martinhouseclr

86 DARWIN D. MARTIN HOUSE // CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT Our conservatory could by alteration be made attractive in winter at least – alterations to be made would be – cement and tile roof removed and replaced with glass, boarding under benches made tight to prevent gasoline fumes from getting up from cellar. There would not need to be any change in heating, or benches. We should start in with Chrysanthemums in Nov. and follow on with such cool house plants as we now grow [illegible] forced shrubs, bulbs, etc. The idea being to let the plants stay in conservatory until [illegible] over and this would mean from two to three times as long as plants last in house. The pergola could be glazed in with storm sash to make it easy and pleasant to get to in cold or stormy weather. This would be a great help too. We ought to have some hybrid perpetual roses on the place, they don’t last in flower very long but are glorious when in bloom. The best place for these would be in front of proposed shrubbery on Summit Ave. Why can’t we get shrubs planted & established before wall is built? Shall I draw plan? Roses of all sorts can be bought very cheaply from Holland. Would have to be sealed in for winter & planted in spring though as they are very soft. Can make once that [illegible] [illegible] of pergola and try some there? 202 In any case, aside from Martin’s general complaints about the winter, several other curious things are clear from Martin’s handwritten note. Wright’s still-promised (at the time) Summit Avenue wall was expected and was, in Martin’s mind, to include shrubs in addition to the wall – a solution previously alluded to by Wright. There were existing problems with the conservatory aside from the lack of enough light to grow flowering plants, including gas fumes likely making it at least partially intolerable to spend much time in. 203 There was also a desire, perhaps somewhat fleeting, to have the pergola enclosed with glass for more seasonal access. None of these items appear to have been followed up on in known detail, except in the following years there was a thoughtful effort to fully replace the plant conservatory with a “team room,” including a small stage, a piano, and a billiard table. 204 The floor was to be raised to the height of the pergola floor (with a basement kitchen below) and a very small balcony was proposed overlooking the Barton House rear 202 DDM-FLW/T.Skinner, 20 July 1911, possibly hand-written attachment to brief typed letter of same date, Trans. Zakery Steele 2014, WMP-UB 203 The tropicals grown in the conservatory under lower-light conditions had comparatively few flowers and were primarily grown for their foliage effect. There was a clear love for flowers and apparently a strong desire, by Mrs. Martin in particular, to experience their pleasure in the depths of winter – enough that she spent time in the greenhouse during the winter. 204 The illustrative colored-pencil plan is titled “Alterations to Conservatory,” and dated June 1916. UB Archives #22.0_4-4. yard. [Fig. 62] Notably, regarding the exterior landscape, the eastern Conservatory exit to the Summit terrace garden area would, being raised substantially, include a flight of steps down to what is shown only in text on the plan as “bathing pool?” The plans never came to fruition. The plans were ultimately rejected in favor of concentrating on alterations to the main house. An accompanying Wright plan dated to the same period also suggest alterations to the porte- cochere side of the main house were requested, also never fully realized. 205 Among other things, the plan proposed to alter the floor plan of the west side of the house, including adding a servants’ sitting room expanding into southern end of the courtyard garden. Amusingly, and surely a specific request from Mrs. Martin held over from more than a decade prior when she objected to Wright’s “awful” entry approaches – the plan includes a walkway heading directly south towards Jewett Parkway from the bottom of the front entry stairs. 206 The walkway would have effectively cut the travel distance from the Jewett Parkway sidewalk to the front door by nearly two-thirds and brought entry walk away from the driveway, incorporating a more direct Victorian- style entry. 207 [Fig. 63] 205 Elements of the plan at the main house were later revised and realized outside of Wright’s hire in 1920. A summary account of the alterations is made by Jack Quinan in his book, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House: Architecture as Portraiture, page 215. 206 DDM-FLW, 26 March 1903, Trans. Jack Quinan 2003, WMP-UB. 207 Although compounded by the development and rise in use of the automobile, and thus, driveways and less adherence to Fig. 62, opposite Conservatory alterations plan, 1916, Frank Lloyd Wright. Not implemented.