martinhouseclr

163 4 // ANALYSIS & EVALUATION design is identified as important, can be used as a basis on which to accurately develop and implement interpretive programming for the landscape. Review of Existing Preservation Program Status National Register of Historic Places The Darwin Martin House was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places (NR) in September 1975 and was officially listed in December. The property was nominated as significant in the area of “Architecture,” and no indication was made about its potential significance in the area of Landscape Architecture at the time. The description of the property includes the location, characteristic architectural features, and the interior arrangements (not including Wright- designed furnishings) of the main Martin House, the Barton House and the Gardener’s Cottage – which were the three surviving structures at the time of nomination. No description or mention of the designed landscape or the relationship between the house and the landscape is present in any part of the NR nomination, including the Statement of Significance. Contemporary NPS significance criteria in use for nominations today are not specifically noted, but the property is identified as nationally important in the evolution of the prairie architecture style and as an important work of Frank Lloyd Wright’s career. 2 The written statement of significance also briefly touches on the importance of the long relationship between Wright and Darwin Martin, the latter identified as providing “a number of important commissions” to the architect. 3 The NR nomination identifies the specific Period of Significance as 1903-1905, seeming to represent, in this instance, the period of construction of the Martin House Complex and likewise the period that it attained the characteristics which qualify it for NR status. As Period of Significance is defined as the span of time in which a property attains significance, and the property is listed on the NR exclusively significant as an architectural design of Frank Lloyd Wright, the period was identified as that of initial construction and did not include the period of Martin’s residency. The property boundary limits of the NR 2 Within the contemporarily used NPS Criteria for Evaluation, this would fall under Criterion C: Embodying the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a mater, or that possess high artistic values. 3 National Register of Historic Places, Inventory Nomination Form: Darwin D. Martin House, George Barton House, Gardener’s Cottage, Buffalo, Erie County, New York, National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior, 3. nomination includes both a verbal description and a hand-drawn boundary on a site map, identifying the limits of original property lines known to belong to the Darwin Martin during the noted Period of Significance. 4 The parcels, include the large corner parcel (consisting of the Martin House, Barton House, and associated structures) as well as the Gardener’s Cottage parcel on Woodward Avenue. However, it should be noted that at the time of nomination the pergola, conservatory and garage were not extant and non-contributing apartment buildings were located within the nominated boundary. [Fig. 169] National Historic Landmarks Program In 1986 the property was listed as a National Historic Landmark (NHL), however the nomination only includes a then-surviving portion of the main Martin House. The NHL nomination does not list the other buildings that fully constitute the Wright-designed complex, such as the Barton House, Gardener’s Cottage, or even the then-demolished pergola, conservatory and garage attached to the house. Furthermore, the NHL nomination includes a revised and substantially reduced boundary that reflects 4 The NR boundary does not include the parcels now also known to be owned by Martin during his tenure, including the Jewett garden lot, the landlocked parcel(s) south of the Gardener’s Cottage, and the narrow parcel along the western boundary.