Buffalo's Frank Lloyd Wright Landmark Reunites Original Furnishings

The Martin House museum traces its decades-long effort to document and recover the home's Wright-designed objects.

Mar. 3, 2026 at 5:21pm

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The Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, New York, a Frank Lloyd Wright landmark, has undergone a major restoration to return it to its 1907 form. A key part of this effort has been the painstaking work to reunite the home's original furniture, art glass, and other objects designed by Wright. A new exhibition at the Martin House, 'Collecting Ourselves,' sheds light on this often-overlooked aspect of restoration work, documenting the museum's decades-long quest to track down and reintegrate these elements into the home.

Why it matters

The Martin House was one of Frank Lloyd Wright's earliest and most significant Prairie School commissions, designed with a holistic vision that extended to every detail of the home's furnishings and decor. Restoring the house to its original state, including reuniting its Wright-designed objects, is crucial to preserving this landmark and honoring the architect's comprehensive design approach.

The details

The Martin House complex, completed in 1907, encompassed several connected structures, including the main residence, conservatory, carriage house, and gardener's cottage. Wright designed nearly 400 art glass 'light screens' for the home, as well as custom furniture like his Barrel and Slipper chairs. After decades of neglect and partial demolition, the $52 million restoration effort led by the Martin House Restoration Corporation has worked to painstakingly recover and reintegrate these original objects, with pieces arriving from as far as Australia and Scotland.

  • The Martin House was completed in 1907.
  • The home fell into disrepair after owner Darwin Martin's death in 1935.
  • The Martin House was foreclosed on in 1946 and partially demolished in the 1950s.
  • The University of Buffalo acquired the property in 1967 and began some restoration work.
  • The $52 million full restoration effort led by the Martin House Restoration Corporation began in 1992.

The players

Frank Lloyd Wright

The renowned American architect who designed the Martin House in his Prairie School style, with a comprehensive vision extending to the home's furnishings and decor.

Darwin D. Martin

One of Wright's earliest and most ardent patrons, who commissioned the architect to design the Buffalo home for his family in 1903.

Jessie Fisher

The CEO of the Martin House museum, which has overseen the home's restoration and ongoing efforts to reunite its original objects.

Susana Tejada

The curator of the Martin House museum, who has spearheaded the research and documentation of the home's Wright-designed furnishings.

Martin House Restoration Corporation

The nonprofit organization formed in 1992 to lead the $52 million restoration of the Martin House complex.

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What they’re saying

“Restoration is not only about building. Wright's philosophy is that everything about this place is part of the design, but sometimes objects are not the emphasis of the restoration story.”

— Susana Tejada, Curator, Martin House

“Martin had the sense of how he wanted to live with his family and Wright had the sense of how do you translate some of those ideas into bricks and mortar.”

— Jessie Fisher, CEO, Martin House

“The objects, the furniture, the decorative art, the art glass—they're all an extension of the architecture.”

— Susana Tejada, Curator, Martin House

“It's not that we're just trying to collect anything that we can. We're thinking about this house in the context of Buffalo and its reconstruction and rebirth. Every time a piece comes back here, we're restoring a piece of Buffalo's cultural heritage.”

— Jessie Fisher, CEO, Martin House

“Every time we're able to bring something back, especially the art glass, it really changes how you view these spaces. You get a much stronger sense of what Wright was trying to do when you can see it the way that he intended you to see it.”

— Jessie Fisher, CEO, Martin House

What’s next

The Martin House museum is hosting a symposium on April 28 to further explore questions of stewardship and responsibility around collecting the home's original objects.

The takeaway

The Martin House's ongoing efforts to reunite its Wright-designed furnishings and decor highlight the importance of preserving the architect's holistic vision for his landmark Prairie School commissions. By carefully recovering and reintegrating these original elements, the museum is not only restoring the physical structure, but also honoring the comprehensive design approach that made the Martin House a groundbreaking work of art.