Clement House/Red Cross - Table of Contents
History - Clement
House/Red Cross
Building
786 Delaware Avenue,
Buffalo, N.Y.
TEXT
Beneath Illustrations
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 |
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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 |
786
Delaware Avenue - First House: Prosser House |
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Construction Photos |
Construction Photos |
Construction Photos |
Construction Photos |
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House to the left is the Gratwick House, designed by H. H. Richardson as his last commission (demolished 1919) |
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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. |
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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.
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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 |
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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. |