It’s been a year-long labor of
love for Michael and Lisa Parks and their dream of owning and operating
a bed and breakfast is now a reality. Buffalo is better for it.
They have restored an historic mansion at 288 Linwood Avenue mansion
into oscar’s bed & breakfast. The 5,124 sq.ft., circa-1884 beauty
is north of Bryant Street in the Linwood Preservation District.
Michael and Lisa have spent over $200,000 on renovations to complete
the bed and breakfast that is also their new home. The mansion was last
occupied by a law firm and did not have a kitchen when they purchased
the property last March.
It was love at first site at 288 Linwood after looking at potential
conversion projects on Delaware Avenue and on Virginia Street.
“We were interested in finding a place that had some historical
significance and interest to potential visitors,” says Lisa. “It is
kind of like the three little bears. We looked at The Midway on
Delaware where Lord Chumleys was but that was too expensive for us. To
make that property work, we would have had to find a restaurant to rent
to. We looked at a former photography studio on Virginia Street but
renovations would have been overwhelming. Branches were growing through
windows and there was zero parking. The stunning Moorish details and
painted murals were difficult to resist!”
“Finally, our realtor brought us to 288 Linwood Avenue,” she says.
“This was ‘just right!’ We have a parking lot behind the building, it
is located close to the medical campus, and walking distance to the
Elmwood Village.”
Lisa says the renovation was more work than anticipated but adds, “What house project isn’t?”
The Parks needed zoning accommodations to allow the conversion project to proceed.
“The Linwood Preservation District, The Saturn Club and our other
neighbors were very supportive of our project,” says Lisa. “Oscar’s
B&B is located in a mixed neighborhood of rental properties,
single-family stately homes, and medical offices.”
At one time Linwood Ave was known as “Pill Alley,” due to the large
percentage of doctors having offices in their homes on the street. The
Parks dug up a bit of history on the property. There was a fire or
flood at the courthouse in the late 1800s and many early records were
lost. When realtors list properties as being built in 1900, it is
usually code that property records were lost. The Franklin Street
mansion apparently falls into that category as the first transaction of
sale in the deed is the transfer of the property from T.C. Tanke to his
son, Eugene T. Tanke in 1919. He sold the property to a James
Macleod in 1921. From records at the Historical Society:
• The 1884 map of Buffalo in Hopkins Atlas shows the house on the lot – so the house is at least 131 years old.
• The 1890-91 city directory listed Mr. & Mrs. George E.
Newman as the owners of the house – he opened a crockery store in
Buffalo in 1860 and died in 1911.
• The 1898-1899 City Directory lists Mr. & Mrs. T.C. Tanke as the owners of 288 Linwood.
• In 1991 the house was purchased by Charles and William Gurney and converted to commercial use.
• Purchased in 2004 by Linwood Avenue Properties LLC and became the law offices of Palmer, Murphy, and Tripi.
When George E Newman purchased the property, his crockery business was
located on Main Street in the late 1800’s. Some time later, jeweler
T.C. Tanke purchased the property. Tanke also had his business on Main
Street. Oscar Lang, who was the head contractor on Frank Lloyd Wright’s
Darwin Martin House, did some renovations on 288 Linwood for T.C. Tanke
and that is where the name Oscar’s came from.
Michael and Lisa are not from Buffalo but have lived here for over 20 years and raised their children here.
“As I was planning for retiring from teaching, I was trying to figure
out what I wanted to do,” explains Lisa. “I needed a project! Timing
seemed good with everything happening in Buffalo. I retired in June
after 27 years of teaching. We moved into the house in April and
construction began in June! When I graduated from high school I went to
interior design school, so the color choosing, furniture shopping, and
decoration was alot of fun. Michael is a professor and department chair
at Buffalo State College and plans to retire at the end of 2015. He
enjoys building and renovating, so he did the kitchen and many other
jobs.”
After the renovation work, there are the two suites and one room
available. They worked with architect Tobias Westermann and DMR
Contracting, Inc. to remodel one room and one suite, adding bathrooms
to both.
“The care and craftsmanship was exceptional and has truly added to the aesthetics of the space,” says Lisa.
Beebe suite Bathroom
They have also added some local flavor to the rooms.
“We have a collection of artwork by local contemporary artists that is
featured in the bed and breakfast and each of the three rooms is named
after and celebrates a prominent local architect: Milton Beebe, Frank
Lloyd Wright, and John Wade,” says Lisa.
She said the biggest and best surprise during the restoration was the
floor in the Wade room. There was a newer wood floor that had to be
removed because some walls that were dividing the room (from when it
was medical offices) were removed. Underneath the wood floor was
linoleum, tar paper, and under all of that was a beautiful floor.
“We love Buffalo and feel it is an amazing place with so much to offer
through numerous venues,” says Lisa. “We love to entertain and share
our love of the area. Buffalo is a culturally rich city and has
stunning architecture and a vibrant art scene.”
