Like the Darwin D. Martin House, the Davidson and Heath houses are distinctively Wright designs. They have the same prairie styling and simple elegance. But there is one distinct difference.

People, not public organizations, own these houses.

John Laping is chair of the Buffalo Preservation Board. He said it is the board's job to preserve local landmarks - regardless of who owns them.

"We realized we had two Frank Lloyd Wright jewels that some how had eluded the landmarking process," said Laping. "We decided that it was in the interest of the city and historic preservation to get those things landmarked locally, which provides for a significant amount of oversight on any exterior restoration, renovation or change that an owner might want to make."

But the owners are not overjoyed about the idea of that oversight.

Russell Maxwell owns the Davidson House and Nancy Schmid owns Heath House. Neither has welcomed the idea of landmarking their homes. Schmid has called it an invasion of privacy.

So, far the Buffalo Common Council has sided with the homeowners, voting against the preservation board's request. But Laping said the board is moving the issue forward again. He hopes they will gain more community support at a public hearing being held at 3:00 PM Thursday in city hall.

Laping said there is precedence for the local landmark status of private homes - and he said there are benefits for the owners, such as tax credits for exterior renovation. But he said the biggest benefit is preserving a piece of Wright history.

Laping said it would be a point of shame not to. And he said the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be here in 2011 to witness how well Buffalo is doing at preserving its Wright heritage.

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