AND BOARD PRESIDENT “Wecreateour buildings and then theycreateus.” – FRANK LLOYDWRIGHT 1