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.
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.
We followed up the tours with a dinner in the Lafayette Brewing Company located in the historic Hotel Lafayette (built in 1904).
