Graycliff is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's residential designs and is often regarded as the bridge…read morebetween his Prairie houses of the early 1900s and later masterpieces, such as Fallingwater (I look forward to visiting one day). Designed by Wright for Isabelle and Darwin D. Martin (and unlike the Martin house, which you should also visit), the estate sits on an 8.5-acre bluff overlooking Lake Erie. It's about 25 miles southwest of Buffalo, New York. And I did not realize this important tidbit: the gardens and landscape designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman, who worked with Wright. The property was built between 1926 and 1931 as the summer home for the Martin family. Also, Graycliff is a New York State Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Importnat note: the Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House and Graycliff Conservancy are two separate nonprofits -- I did not know that before my visit. The two even have distinct missions. But they each have the common goal to preserve and share the history of the Martin family and Wright's work. I highly recommend visiting both sites. And be sure to check the schedule and tour times. Outside of the welcome center, gift shop and adjacent garden, you must sign up for a paid tour to see the rest of the buildings on site. In the central house, Wright effectively dissolved the traditional boundary between indoors and outdoors. There is local limestone, ochre stucco and cedar shingles and, if you keep a watchful eye, you will see Wright's designs at work: triangles, circles, hearts, diamond-shapes and other shapes are embedded and featured throughout the grounds and in the architecture. Graycliff was also personally significant for Wright. During the mid-1920s his career and finances were in turmoil. The Martins, longtime friends as well as clients, commissioned Graycliff at a moment when relatively few of Wright's designs were being built. Over time, many architectural historians view the project as helping sustain his practice during one of the most difficult periods of his life. And last interesting tidbit: The Martin family owned the property until after Isabelle and Darwin died. It was sold in 1951 to the Piarist Fathers, an order of Roman Catholic Priests from Hungary. They lived in and used Graycliff until 1997 (even built buildings and structures), when the property was sold. Graycliff was actual set to be demolished for condominiums -- can you imagine?! A few tips for your visit: -If you are driving a larger vehicle (large trucks, RV's, camper vans, vehicles pulling trailers, call in advance. The team will work to accommodate your vehicle. Do not miss the brand new visitor center. It has interactive educational features, an informative video and an excellent gift shop, with snacks on site. -Parking is out front at no cost. -A portion of all tours is outside, rain or shine. -Wear comfortable clothing and comfortable walking shoes. -Apparently, stiletto heels are not allowed in the main house to protect the restored floor. -Only service animals are allowed on the grounds.

I did a tour of Graycliff as part of the All Day All Wright tour a while ago anat that time it was…read moreinteresting but also a bit disappointing both because the renovations were ongoing and we arrived late due to traffic so the tour was cut short. Seeing online that Graycliff had just opened a new visitor center and was in full swing I decided to make a one day trip to see it again. Located about a half hour southwest of Buffalo and about an hour northeast of Erie, Graycliff sit right on the Lake Erie shore. There is a small sign at the end of the long drive that leads you to the new visitor center. The center is set up just outside the area that Wright designed. The center is very modern but it does have elements that are inspired by Wright, the horizontal lines of the building, the glass that allows you to see through the building is similar to Graycliff. Inside there is a very nice gift shop, some interesting exhibits and an unusual unisex bathroom. I had signed up for the extended tour and we had a nice group who all had some experience with Wright before, including one guy who had done extensive work in building the new visitor center. The tour starts in the visitor center with a very well made video giving some of the history of Wright, the Martins and Graycliff. After that we went through the Picking Garden which was very attractive and smelled wonderful. We then learned about the layout of the outside, including that the driveway was oriented to track the movement of the sun on the summer solstice. We were also informed about the history of the site, the local materials being used and the history of the house after the Martins had to give it up. We also were told about the water features and how the house was oriented to allow views through the house to see the lake. Although this was the 3rd project Darwin Martin had hired Wright for (the Darwin Martin House and the Larkin Company Adminstration Building were the others) here the client was Mrs. Martin and this was to be a summer house so the overall design is a bit unique. The timing of the project was also crucial as Wright had finished his Prairie Style and the Usonian style was not yet developed. Wright had also gone through a number of personal issues and public scandals so this commission was helpful in bridging a difficult period. Once inside Graycliff you realize that there are many common Wright elements, the use of natural materials, the importance of the hearth as the heart of the house and how he had opened up the common areas with a flow. Graycliff is unique in how it is oriented to the lake with huge windows on both sides. We also got to see the second floor and the second floor of the smaller second house that initially was the garage and chauffeur's quarters and later used by Martin's daughter's family. I have to compliment our docent Brian who did a great job of guiding us through the house and property while supplying information, pointing out details and just being very entertaining. Wright was a complex person, while a genius and visionary he also had personal issues and could be difficult to work with, Brian gave a nice balanced view of Wright, his relationship to the Martins and how Graycliff came to be, plus its history and restoration. On my previous visit I had enjoyed Graycliff, but also found it a bit disappointing, this visit reflects the great job that has been done on finishing the restoration and furnishing the property to best effect. While not as flashy as some of the better know Wright designs, Graycliff is well worth a visit for its historical significance to Wright and to see how he was in transition and developing new and different ideas. A great visit and I am so glad I took the time for a second visit.