The View from Martinview Cottage

One of the main attractions of the house we bought was that it was directly across the street from a decaying Frank Lloyd Wright compound -- the Darwin Martin House -- consisting at the time of two homes and a gardener's cottage. The other buildings of the complex, a pergola, carriage house, and conservatory, were long gone. You can look up the history of the site on any Wright site, or use the link below. Three apartment buildings that were built in the middle of the property by a previous owner to help pay taxes were still there and occupied. One day, before we moved into the house, I went over to prune the fence roses, and an elderly lady in one of the apartments yelled out her window to ask what I was doing -- my first introduction to the neighborhood. We bought the house from friends of ours, who wanted us to join the "happy homeowners' club." They were so right.

That was in 1983. Since then, the unbelievable has happened. A corporation was formed to restore the compound to its 1907 state. The apartment buildings have been torn down, and the pergola, the conservatory, and the carriage house rebuilt.

Construction this week consists of drilling who-knows-how-many geothermal wells in the lawn between the Martin House and the Barton House.

Soon I will post photos of the construction progress, winter scenes of the complex, and more.

Links to what I see "Wright" across the street:
Darwin Martin House Official Site
General Contractor's Site (click on WebCam)