Odyssey of an Artifact

A globetrotting block

Sometimes the provenance of an artwork or artifact - the curriculum vitae of an inanimate object - is as interesting as the inherent significance of the object itself.

This may be the case with concrete block from Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel (Tokyo, 1917-22).  This eight-inch cubic block with a recessed square motif now resides at 143 Jewett Parkway, Buffalo, but its pathway of provenance takes a few twists and turns between its creation and present location:

Main lobby of the Imperial Hotel

c. 1920:  The block is fabricated in Japan along with various custom building components created by Wright for the Hotel:  geometric blocks, bricks and tiles rendered in concrete, terracotta or Oya stone.  These components, woven into various combinations in the exuberant geometry of the building, prefigure the concrete "textile blocks" of Wright's California houses of the 1920s.  The block is employed as part of a pier detail in the hotel's main lobby (left).

1967:  Former Taliesin apprentice Edgar Tafel writes from the Imperial Hotel to University at Buffalo President Martin Meyerson, saying that two wings of the massive structure are half demolished, as the Tokyo "Save the Imperial" group was unsuccessful in its mission.  Tafel also states that a mutual acquaintance, Hiroshi Misawa, will attempt to obtain some parts of the doomed building for Meyerson's collection...

1968:  The Imperial Hotel is demolished to make way for a larger, International Style edifice.  Four fragments of the Wright hotel are bestowed upon Martin and Margy Meyerson by Tafel, who is engaged in renovating the Darwin D. Martin House (Buffalo, 1904-05) as the University President's residence...

1968-2010:  At some point, parties unknown paint the block an unfortunate pale blue...

Mrs. Meyerson in her breakfast room

May, 2010:  At the invitation of Mrs. Meyerson, Martin House curator Eric Jackson-Forsberg flies to Philadelphia to accept a gift of Hotel components, among other Wright-designed items (art glass and light fixtures from the Martin House).  The concrete block had been used by Mrs. Meyerson as a plant stand in her Louis Kahn-designed breakfast room (right).  Jackson-Forsberg drives back to Buffalo with a rental car trunk half-full of artifacts...

January, 2012:  After a brief residency in the Martin House Restoration Corporation offices in the Market Arcade, the block is transferred to 143 Jewett Parkway, newly renovated as the MHRC's Administrative Center.  The block continues its leisurely retirement, inspiring conversation and blog posts...