martinhouseclr

186 DARWIN D. MARTIN HOUSE // CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT domestic residential setting – despite being an active house museum. A large contributor to the characteristic feeling of the property is the powerful contrast witnessed and sensed between the historic property and its neighborhood setting, which was also characteristic and often remarked of the historic period. However, the lack of vegetative material alters and reduces the truly accurate experience and sense of the overall design from both within the house and from the public realm. Missing vegetative materials are reversible however, and may be corrected in a way that increases the accuracy of the feeling experienced within the landscape. Association The landscape does not retain integrity of association. The property is no longer used or managed by the Martins and no longer serves as a private residential estate. The current use is primarily a house museum, dedicated to interpreting the design qualities of Frank Lloyd Wright and ownership of the house by the Martin family. Landscape Characteristics and Features Evaluation This landscape character evaluation specifically compares the property’s existing landscape characteristics to its known characteristics during the period of significance. The narrative illustrates the extent to which the landscape retains historic character in each character typology (visual and spatial relationships, topography, vegetation, etc.) and described major features that contribute or do not contribute – or are perhaps missing. Not all individual features are described within the narrative and have been assessed individually as a matrix at the end of this section. Given that the extant Martin House landscape is composed of many reconstructed features, these have been identified as such and evaluated. Unless otherwise noted due to a specific CLR comparison between a documented historic condition and an existing condition, it is believed that high quality reconstructions have taken place through prior treatments, and they likely meet (through future additional evaluation) special National Register evaluation criteria for reconstructed properties. Visual and Spatial Relationships The existing visual and spatial relationships are generally characteristic of the period of significance primarily due to relationship between the extant boundaries created by the public realm streetscape, the visual associations to the interior spaces of the house, and most distinctly, the matrix of large and small landscape spaces created by the arrangement of architectural buildings, structures, circulation routes and other constructed features. Much of the features defining these spaces are reconstructions, but the spatial definition created by the protruding walls, low terraces and cruciform arrangement of buildings are representative to the Martin ownership period. The most notable visual and spatial change from the period is the missing definition provided at site boundaries by vegetative material. This includes the prominent internal site views associated with the Floricycle that once terminated the strong axis of the fireplace, living room and verandah. The recognizable front yard, the Summit lawn, Summit terrace, and Barton House yard are intact spaces despite the loss of materials. The courtyard space appears to be the most defined area, with its compartmentalized subareas that are all distinguishable. Some visual relationships that would have existed within the courtyard space have been modified by both the lack of boundary screening and change in land use on adjacent parcels (visitor interpretive services).