In 1976, word that the state Office of Mental Health might use the building as a halfway house sparked the concern of preservationists, but efforts made under UB Presidents Robert Ketter and Steven Sample over a period of 15 years were frustrated; historic building preservation, understandably, is not part of the mission of the State University of New York.

In 1982, the Wright-Martin Papers, a vast collection of letters, drawings, photographs and related documents pertaining to the design and construction of the Martin House, were jointly acquired by UB and Stanford University. This material provided unique insights into the social life of the Martins and into Wright's business practices, compounded the historical value of the Martin House and provided both the impetus and the means to accurately restore the buildings.

In 1991, William Greiner, as provost of UB, set in motion the forces that formed the Martin House Restoration Corp. in partnership with the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; fundraising began; and fortuitous circumstances enabled the restoration corporation to expand its vision from the Martin residence to the full six-building complex.

Today, the Barton House and gardener's cottage have been acquired; the 1960s apartment buildings are demolished; and the missing pergola, conservatory and garage-stable buildings have been reconstructed on the site.

I have been involved in the project for 31 years as a Wright scholar, curator and author of books on the Martin House and on Wright's Larkin Administration Building. And it is enormously gratifying for a number of reasons. Only now is it possible to appreciate the power of the narrative that Wright created for Darwin Martin in the form of the long view from the entrance to the main house to the Nike of Samothrace at the end of the pergola-conservatory axis, the story of Martin's life told architecturally.

Only rarely did Wright have the opportunity to give full expression to space, structure and the harmonious design of both the interior and the landscape of a commission of this size. The house is very complex, but it rewards careful scrutiny with a wealth of discoveries.

Only rarely in the entire history of architecture has a major building been so meticulously documented, a condition that today enables us to understand the house as the product of human interaction, a weaving together of many stories rather than a modernist abstraction.

The project is also gratifying because it has brought together an extraordinary group of people - board members, political figures, foundations, neighbors, students and an army of selfless volunteers - who have come to recognize the importance of the Martin House in the history of architecture and to the future of the City of Buffalo.

That, for me, is the best part.

Jack Quinan is a Wright scholar and curator of the Darwin Martin House. He is also a professor at the University at Buffalo and the author of "Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House: Architecture as Portraiture."