martinhouseclr

65 2 // SITE HISTORY & EVOLUTION Sanborn map as “coop,” located just west of the barn associated with 143 Jewett that existed prior to Martin’s purchase of the land. 168 [Fig. 46] In 1906 and 1907, Wright was also documenting his work of the period for the eventual publication in March 1908 of his pivotal In the Cause of Architecture essay in Architectural Record. The 219-page written and photographic essay included several photographs of the Martin House exterior taken by Henry Fuermann & Sons between 1906 and 1907. The photographs, though showing a considerably immature landscape lacking the ultimate spatial form and qualities of the specified plant material, characterize the overall organization of the early landscape that Wright and Griffin designed for the Martins. [Fig. 47, and following pages] Though the landscape was immature, the Martins settled into their house and garden in 1906, and for the next several years the landscape - a unique mixture of the increasingly popular ladies’ flower border and an early representation of the Prairie Style naturalistic plantings designed by Griffin - would grow significantly. The Gardener’s Cottage was still not under construction, but a complete designed-landscape was installed more or less according to the plans created in Wright’s studio to-date. In a nod to the maintenance responsibility ahead, Martin gave a set of pruning shears to his then 6-year-old 168 It appears as through Martin eventually owned this land, once the rear third of 143 Jewett. See ownership and period maps for clarification. son, Darwin R. Martin. 169 During the remainder of 1906 and well into 1910, any modifications to the landscape were minimal and not specifically documented by Martin. It was during this time, fundamentally an introductory period, when the Martins learned the seasonal cycles of their designed landscape and became more familiar with the nature of the installed plant material. Martin made written comments on the landscape in two instances. He noted of the forsythias in bloom in May of 1909 and, later that year, when away from Jewett Avenue during the summer, he pines for the beauty of the landscape in “its loveliest season,” notably adding “shrubbery and trees making great growth.” 170 171 169 DDM, Memorandum, 5 May 1908, MFP-UB 170 DDM, Memorandum, 1 May 1909, MFP-UB 171 DDM, Memorandum, August 1909, MFP-UB Fig. 45, bottom Elm tree planted near Barton verandah, c. Sept 1906. Fig. 44, top Just planted Floricycle area, c. spring 1906. Fig. 43, two-page spread photograph, following pages The Summit Avenue frontage, c. April 1906.