martinhouseclr

36 DARWIN D. MARTIN HOUSE // CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT of these topics, mostly questions from Martin, were either ignored or not corresponded on in written form. These include a proposed wall extending from the pier on the west from the driveway (along the present day south lot line of the Gardener’s Cottage lot), which Martin wonders how far it is supposed to extend. 65 Another major feature of the plans advanced and corresponded on in early 1904 was the conservatory, which by end of May, after having spent time with just-received construction plans for the structure, Martin begins to realize that it is not the type of plant house he and Isabelle had initially desired. 66 By September of 1904, as the walls and roof are erected on the conservatory, Martin puts the matter of the plant house to Wright directly: Dear Sir:-- Getting closer to the question of a gardener I come to a realizing sense that you have not filled my order for one greenhouse, but instead have substituted a building which on a pinch will answer for a conservatory. We will have to build a greenhouse, that is a growing house, elsewhere on the premises or depend on outside resources. Be this as it may, I do not understand why you have entirely omitted part of your job, i.e. the provision for ventilation. You have either 65 DDM-FLW, 25 May 1904, Trans. Jack Quinan 2003, WMP- UB. 66 DDM-FLW, 24 May 1904, Trans. Jack Quinan 2003, WMP- UB. begged the question or neglected it, I do not know which. I am, however, learning that one of the reasons why plants thrive in a greenhouse and do not in dwellings is the difference in amount of air provided and its circulation. You have made no more provision for either air supply or circulation in the conservatory than you have in the dwelling, so we must do it. We think you ought to and would feel safer if you do. 67 Darwin and Isabelle Martin’s interest in plants and gardening is clear early on in the diaries, correspondence, and in photos of himself next to trees he thought sentimentally important in his life. It is also in this 29 September 1904 letter that he first writes of the imminent hiring of a gardener for the property. 68 The letter also exhibits Darwin Martin’s inclination to methodically and thoroughly scrutinize Wright’s plans, which he did extensively. When Martin did not understand a concept or an idea, or was concerned by a feature (such as the lack of circulation in the 67 DDM-FLW, 29 September 1904, Trans. Jack Quinan 2003, WMP-UB. 68 Over the term of residence in the house and at Graycliff, Martin hired potentially eight different gardeners – who would carry out much of the planting work and landscape desires of Darwin and Isabelle. They were: Harry Hebditch (Oct 1904 to Apr 1905), George Frampton (Apr 1905 to Mar 1906), Thomas Skinner (Mar 1906 to Jun 1912), George Fellows (1913 to Nov 1916), Edwin Helic (Nov 1916 to unknown), and three additional persons who only appear as one passing referenced name in Martin’s papers. The three and their date of reference are: Ingersoll (Jan 1929), Forbes (1932), and Sprague (1935). conservatory), he made incredible efforts to understand the details and reasoning, and suggest solutions or changes to Wright based on his self-education. 69 Meanwhile, through the summer of 1904, Martin had become increasingly distressed by the lack of complete plans for the main house from Wright. In an effort to temper Martin’s distress, his brother William retrieved a pencil sketch – a perspective of the front of the house from Jewett Parkway - from Wright’s office and sent it to Buffalo. 70 The sketch referred to is thought to be a striking perspective of the house from Jewett Parkway, simply titled “D.D. Martin.” 71 [Fig. 22] However, it is unclear what this sketch ultimately was. Darwin’s reply letter to William Martin four days later references the sketch as unrealistic, noting that “Summit Ave. is not at right angle to Jewett,” which the perspective drawing does not show in a plan view or otherwise. He goes on: “Hence, the verandah comes very much nearer to Summit than the sketch shows, and there will not be the air of spaciousness which the sketch promises.” 72 Nonetheless, the perspective sketch that dates from this time discreetly indicates the envisioned 69 In discussing Martin’s reading habits, Jack Quinan summarizes this, describing Martin as “an autodidact, passionate reader, and book collector.” 70 WEM-DDM, 4 August 1904, Trans. Jack Quinan 2003, WMP- UB. 71 Jack Quinan, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House: Architecture as Portraiture, 92. 72 DDM-WEM, 8 August 1904, Trans. Jack Quinan 2003, WMP- UB. Fig. 21, previous page Block Plan, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1904.