Graycliff
Design Review Committee chairman Patrick J. Mahoney recently reviewed the donation
and was elated to discover that not only does the set of blueprints contain
a first floor plan of the complex, but this floor
plan is a never built earlier version of the main house. The only other known
original surviving first floor plan of the main house is at the Frank Lloyd
Wright Foundation's archives at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona. The earlier
design although vaguely described in the extensive correspondence housed at
the University at Buffalo's archives was previously unknown as part of the evolution
of the layout of the house. In fact three major spaces
within the house (the fern room,
dining area, and entry hall) are radically different in this plan. This plan
was provided in conjunction with coordinating elevations, depicting a much more
symmetrical entrance wing and a dining area with French doors opening to a stone
terrace on the lake side of the dwelling. These plans give the Conservancy a
much better understanding of inconsistencies in the final set of blueprints
of the estate. It is now clear that plans which may have appeared to have oversights
were merely coordinated to a previously unknown set of construction documents.
Mr. Mahoney also noted that the 1915 California album adds to the wealth of knowledge about the Martin family's experiences. The album documents the cross country trip taken with the Kellogg family by train, automobile, ferry, and horseback. It also details chance meetings with former President Theodore Roosevelt as well an exciting train crossing of the Sacramento river by a ferry capable of carrying the eighteen railroad cars and two locomotives in only two crossings.
The archival photographs of Graycliff will provide a tremendous resource for the restoration of the property and helps document the many decisions made while Frank Lloyd Wright visited the site on a regular basis during construction. University at Buffalo Archivist Christopher Densmore stressed that, "Since Wright's buildings did not always follow his original blueprints, the availability of a dated set of construction photographs will immeasurably aid in the accurate understanding and restoration of Graycliff."
Mr. Elliott
has had prior connections to Wright's legacy in Western New York, having acquired
the Frank Lloyd Wright - Darwin D. Martin papers in 1982 and being responsible
for their subsequent sale to the University at Buffalo Archives and Stanford
University. This extensive documentation has been invaluable in the restoration
of both Graycliff and the Darwin D. Martin House. In addition, these papers
have been used to further the studies of Wright scholars and researchers from
around the world.Mr. Densmore also noted that, "Photographic documentation is
becoming increasingly important to our understanding of architecture.
Graycliff is
unusual in that we have the photographic
documentation literally from ground-breaking to the realized structure.
These new photographs are a priceless addition in documenting the culmination
of Wright's work in Buffalo."
Graycliff Press Release July 27, 2000
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