![](https://blog.hpsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DSC_2360-1024x683.jpg)
At the turn of the 20th Century, Buffalo was a very wealthy city with the highest number of millionaires per capita than any other American city. One of these individuals was Darwin D. Martin of the Larkin Soap Company. A company he had started with at the age of 12, rising to the position of company Secretary (equivalent to a CFO now). After commissioning the up and coming Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design a new company headquarters, he also asked Wright to design a home for his own family. The end result was something startlingly modern for 1905, and very different from the traditional homes in the Parkside neighbourhood of Buffalo.
![](https://blog.hpsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DSC_2311-1024x784.jpg)
![](https://blog.hpsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DSC_2294-1024x683.jpg)
On Saturday July 22, HPSC ran a very successful daytrip to Buffalo to visit both the Darwin Martin House complex, as well as the Martin’s summer home, Greycliff Estate, situated just south of Buffalo on a 70 foot cliff overlooking Lake Erie. Fifty-three members and guests received in-depth tours of both locations.
![](https://blog.hpsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DSC_2297-1024x759.jpg)
We followed up the tours with a dinner in the Lafayette Brewing Company located in the historic Hotel Lafayette (built in 1904).
![](https://blog.hpsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DSC_2354-944x1024.jpg)