martinhouseclr

184 DARWIN D. MARTIN HOUSE // CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT Integrity Evaluation Within the cultural landscape preservation standards, historic integrity refers to the “authenticity of a property’s historic identity, evidenced by the survival of physical characteristics and found to be significant.” When evaluating integrity the CLR should determine to what degree the landscape conveys its historic character, how much of the original fabric has been retained, and identify whether or not any changes to the landscape are irreversible which would prevent it from being corrected so that the property retains integrity. Integrity is documented through the analysis of seven aspects or qualities: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, often defined as: Location: Location refers to the place where the cultural landscape was constructed or where the historic event occurred. Design: Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure and style of a cultural landscape. Setting: Setting refers to the physical environment within and adjoining the cultural landscape. Materials: Materials are the physical elements, both natural and constructed, that exited historically within the cultural landscape. Workmanship: Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts in the construction and use of the landscape. Feeling: Feeling is an expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time in the cultural landscape. Association: Association refers to the direct link between the important historic event or person and the cultural landscape. Given the lack of vegetative features, the integrity of the Martin House landscape varies substantially within these aspects. For example, the landscape may retain integrity of location but lack integrity of materials due to the absence of historic vegetation – a primary material. However, not all seven aspects of integrity must be present for the property to retain integrity. Location The landscape retains high integrity of location. The existing properties that constituted the house and grounds during the Martin ownership period are currently intact and original to their location and historic core boundaries. Set within an NR listed historic district, these properties have been reacquired within the last decade through prior preservation master plan efforts and reconstruction treatments which appear to meet special significance criteria. Darwin Martin had ownership interests in adjacent parcels that now serve either MHRC visitor programming or are privately owned residences, however, these parcels are not considered the historic core of the property as previously defined by the NR nomination and this CLR. Design The landscape does not retain integrity of design, primarily due to missing vegetative materials that performed substantial design roles within the landscape. It is believed that the extant design features, including the defined matrix of landscape spaces, the cruciform arrangement of structures, site features and materials (other than vegetative), create the form, plan, space and structure that would be recognizable in the period and convey character, yet the lack of all vegetative materials impacts design integrity. Many of these extant features are reconstructions but appear to meet special significance criteria. Design conditions influenced by missing elements, such as vegetative materials, are reversible and can be corrected. Setting The landscape retains a high integrity of setting. The physical environment surrounding the historic property, including the neighborhood (an identified historic district), the streetscape