Buffalo, NY Day #4

Today's excitement was a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright. I wasn't overly keen on the idea but cuyahogarvr started salivating like a puppy viewing a milkbone the moment he heard they existed so away we went.

We started with Gaycliff, the summer home of Darwin Miller & family, south of Buffalo, NY. It was built in the mid 1920s but extensively modified since the Miller family sold it after the death of Darwin Miller. The conservation society purchased the property in the late 1990s and has been slowly renovating the place since, restoring it to its original form.

The downside is that the place is still under extensive renovation. The exteriors are mostly rebuilt, reinforcing their structure and integrity. The interiors are largely stripped and the landscaping is sorely lacking but in a few years, it will be quite the place.

Graycliff, by Frank Lloyd Wright Derby, NY 2007-08-19

The Darwin Miller Estate was originally a complex of several buildings and was the primary residence of the Miller family. As before, the death of Mr. Miller (as well as the depression) destroyed the family fortune so Mrs. Miller walked away from the property in the 1930s. The property was abandoned for 20 years until an architect bought out the property; alas, he didn't have enough funds to properly restore the estate and had to sell off half of the property and some of the peripheral buildings.

The conservation society has purchased the plot, destroyed the smaller apartments built on the site in the 1960s and has begin rebuilding the lost structures and restoring those which survived. Again, so much is under construction that it was difficult to see much of the original but it should be quite something to see in a few years.

Darwin Miller Estate, by Frank Lloyd Wright Buffalo, NY 2007-08-19

We returned to the hotel for a nap after a very late lunch. We're now struggling yet again to find something we could possibly do in the evening. Please shoot me.

Buffalo, NY Day #4

Today's excitement was a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright. I wasn't overly keen on the idea but cuyahogarvr started salivating like a puppy viewing a milkbone the moment he heard they existed so away we went.

We started with Gaycliff, the summer home of Darwin Miller & family, south of Buffalo, NY. It was built in the mid 1920s but extensively modified since the Miller family sold it after the death of Darwin Miller. The conservation society purchased the property in the late 1990s and has been slowly renovating the place since, restoring it to its original form.

The downside is that the place is still under extensive renovation. The exteriors are mostly rebuilt, reinforcing their structure and integrity. The interiors are largely stripped and the landscaping is sorely lacking but in a few years, it will be quite the place.

Graycliff, by Frank Lloyd Wright Derby, NY 2007-08-19

The Darwin Miller Estate was originally a complex of several buildings and was the primary residence of the Miller family. As before, the death of Mr. Miller (as well as the depression) destroyed the family fortune so Mrs. Miller walked away from the property in the 1930s. The property was abandoned for 20 years until an architect bought out the property; alas, he didn't have enough funds to properly restore the estate and had to sell off half of the property and some of the peripheral buildings.

The conservation society has purchased the plot, destroyed the smaller apartments built on the site in the 1960s and has begin rebuilding the lost structures and restoring those which survived. Again, so much is under construction that it was difficult to see much of the original but it should be quite something to see in a few years.

Darwin Miller Estate, by Frank Lloyd Wright Buffalo, NY 2007-08-19

We returned to the hotel for a nap after a very late lunch. We're now struggling yet again to find something we could possibly do in the evening. Please shoot me.