martinhouseclr

25 2 // SITE HISTORY & EVOLUTION Isabelle’s objection, the suggestion that Martin was considering living on a farm during this time gives an understanding of the clear sentimentality for nature expressed through the subsequent forty years. His childhood connection to, and resulting passion for, the natural wonders of the upstate New York countryside was ultimately articulated in his willingness to have his property become one of the pioneers of an architectural and landscape design philosophy that respected and drew inspiration from the regional natural geography. Martin’s desire to be among natural wonders, which seems to fit with Olmsted’s philosophy behind the garden suburb, was undoubtedly associated with his childhood. Martin was raised on a farm in Clayville, New York, which he referred to as idyllic until the passing of his mother at age six. 26 Partly an undercurrent of the ongoing societal response to the industrial revolution and, most certainly, a product of his rural roots, both Darwin and Isabelle were attracted to the natural world and particularly fond of plants and flowers. Indeed, from the time he first moved to the Parkside neighborhood, Martin would have a documented sentimental history of relating trees to sites, and moving them, probably for both thrift and emotional value. In May of 1891, Martin noted planting “white plum trees, purple beech, and cut leaf birch” at his house on Summit Avenue. 27 Photos 26 Jack Quinan, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House: Architecture as Portraiture, New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2004, 33. 27 Darwin D. Martin, Memorandum, May 5, 1891. of Martin standing with these trees, both at the time of planting and after he had moved to Jewett Parkway, signify his affection and appreciation of both plants and natural process. [Fig. 11] Jewett Avenue seemed to have served as the main public utility (gas and water) corridor for lots in the immediate area as Martin and his neighbors shared costs to build a private water pipe from Jewett, up Summit Avenue, in 1889. 28 Darwin Martin also purchased several additional lots in the neighborhood, not just his first house on Summit Avenue, but at least eight additional lots in April of 1890 for “speculative purposes.” 29 The lots were sold just two years later in September of 1892. 30 The next decade to 1900 saw Martin rise further through the ranks at the Larkin Soap Company, a series of brief travels to Chicago and elsewhere on business, an extended trip with Isabelle through the New England countryside, and then, from May to June of 1899, a tour of Western Europe – having noted many estates and gardens visited in his diary. 31 Among the more landscape-related sights recorded in Martin’s diary are visits to seaports, lakes and a country ride over the Kerry mountains of Ireland, castles of Scotland, and in Paris, visits to the Grand Trianon and the gardens in the domain of Versailles. Before noting his passage home to the United States, Martin’s trip record closes with an 28 Darwin D. Martin, Memorandum, October 22, 1889. 29 Ibid., April 25, 1890. 30 Ibid., September 26, 1892. 31 Ibid., May-June, 1899. Fig. 11, bottom Martin, photographed with trees (beech in foreground, birch behind) at 145 Summit. Fig. 10, top 145 Summit Avenue, c.1890.