martinhouseclr

134 DARWIN D. MARTIN HOUSE // CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT 1868 - 1900 1900 - 1905 1905 (cont.) 1868: City of Buffalo retains Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. to design park system. 1872: Concept of a “park side” garden suburb promoted by Olmsted for the area east of The Park (Delaware Park). 1875: Jewett Parkway laid out and constructed privately by Elam Jewett. 1876: Olmsted Sr.’s park system designs generally complete, which included incomplete street layout for Parkside. 1884: Jewett Parkway deeded to City of Buffalo as a public street. 1885: Parkside Land Development Company formed, retained Olmsted firm to revise Parkside street layouts to include smaller lots. 1888: Darwin Martin and Isabelle Reidpath (Martin) pledge to marry, construct house at 145 Summit Avenue (now 151 Summit). 1889: Summit Avenue deeded to City of Buffalo as public street. 1890: Martin purchases several additional lots in Parkside for “speculative purposes,” which are sold in 1892. 1899: Darwin and Isabelle tour Western Europe’s cultural sites, natural landscapes and designed gardens. 1902: Martin meets Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Burley Griffin in search of architect for planned Larkin Administration Building. 1902: Martin purchases residential lots on the corner of Jewett Parkway and Summit Avenue. Commissions Wright to design Barton House. 1903, May: Wright begins design work on composition of multiple structures on the property. 1903, October: Ground broken for Barton House construction. 1904, May: Ground broken for construction of garage and conservatory. Martin plants first two trees (at Barton House and along western boundary). 1904, October: Harry Hebditch hired (first gardener), Barton House front and rear yard planted from Griffin-provided species list. No planting plan provided. 1904, December: Martin orders prefabricated greenhouse from Pierson-Sefton Company of Jersey City, NJ. (Constructed in February) 1905, February: Illegible blueprint copy of Plan of Plantings (dated 2-15-1905) sent to Martin, who requests original plan due to illegibility. Griffin proceeds to revise/clarify original plan. 1905, March: Hebditch (gardener) resigns, leaves for England weeks later. 1905, March-April: Copper beech planted west of driveway, small. 1905, April: Buildings and site structures largely complete. Contractor O.S. Lang completes as-built survey of property. 1905, May: Planting of remaining grounds (all but Barton) from newly legible original of Plan of Plantings. Plantings include most all plant material and trees (five elms, one ginkgo) for the property. 1905, June: Storm flooding causes damage to front yard and hemi-cycle area. 1905, Summer: Martin hires Pittsburgh landscape architect, J. Wilkinson Elliot, to prepare planting plans for select areas of the property. Plans not implemented. 1905, Summer: Martin asks Wright to revise Elliot’s plan for the hemi-cycle area. Wright prepares a design that includes a lily pond for the space, not implemented. 1905, October: Martin requests architectural plans for a Gardener’s Cottage from Wright. 1905, November: Wright informs Martin that the “Floricycle” plan is ready. First written use of the term. 1905, Fall: Walter Burley Griffin believed to have left Wright’s employ. Historic Landscape Timeline