800 West Ferry St - Table of Contents
800 West Ferry St., Buffalo, NY
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Erected: |
1929 |
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Architects: |
Bley & Lyman |
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Original owner: |
Darwin R. Martin |
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Art Deco, but with Venetian Gothic Revival entrance |
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High rise Art Deco apartment house with Gothic Revival ornamentation |
Venetian Gothic Revival ornamentation around main entrance |
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Multifoil tracery in ogee arches |
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Crockets on ogee arches ..... Spandrel panels below windows |
The face on the gargoyles is that of Darwin R. |
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Spandrel panels between leaded glass windows |
Detail from previous photo - decorated stone spandrel |
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Decorated stone spandrel |
West Ferry Street wall |
Wrought iron detail from previous photo |
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1217 Delaware and the George F. Rand House |
Building
demolished for 800 West Ferry. |
Original owner Darwin R(eidpath) Martin was the son of Darwin D. Martin of Larkin Company fame. This apartment house served as an investment -- and as 2-floor penthouse living quarters for Martin and his second wife, Laura Brasnell. As an investment, it was unsuccessful because of the Depression.
The first apartment house that Darwin R. built and managed was the Stuyvesant on Elmwood Avenue, so named because his mother's family, the Reidpaths, traced their roots back to Margaret Stuyvesant, Peter Stuyvesant's sister . Darwin R. lived in the top floor of the Stuyvesant with first wife, Margaret Wende (married 1926).
When 125 Jewett, was sold after his father's death, Darwin R. kept some of the house remains, but also sold windows, furniture, etc. It is somewhat ironic that the house is now a museum, but one of the windows from the house can be found at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery -- a window donated to the Gallery by Darwin R.
800 West Ferry became something of a family affair. Darwin R's older sister Dorothy and her husband, James Forsythe Foster, Jr. lived here (2D) 1933-1937. Darwin R's mother, Isabelle, lived here (1C) 1938-1939
800 West Ferry
800 West Ferry was built as 21 duplex rental units except for the four first floor "simplex" units. The duplexes included [on 2 Floors] 6 Bedrooms, 5 Baths, Living Room, Dining Room, Library, Large Kitchen, Separate Pantry, 2 Dressing Rooms, Lavatory. As the depression wore on, it became necessary to divide up the large duplex apartments; in 1940, the building was emptied and these apartments were each subdivided into two or four units. The first floor remains unchanged as they were built as one floor units.
The entire building was emptied to be turned into apartments in 1940.
The building was converted to a condominium association in 1980.Other luxury apartment houses, like the Campanile and the Park Lane, were also being built in 1929.
Text sources:
- Darwin D. Martin Biographical Information Research by Eileen Rogers
- Unpublished research by Alison Fleischmann
web site consulting by ingenious,
inc.
