WELCOME

Graycliff was built between 1926 and 1931 for Isabelle R. Martin, wife of industrialist Darwin Martin, as a summer home for the family. Standing majestically on the shore of Lake Erie, Graycliff is a monument to one of the greatest American tales ever told. It’s a story about a wealthy businessman’s ambition of building a breezy summer retreat for his family, a woman’s steadfast influence in an otherwise male-dominated society, an acclaimed architect on the downward slope of his career, and a country on the brink of a financial crisis that threatened to extinguish it all. As the Graycliff Story continues to unfold, we welcome you to join us on the journey.

The Martin family owned the property until after the deaths of Isabelle and Darwin Martin. It was sold in 1951 to the Piarist Fathers, an order of Roman Catholic Priests from Hungary, who used Graycliff as their motherhouse. The Fathers altered the property substantially for their own uses, adding additional buildings and structures that obscured Wright’s vision for nearly fifty years.

In 1997, with only a handful of elderly priests remaining, they put Graycliff up for sale. Although many people considered purchasing Graycliff, the only offer the Fathers received was from a developer, who wished to tear down the buildings to build condominiums on the prime lakefront location. Carol Bronnenkant and her family were among those who looked at the property. Fearing its demise, Bronnenkant called several public meetings to ask the public to save Graycliff.

From those meetings, the Graycliff Conservancy was born. Incorporated as a non-profit shortly thereafter, the Conservancy was founded specifically to acquire, preserve, restore, and make accessible to the public the buildings and grounds designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

A true grassroots success story, the Graycliff Conservancy has acquired the property, completed an enormous restoration effort, and now welcomes thousands of visitors annually to enjoy the peaceful experience that is Graycliff.