Focus shifts to restoring interior of Darwin Martin House
Goal is to complete $7.5 million phase by October 2011 for national convention
No one ever said completing the Darwin Martin House Complex would be quick or inexpensive.
The slow march in the restoration of one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s acknowledged masterpieces, now in its ninth year, still needs about $11 million to finish the work, estimated to total $50 million.
The goal now involves restoring the interior of the Martin House, an 18-to 24-month project at an estimated cost of $7.5 million, by October 2011, when, for the first time, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is scheduled to hold its annual convention in Buffalo.
The remainder of the work, which is expected to be financed largely by private sources, will require an estimated $1 million for historic landscape restoration, $500,000 for replicating furniture and fixtures, and $2 million for 200 art glass windows yet to be made.
The Darwin Martin House Restoration Corp. is hoping to obtain stimulus funds to jump-start construction work on the house’s interior. The Buffalo & Erie County Convention and Visitors Bureau has called the project key to boosting the city’s and region’s cultural tourism.
“Buffalo and Western New York need some victories and particularly an economic development project that brings people and resources to this region,” said Jack Walsh, president of the Martin House Restoration Committee. “The Martin House is a perfect example of a popular destination site that can help bring tourist dollars for hotels and restaurants and other services to the community.”
Politicians in Buffalo and Erie County, as well as across the state and in Washington, D. C., still support the project that up to now has been almost evenly paid for by public and private funds, according to Mary F. Roberts, chief operating officer.
But the quest for stimulus funds may run into restrictions that could leave the project on the outside looking in, she said.
The Martin House Complex, at 125 Jewett Parkway, currently is among the top 10 Wright attraction draws in the United States. Once the Martin House restoration is completed, the goal will be to rank in the top three.
Roberts said 20,000 tourists on average have visited the site over the past two years, two-thirds from outside Western New York and 11 percent from outside the United States. The total number is expected to reach 50,000 to 55,000 once the project is completed, with a potential of 80,000, according to a consultant’s study.
The next phase of work in the Martin House is expected to involve 30 construction jobs, adding to the other jobs that have been created at the site, Roberts said.
“We have had nonstop construction. We have employed all sorts of trades during all four major phases of construction and restoration,” Roberts said.
The Martin House’s profile as a national attraction is expected to rise in the near future. Journalists from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Newsweek and several architectural periodicals have made the trek to the Martin House Complex in the past two weeks alone, with articles expected to follow.
The $5 million visitors pavilion, designed by Toshiko Mori Architect, opened in March. Replicas of a previously demolished pergola, conservatory and carriage house were completed in October 2006, and the Barton House and Gardener’s Cottage have been purchased from private ownership.
“We have almost universal support. . . . Everyone sees the potential of this project, which will generate new economic activity to the local area, rather than replacing existing activity,” Roberts said.
“So, it’s positive, not just for the economy but for the city’s psyche. We think it is a great project for our community in very tough economic times.”
Funding the Darwin Martin House Restoration
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