Introduction Fall 1999 

The first phase of restoration work is well underway in the service courtyard at Graycliff. Under this project contracted to Buffalo Restoration and Design, the garden wall connecting the servant house and the main house is to be restored.

The process began with carefully documented shop drawings locating every stone in the tichenor limestone stepped base to the stucco wall above. Mortar and stucco test patches have been created to exactly match the original materials. A new steel structure has been fitted within the screening wall. Ted Lownie, Matt Meier and Richard Rice of Hamilton, Houston and Lownie Architects have designed the restoration under the careful eye of the Graycliff Design Review Committee and Andrea Rebeck of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.

Work is also under way restoring the gem known by the Martin family as the "heat hut" or boiler house. The chimney is being relaid as well as the roof structure stabilized before the original finishes, including its red stained creosote dippled cedar shingles, are replaced.

The "heat hut" was originally constructed in order to reduce the risks of fire to the main house. By having the heating system in the "heat hut"  and piping the hot water required by the radiators in the main house and servant house underground, a likely source of combustion for a house fire was eliminated.

The choice to restore the garden wall and the "heat hut" was made after careful review of the historic structures report completed by Bero Associates of Rochester, New York in the spring of 1999. The report identified both areas as being in advanced stages of deterioration. The decision to start here also will allow many of the "recipes" for original materials to be perfected before the main house or servant house are restored. Work on these two projects is expected to be completed in the spring of 2000.
 

Progress Report  Summer/Fall 2000  

Over the past year, we have watched plans for the restoration of the service courtyard, including the garden wall and heat house, become reality.  As this project nears completion, we can now appreciate the great care given the work by Buffalo Restoration and Design in their careful execution of the restoration plans prepared by Architects, Hamilton, Houston & Lownie.  The unique braided shingle detail on the heat hut is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s signatures on this complex.  The detail incorporates trapezoidal shingles overlapped to create diamond and hexagonal shapes reminiscent of the furniture custom designed for the house.  Roofing subcontractor, Ray Whitman of Bock & Whitman Roofing Inc., found the exacting alignment of the ridge detail one of the most challenging assignments in his extensive history of roofing restorations.  In fact, the original roof was nearly identical to the detail used on Frank Lloyd Wright’s own home “Taliesin” in Spring Green, Wisconsin.  That roof sadly was destroyed by fire in 1925.  This very decorative pattern of shingling will be used on the entire Graycliff complex as restoration progresses.

Microscopic paint analysis was recently completed and confirmed that the first color on the oversized moldings forming the fascia and transition from stone base to stucco wall was a grayish green color, which appears to echo the tree bark-like color Frank Lloyd Wright spoke about at Taliesin.  These trim colors will be finalized and painted before the close of the season.  This trim will be one of the finishing touches on the service courtyard project.

When completed, future restoration projects can reference the completed first phase for an on site representation of what specific areas of the complex will be.

Progress Report Spring 2001  

The first phase of restoration, the garden wall and heat but (boiler house) at the service courtyard awaits warmer temperatures to complete the project. When construction resumes this Spring, the restored window and door will be placed into the boiler house and final painting completed. The garden wall is to receive its restored cypress cap and the small section of wall attached to the main house will be re-built.

Fall 2001: Phase I Complete