The Buffalo Illustrated Express referred to it as both a "Jules Verne house" and "Chinese puzzle," while another publication dismissed it as a "freak house."

Although history's verdict is far different today, it's easy to see why such views were rendered.

Wright's organically designed, Midwestern-influenced Prairie house - with its linear, low-to-the-ground appearance, intersecting planes, flowing interior and art glass windows - stood in stark contrast to the stately Victorians of Buffalo's Parkside neighborhood.

The house was no less out of place than its up-and-coming, 35-year-old Oak Park, Ill., architect, who was bursting with new ideas.

Choosing Wright was a gamble for Martin, a wealthy man who became a devoted friend to the man who would later be called America's greatest architect and brought him some of his greatest commissions.

Thanks to Martin, Wright was assigned his first large commercial project, the acclaimed Larkin Administration Building, designed in 1904 and built on Seneca Street in 1906.

Martin was a top executive of the Larkin Soap Company, a mail-order business that, like Buffalo, reached its zenith in the early 20th century. When he and his wife, Isabelle, sought an architect for their home, they turned to the Chicago-based Wright at the suggestion of Martin's brother, William.

He was first hired to design a home for Martin's sister Delta and her husband, George Barton, a stone's throw from where his house would be built.

The Martin House began in 1903 and was substantially finished two years later at a cost five times greater than Wright's estimate. Along with the Martin and Barton houses were a gardener's cottage, carriage house, pergola and conservatory. A greenhouse was added later.

The Martins also asked Wright to build a summer home on the lakeshore in Derby that came to be known as Graycliff. Like the Martin House Complex, it too, is now under reconstruction.

Eric Lloyd Wright apprenticed as an architect with his grandfather, Frank Lloyd Wright, and recalled him speaking warmly about Martin.

"I heard him a couple of times talk about Mr. Martin, and he always considered him as one of his finest and closest clients," Wright said from his studio in Malibu, Calif.

When the reconstructed buildings are completed, it will mark the first time in more than 40 years that the entire Martin House Complex will be seen together.

Today, the comments that praise what Wright created more than 100 years ago are far different than the descriptions heard at its opening.

"The Darwin Martin House complex is without question the greatest of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Period houses - and arguably, the greatest house of his entire career, bar none," said Robert McCarter, professor of architecture at the University of Florida and the author of six books on Wright.

Buffalo State art historian Francis Kowsky predicts big dividends for Buffalo with the long-sought completion of the Martin House Complex.

"In terms of architectural history, I think it's the most important house in New York State. The restoration is going to be a great plus for the city and certainly raise its profile in the art world," Kowsky said.

- Mark Sommer