Barton House
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 56.191 W 078° 50.854
17T E 675624 N 4756012
The first of Wright's houses completed in Buffalo, built for Darwin Martin's sister and brother-in-law.
Waymark Code: WMBXH
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 05/03/2006
Views: 119
The Barton house, the first of Frank Lloyd Wright's Buffalo buildings to be completed, was built for Darwin Martin's sister, Delta Martin Barton, whose husband, George, worked for the Larkin Company. The floor plan is based upon Wright's 1902 Walser house in Chicago.
Its low profile reflects the expansiveness of the American prairie. Wright's use of unadorned natural materials - brick, concrete, and oak - reflected an organic approach.
Wright wrapped a continuous band of windows across the front (and rear) of the house and around the corners of these bedrooms to create an illusion of expansiveness.
The subordinate axis of the house consists of an open porch on the south with an abbreviated kitchen projecting to the north. Although this section contains very little usable living space, its function as a counterpart to the height and mass of the two-story part of the house should not be underestimated. Wright repeatedly experimented with cross-axial plans in order to lower the of his houses and extend them farther into the surrounding landscape.
The room dimensions of the house are small, but the effects of space are maximized throughout the design. The principal living spaces are concentrated in the two-story portion of the house, where the living, dining, and reception areas open freely in to one another as discrete subdivisions of a continuous space. In contrast, the two major bedrooms on the second story are located at the opposite ends of a narrow corridor.
Year Completed: 1903
Commissioned By: George Barton
Nearest City or Town: Buffalo, NY
Public/Private: Public
Tours Available?: yes
Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
There are no specific visit requirements, however telling about your visit is strongly encouraged. Additional photos of the building or house to add to the gallery are also nice, but not required. Pictures with a GPS or you in them is highly discouraged.