Graycliff Spring Clean Up!

It's that time of year again....time for 

Graycliff Spring Clean Up!

Spring Clean Up will take place on Saturday, April 11th...that's one week from this coming Saturday....from 9:30 am to about 1 pm, including lunch.  

We're having lunch at Pasquale's in Derby, this year, where we usually order our pizzas...and we promise to have the official Graycliff Pizza, with green olives...as well as other kinds!


Do plan to join us!  Please  RSVP for Spring Clean Up or give us a call at 947-9217.

Looking forward to seeing you then, and in the meantime, best wishes for a very Happy Easter and a Happy Passover, too!

And thank you to the docents who are leading tours over this coming holiday weekend.

Graycliff is Going National--on TV This Friday!

The Travel Channel is featuring Graycliff in a segment of Mysteries of the Castle….on Wright in Japan.


THE FLOATING HOTEL (Graycliff Estate, Derby, New York)An earth-shattering problem, an architectural genius, and a life saving innovation come together at the remarkable Graycliff Estate in Derby, New York.

MYSTERIES AT THE CASTLE  Premieres Friday, March 20 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT  

on the Travel Channel

Sad News...

Long time Graycliff volunteer and friend Alfreda Nadel has died.  Here is her obituary from the Buffalo News:

Alfreda M. (Podlesinska) NADEL

Notice NADEL - Alfreda M. (nee Podlesinska) March 14, 2015, left this earth to join her beloved husband, the late Raymond Nadel; survived by her loving and devoted sister, Rita (Salvatore) Schillaci; predeceased by sisters, Helen (late Frank) Janas, Cecelia (late Edward) Serwicki; brothers, Matthew (late Frances), Hodala and Casimer Podlesinska; also survived by cherished nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews. Family will be present on Tuesday from 2-4 and 6-8 PM at the DENGLER, ROBERTS, PERNA FUNERAL HOME, 2070 Eggert Rd., Amherst. Family and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday at 9:30 AM from Christ the King Church on Main St. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Alfreda's name may be made to Corpus Christi Church, 199 Clark St., Buffalo, NY 14212. Online condolences at www.denglerrobertspernafuneral.com

- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/buffalonews/obituary.aspx?n=alfreda-m-nadel-podlesinska&pid=174405787&fhid=5209#sthash.0q7B0B5B.dpuf

NEW DOCENT TRAINING

WE ARE CURRENTLY RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS TO TAKE NEW DOCENT TRAINING.  THE CLASS BEGINS 4/18 AT 11 AM AT GRAYCLIFF AND WILL RUN EVERY SATURDAY MORNING FROM THEN UNTIL 5/23. IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A DOCENT OR IF YOU YOURSELF ARE SO INTERESTED, PLEASE CONTACT DOCENT CO-TRAINER GEORGE STRUEBEL AT GDS2146@HOTMAIL.COM  OR BY PHONE AT 631-8717. 

ALSO, IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY A DOCENT, BE AWARE THAT AFTER 4/18 YOU MAY HAVE NEW TRAINEES ASKING TO SHADOW A TOUR THAT YOU MAY BE DOING AS WE WILL BE PUTTING EMPHASIS THIS YEAR ON THE LEARNING THROUGH WATCHING ASPECT OF TRAINING.

A REMINDER THAT CLEAN UP DAY IS APRIL 11 AND LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER PRODUCTIVE SEASON AND SEEING YOU ALL AT THE HOUSE!

Starting the Season Wright

What could be better  during these very cold days than to look forward to good things ahead?

First, coming up on Saturday, April 11th  from 9:30 am to 1 pm---Graycliff Spring Clean Up!

Yes, its going to come eventually....we promise!  The first gathering at Graycliff after such a long, cold winter (and special thanks to all the volunteers who led tours, helped with mailings and so many other things during these cold cold weeks!)

And in March, there's  a free, online Summit about Frank Lloyd Wright! There will be interviews with  Wright scholars and experts, like John Eiffler, who has been a consultant for two phases of Graycliff's restoration, and others.   This first  Summit, Starting Wright, will focus on Wright's early career.  For more info, visit

 Wright Summit

And to tide you over in the meantime, here's a video on Wright from 1962...enjoy!

Wright video from 1962

Frank Lloyd Wright buildings nominated to World Heritage Listl

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Interior Department has nominated 10 buildings in seven states designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright — including the iconic home known as Fallingwater in western Pennsylvania — for inclusion on the World Heritage List of the world’s most significant cultural and natural sites.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the nominations Friday, saying Wright “is widely considered to be the greatest American architect of the 20th century.”

Wright’s buildings would become the nation’s first modern architecture on the list, which includes modern structures elsewhere such as the Sydney Opera House, the Bauhaus School in Germany, and Brasilia, the capital of Brazil

Fallingwater, a National Historic Landmark in Mill Run about 65 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, was built over a waterfall and nestled into a rock mountainside.

How Chic!

Eric Lloyd Wright, grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright, and an architect himself, designed the building used as a backdrop in this upcoming ad from Brioni.

Eric is a good friend to Graycliff...he has visited 3 times.  See his comments about Graycliff here:Eric Lloyd Wright on Graycliff