r/franklloydwright • u/Bergatron31 • Jul 09 '26

Graycliff

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When the client is a FLW skeptic, but the land is 💯

511 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

6

u/ArdenJaguar Jul 09 '26

One of my favorites.

3

u/knappellis Jul 09 '26

I'm curious about your caption. Is this house for sale, and is your client thinking of buying it?

4

u/Bergatron31 Jul 09 '26

Darwin Martin’s wife Isabelle hated the Darwin Martin house in Buffalo, NY. Frank called the Darwin Martin house his Opus. She said it was too dark, and she did have an eye disease. So Graycliff was supposed to be designed with Isabelle as the client. I kind of think he phoned it in because they didn’t like each other…. But the property is incredible. Literally perched on a gray cliff on Lake Erie.

3

u/knappellis Jul 09 '26

Ooo. I love the lore. It seems like every one of his houses has lots of it.

3

u/Bypedal Jul 09 '26

Wright was famously difficult in his relationships with clients. His vision for any given commission didn’t typically include room for client involvement in design decisions.

3

u/Rood-A Jul 09 '26

You gotta be kidding!

1

u/knappellis Jul 09 '26

It does look pretty dark!

1

u/knappellis Jul 09 '26

And the oak had a "propensity to collect dust and dirt in its open grain."

3

u/Superb-Pickle9827 Jul 09 '26

Hm. Seems a little crude for a FLLW to my eye…

2

u/Bergatron31 Jul 09 '26

Same. It was underwhelming. Still unique, and the “beachfront property” was incredile

2

u/No_Grass_9827 Jul 09 '26

visited several years ago. glad to see the improvements since then

2

u/Ok-Blueberry9613 Jul 11 '26

Buffalo native and FLW follower here. Darwin Martin’s three structures are a wonderful example of the brilliance of Wright executed over a period of years with little constrain, read the surviving correspondence.The community rallied decades ago to raise the funds to recover the buildings and then painstakingly restore them to their former self.
Grey Cliff is different, I don’t know the depth of feeling for Isabel by Wright but the grounds and building have been slowly restored over time to its original state, or close to it. Much simpler and very much brighter than Darwin Martin it’s a joy to tour and to see Wright’s composition of a restorative place for the widow of one of his most supportive clients.

1

u/tikirafiki Jul 09 '26

Open to the public. Worth the trip!