Clement House/Red Cross - Table of Contents

History - Clement House/Red Cross Building
786 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, N.Y.

TEXT Beneath Illustrations


Click on photos for larger size -- and additional information

Frank Goodyear House once stood where the Red Cross building parking lot is now

William H. Gratwick House once stood next to the Frank Goodyear House where the Red Cross building parking lot is now

Stephen M. Clement, Jr.

The portrait of Carolyn Tripp Clement is by Cecelia Beaux, and was restored by Stephen Merrell Clement III, a great-grandson


Mrs. Clement with children and grandchildren

Clement summer and winter homes

Clement Monument (obelisk) in Forest Lawn built by Stephen M. Clement for the family



Stephen Merrell Clement, Jr., also built 173 Summer Street (NE corner of Summer & Oakland Pl.) for his bride of 1884, but date of construction is unclear.

173 Summer Street
2006 photo

786 Delaware Avenue - First House: Prosser House
Built 1855 - Demolished 1911


Construction Photos

Construction Photos

Construction Photos

Construction Photos

 

 

 

House to the left is the Gratwick House, designed by H. H. Richardson as his last commission (demolished 1919)

 

 

Façade

Rear of house

Rear of house

This Steinways photo was probably taken for a Denton Cottier & Daniels ad in the 1930's.

COMPLETED:

1914.
Erected at a cost of $300,000, the home was the scene of many important social functions and the gathering place of leaders in the city's life for 30 years. It was built on the lot of three previous homes.

ARCHITECTS:

Green & Wicks

ORIGINAL OWNER:

Carolyn Jewett Tripp Clement was born in Buffalo July 19,1861. Her father, Augustus, [see below], a prominent businessman, was the original partner of Sidney Sheppard in the firm of Sidney Sheppard & Co., later known as the Republic Metalware Company.

Mrs. Clement graduated from the State Normal School, now the Buffalo State Teachers' College on Elmwood, and then spent a year in Europe studying piano and traveling. An accomplished musician, she played the harp and organ as well as the piano. She always was deeply interested in gardening and travel.

On March 2, 1884, she was married to
Stephen M. Clement, a man who achieved great eminence in community affairs, not only through his banking interests (he was president of Marine Bank), but also through his devotion to educational, religious,and industrial affairs. She and Mr. Clement had six children. He died March 26, 1913, the day before their 29th wedding anniversary and before the Delaware residence was completed. See The Lackawanna Steel Company and the Buffalo and Susquehanna Iron Company for reference to Clement's involvement with the Buffalo and Susquehanna Iron Company.

Perhaps the institution closest to Mrs. Clement's heart was the Westminster Church (on the next block between Summer and North streets), of which she had been a member for 67 years. In 1914, she and her family gave the land for Westminster Church's parish house.

In memory of her daughter, she opened a summer camp for underprivileged children in Angola in 1918, calling it the Marion Clement Tener Vacation House.

Mrs. Clement contributed a total of $80,000 to the University of Buffalo and served on the University Council from 1920 to 1941. Clement Hall (online October 2012) is named after her.

Her most notable contribution to the community was the gift of her palatial home at at 786 Delaware Avenue to the
American Red Cross in June 1941. She died in 1943.

Family Connection to Elam R. Jewett

Elam R. Jewett was married to Caroline Wheeler. Caroline Wheeler's mother, Polly Johnson, was the sister of Emma Johnson Tripp. 

Emma's son, Augustus Franklin Tripp, came to  Buffalo in part because of his cousin Caroline.  Augustus owned the original 786 Delaware Ave., and left it to his daughter Carolyn Jewett Tripp,  Mrs. Stephen Merrell Clement

See "Third Generation" in the Christopher Johnson Register Report.

- Research by Peter Clement

AUGUSTUS TRIPP FAMILY RESIDENCES:
According to the city directories, the Tripps lived at many addresses before they arrived at 786 Delaware. So it looks like Carolyn was in her early 20s when the family moved to 786 Delaware.

The city directories are not online for every year.

Augustus Tripp    b. 1822    d. 1908
Carolyn Tripp Clement    b. 1861    d. 1943
Stephen Clement    b. 1859    d. 1913

Residences of Tripp family:      
40 W. Eagle    1861   
40 W. Eagle    1862   
40 W. Eagle    1863   
40 W. Eagle    1864   
58 Pearl    1867   
122 Pearl St.    1868   
122 Pearl St.    1870   
122 Pearl St.    1871   
122 Pearl St.    1872   
122 Pearl St.    1873   
55 Allen    1874   
55 Allen    1875   
964 Delaware    1877   
964 Delaware    1878   
Palace Hotel    1880   
489 Prospect    1880   
786 Delaware    1881   
786 Delaware    1884   
786 Delaware    1888   
786 Delaware    1905   
- Research by Cheryl McDonald

STYLE:

Tudor Revival (English medieval manor).
Its Tudor architecture permitted such unusual features as a 1.5 story music room, with organ; interior walls of limestone, and garage heating plant connected to the house by a 4-foot tunnel.

Accenting the medieval character of the house is the use of gray sandstone in the construction The interior contains Indiana (Bloomington) limestone floor marble blocks laid diagonally in a diamond pattern.


Text sources:



See also:


Page by Chuck LaChiusa
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