June 30: Buffalo

Dear Friends and Relatives,

Greetings and salutations from both Alexandra and me from a second exciting sightseeing day in Buffalo and its environs.  We both had a very good night of sleep last night, and woke refreshed at about 8:30.  The Delavan, our hotel, had a very nice breakfast, and we had scrambled eggs, bagels, yogurt, coffee, and juice to fortify us for the day.  

Under a lowering sky we gathered our umbrellas and our directions and set off for the town of Derby, where the Graycliff estate is located.  It was the summer house of Isabelle Martin and her husband Darwin, whose family house we had seen last night in Buffalo.  By the time of Graycliff's commission, Wright and the Martins had been personal friends and clients for over 20 years.  It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Isabelle's pleasure.  Graycliff is one of only 5 of Wright's designs that were built between 1925 and 1935.  It is a complex of three buildings right at the edge of Lake Erie, sited high on a bluff, with views across to Ontario.  Grounds and gardens were also designed by Wright.  The largest building of the three is the Isabella Martin house, with plenty of glass, providing visitors the ability to see through the building itself to the lake beyond.  There are also cantilevered balconies, expansive terraces, and ribbons of windows which allow the experience of nature from within and through the house.  In addition, there is a second building called the Foster House, originally designed as a garage, with an apartment above for the chauffeur and his family, but Wright was asked to alter the plan after a year, and Martin's daughter Dorothy, her husband and their children stayed there in the summer.  

The gardens and grounds feature water elements designed by Wright.  Other architectural features include a sunken garden, a hidden garden, and stone walls in a waterfall pattern.  It is one of the few landscape designs of Wright.  Additional significant design work was done by Ellen Biddle Shipman, one of the early and renowned women landscape architects, and one of the creators of the Arts and Crafts and American Craftsman style landscape designs.  

Although the family lost much of its fortune due to the Great Depression, and was forced to abandon the city house in 1937, they kept Graycliff until 1943.  It is now a NY State Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

After this fabulous tour of yet another Wright masterpiece, Alexandra suggested that we have a bite of lunch, and we selected a restaurant in nearby Lakawanna, NY named Winfield's Pub (motto: "Food with an attitude.").  There, Alexandra tried one of the local brews and I had a Scottish ginger beer that was fabulous.  Food included an excellent fish fry-up with French fries for Alexandra, and a creamy turkey soup for me that was warming and wonderful.  

After lunch, we were off to the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, modeled after the Crystal Palace in England.  It was created in the late 1800s from the vision of, among others, Frederick Law Olmsted, considered the "Father of American Landscape Architecture."  Upon opening in 1900, the conservatory was the third largest public greenhouse in the US and the 9th largest in the world.  It contained plants from around the globe.  In 1980, Erie County purchased the conservatory and 11.4 surrounding acres from the city of Buffalo and changed its name from South Park to the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.  In 1982, the Gardens were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Today, over 100,000 people annually visit the Gardens. They were delightful to roam, and once we had finished touring the conservatory and all its annexes, we walked its grounds and explored both the extensive Peace Garden and the Healing Garden.  It was Alexandra's idea to add them to our itinerary, and I was more than happy to oblige.

After visiting the gardens, we drove to two home specialty stores Alexandra wanted to explore: Rò and Fern and Arrow.  After that, we shortly added a visit to AT&T to our list, since my old iPhone was deemed outdated and defunct by both Alexandra and the service technician.  I now have a brand-new phone which has a larger screen and an easier-to-read script, and I am very happy to be au courant in my technological improvements--even though that improvement will be obsolete in another half year!!!!

We have returned to our hotel, and Alexandra is taking a nap while I write this.  Before returning, we both had a smoothie, so some appetizer-type cheeses, crackers, and fruit should do later on and as I show Alexandra the newest photos taken on my first two trips to Indianapolis and San Francisco this year.  A great day of sightseeing today--off tomorrow to Niagara Falls and then Toronto!  As ever, Sylvia