Hewitt House / Inn Buffalo - Table of
Contents
Exterior
Herbert H. Hewitt House / InnBuffalo off Elmwood
619 Lafayette Avenue, Buffalo, NY
InnBuffalo off Elmwood -
Official Website
| Built: |
1898 |
| Architect: | Lansing
& Beierl Also designed the Lafayette Presbyterian Church at the corner of Elmwood and Lafayette, just down the block |
| Style: |
Eclectic: Richardsonian Romanesque porch, Arts & Crafts siding, Stick ornamentation, Queen Anne stained glass |
| Square footage: | 10,000 sq. ft.+ |
| Converted to rooming house: | 1943 |
| Converted to B&B: | 2015 |
| Status: |
Listed on the National Register
of Historic Places |
|
On the Explore Buffalo
Lafayette Avenue Tour of Homes
September 22, 2018 Research by Judy Tucker Herbert Hills Hewitt, the founder of the Hewitt Rubber Company and the Buffalo Brass Company, had this home constructed in 1898. It was designed in an eclectic Victorian Stick style by architects Lansing & Beierl, who also designed the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. Note the house’s now-vintage pair of Medina sandstone hitching posts near the street. The fixtures, finishes and innovations original to this home made it one of the finest built in Buffalo at the time. Hewitt spared no expense, installing the finest windows, tiles, wood, electric lighting and dual-purpose fixtures that included a gas backup, and central heat. Starting in the 1940’s, the mansion was used as a boarding house for several decades. Eventually, rentals couldn’t support the house and it was put up for auction in 2011. Fortunately, it was bought by owners Joe and Ellen Lettieri who have restored it as an historic Inn that opened in 2015. Remarkably, most of the original elements, and 95% of the original footprint, remain intact. Inside you will see an array of quarter-sawn oak, mahogany, and cherry woodwork, beautiful stained-glass windows, a mosaic vestibule and gold leaf ceiling. These are among many treasures uncovered and restored by the owners, and there is still more to unveil! Be sure to check out one of the unique heat control thermostats. The owners are most proud of being able to share this gem and shine a spotlight on Buffalo’s rich history. |
 - Elmwood Historic District (EAST) Nomination, Section 7, p. 189 |
2015 Photos Original pair of hitching posts "Contributing ca. late nineteenth century historic rusticated Medina sandstone obelisk-style hitching post with iron ring at side." - Elmwood Historic District (EAST) Nomination, Section 7, p. 190  Medina sandstone hitching post and porch  Medina sandstone chimney  Flared attic gable roofs and bargeboards Half-timbered dormers Second story Stick style bow window Richardsonian Romanesque style porch and porte-cochere   Richardsonian Romanesque porch Medina sandstone foundation  Quoined brick chimney  Second story bow window Stick style ornamentation The asymmetrical composition of the Eastern Stick style is highlighted by functional-appearing decorative "stick work." The style is defined primarily by decorative detailing -- the characteristic multi-textured wall surfaces and roof trusses whose stickwork faintly mimics the exposed structural members of Medieval half-timbered houses.  Dentil molding Arts & Crafts style knee brace ornamentation . |
| East elevation 2015 Photos  Left side of the house Arts & Crafts style rafter tails support overhanging eaves  Stick style paired, gabled, half-timbered dormer windows Although proponents lauded the structural honesty of Stick style, the visible stickwork, unlike true half-timbering, was merely applied decoration with no structural relation to the underlying balloon-frame construction  Exposed rafter tails support flared gables Half-timbered tympanum Dentil molding Dormer lattice window Quoined chimney  Dining room leaded glass windows raise into the upper wall Arts & Crafts/Craftsman style painted wooden shingles with ribbon coursing 
Decorative brackets Arts & Crafts/Craftsman style painted wooden shingles with ribbon coursing . |
| Photos from the rooftop 2015 Photos  Neighbor at the end of the block at Elmwood Avenue: Lafayette Presbyterian Church, also designed by Lansing & Beierl  Flared attic gable roofs on the west elevation  Quoined chimney  Three combination air conditioning and heating units . |
2026 Photos  Gold-colored fleur-de-lis in upper left  ATTIC LEVEL: Stick style / Flared gable roofs with half-timbering / Undecorated virgeboards / Ribbon windows on left. SECOND STORY: Stick style / Half-timbering / Bow window on right. FIRST STORY: Richardsonian Romanesque porch. PORTE-COCHERE: Richardsonian Romanesque arch.  ATTIC LEVEL: Stick style / Flared gable roofs with half-timbering / Undecorated virgeboards. SECOND STORY: Stick style / Half-timbering / Bow window on right.  Quoined chimney Asphalt roof shingles Painted vergeboard Wooden shingles  Quoined chimney  First story Arts & Crafts/Craftsman style painted wooden shingles with ribbon coursing Medina sandstone chimney  Richardsonian Romanesque porch  Richardsonian Romanesque porch   West elevation ATTIC LEVEL: Stick style / Flared gable roofs with half-timbering / Undecorated vergeboards. SECOND STORY: Stick style / Half-timbering. FIRST STORY: Arts & Crafts/Craftsman style painted wooden shingles with ribbon coursing / Richardsonian Romanesque porch.  West elevation ATTIC LEVEL: Stick style / Flared gable roofs with half-timbering / Undecorated vergeboards. SECOND STORY: Stick style / Half-timbering.  West elevation Stick style / Flared gable roofs with half-timbering / Undecorated vergeboards. SECOND STORY: Stick style / Half-timbering.  West elevation  West elevation Arts & Crafts/Craftsman style painted wooden shingles with ribbon coursing  West elevation Medina sandstone chimney  . |
