Martin, disappointed with the small size of the conservatory, had a 60 ft (18m) long greenhouse constructed between the gardener's cottage and the carriage house, to supply flowers and plants for the buildings and grounds.

In 1926, Wright designed a second home for the Martins called Graycliff, a summer estate overlooking Lake Erie in nearby Derby, New York.

[10] A proposed Martin family mausoleum designed by Wright in 1928 was eventually built by the Forest Lawn Cemetery in 2004.

Wright was especially fond of the Martin House design, referring to it for some 50 years as his "opus", and calling the estate "A well-nigh perfect composition".

Wright kept the Martin site plan tacked to the wall near his drawing board for the next half century.

[12][13] The main motives and indications were: First – To reduce the number of necessary parts of the house and the separate rooms to a minimum, and make all come together as an enclosed space—so divided that light, air and vista permeated the whole with a sense of unity.

[15] Of particular significance are the fifteen distinctive patterns of 394 stained glass windows that Wright designed for the entire estate, some of which contain over 750 individual pieces of jewel-like iridescent glass, that act as "light screens" to visually connect exterior views with the spaces within.

[16] A semi-circular garden which contained a wide variety of plant species, chosen for their blossoming cycles to ensure blooms throughout the growing season, surrounded the Martin House veranda.

[17] The estate is located within the Parkside East Historic District of Buffalo, which was laid out by the American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1876.

[18] On the ground floor the kitchen is at the north end, while a scaled veranda extends from the reception hall to the south.

Built in 1909[16] of wood and stucco,[25] the gardener's cottage is so modest in size that a boxy configuration appears to have been inevitable, contrary to Wright's ideal of opening up the confining "box" of traditional American houses.

[25] Nevertheless, Wright managed to create an illusion of the pier and cantilever principle that characterized the Martin House by placing tall rectangular panels at each corner of the building.

Martin, had attempted to donate the house to the city of Buffalo or the state university to be used as a library but his offer was rejected.

[28] By 1937 the estate had already begun to deteriorate, the walls at the front of the house were crumbling, and the conservatory hadn't been used for several years due to a leak in the heating system.

[28] Purchased in 1951 by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, with plans to turn the estate into a summer retreat for their priests, it remained empty.

The university attempted restoration of the Martin House, although this consisted mainly of slight modernizations and the location of several pieces of original furniture.

The Gardener's Cottage was purchased in 2006, and the demolished carriage house, conservatory, and pergola were reconstructed and completed in 2007.

The Eleanor & Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion Visitor Center, designed by Toshiko Mori, opened March 12, 2009.

[35] In June 2017, the unveiling of the Wisteria Mosaic Fireplace, a 360-degree work of art consisting of tens of thousands of individual glass tiles, marks the completion of the $50 million project.