The Larkin Company is Buffalo’s connection to Frank Lloyd Wright and the Roycroft Movement.

The Larkin Legacy
The executives of the historic, Buffalo-based Larkin Company were central to a remarkable story of ingenuity and innovation that led to great architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright and a community of art crafters at the Roycroft Campus. These "men of American business", as Wright called his clients, pioneered a mail-order soap dynasty that provided "premiums," household items and furnishings, as incentives for bulk purchasing. They were also catalysts for an extraordinary legacy of architecture and art in Western New York.

In 1902, one of John Larkin’s employees, Darwin D. Martin, introduced Frank Lloyd Wright to Larkin. Darwin Martin suggested that John Larkin commission Frank Lloyd Wright to design an attractive office building amidst his industrial enterprise. In his groundbreaking design for the Larkin Building, Wright pioneered the use of natural light, fresh air, and structural framework. It set a new standard in the design of corporate offices. Wright’s numerous innovations contributed significantly to the objective of designing a clean and comfortable building. Inside was a beautiful work setting, filled with natural light and fresh air. Clean air was distributed throughout the sealed interior of the building from an innovative air-conditioning system in the basement. Metal office furniture, built-in file cabinets, wall-hung toilets, and a gracious restaurant and conservatory are all design innovations that contributed to the ambiance of the building and were featured as part of daily factory tours.