martinhouseclr

136 DARWIN D. MARTIN HOUSE // CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT 1930-34: Garden lot on Jewett sold (house built 1935). 1930, May: Darwin R. Martin (son) opens combination stock brokerage and florist shop. 1931: Delta Barton (sister) leaves Barton House. 1932: Martin notes money tightening and adverse tax hearing outcomes. Walter Burley Griffin visits and photographs Martin House while in United States on business. 1934, December: Martin suffers stroke leaving him unable to speak. 1935, December: Martin dies. 1937: Isabelle Martin dismisses staff and abandons house. William Thorpe (chauffeur) and family remained living on site above garage until circa 1942. 1937: Barton House sold to private owners. 1942: Gardener’s Cottage sold to private owners. 1945, February: Isabelle Martin dies. 1946: City of Buffalo acquires Martin House (with pergola, conservatory and garage) from Buffalo-Phenix Corp. 1947: Patrick Dwyer acquires the property from the City of Buffalo (with pergola, conservatory and garage) 1948+: Greenhouse removed. 1954-55: House (with pergola, conservatory and garage) sold by Patrick Dwyer to architect Sebastian Tauriello, modifications to landscape made. 1955+: Dutch elm disease devastates Buffalo’s elm tree population, trees at site in decline. 1962: Portion of property sold to developer. Pergola, conservatory and garage demolished. Three 2-story apartment buildings constructed. 1966-67: University at Buffalo, State University of New York, purchases remaining property and house from Sebastian Tauriello. Used as University President’s residence (Martin Myerson and his wife, Margy). Barton House also purchased by Eric and Eleanor Larrabee (University Provost of Arts and Letters and architect/designer respectively). 1970: Property no longer used as residence, University retains ownership, used as archives office. 1975: Property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including complete boundary of original core parcels. 1989: Property listed as a National Historic Landmark. Listing only includes main Martin House with smaller subdivided property around house. 1992: Martin House Restoration Corporation (MHRC) established. 1994: Three apartment buildings purchased by MHRC, eventually removed from site. 1997: NYS (and later, the MHRC hires Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects to lead architectural restoration effort. 2002: Preliminary stabilization and restoration work begun on main house. 2004: Reconstruction of pergola, conservatory and garage begins. Site cleared of most extant vegetation. 2006: Gardener’s Cottage purchased by MHRC from private owners. 2007: Reconstruction of pergola, conservatory and garage (including constructed site and landscape features) largely complete. 2008: Two ginkgo trees removed to accommodate continued building restoration efforts. 2009: Eleanor and Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion (visitor center) opens. 1930 - 1946 1947 - 1988 1989 - Present Historic Landscape Timeline (cont.)