Linwood Avenue Table of
Contents
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Lock-Butler House - Table of Contents 2002 photos
- Lock-Butler House |
TEXT Beneath Illustrations
The wrought iron on the porch is not original |
Note the unusual open-arch chimney and oriel window |
Curved Dutch gable at the center of the front (west) facade |
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One of a pair of dog gargoyles [grotesques] made of heavy tin |
The gargoyle [grotesque] which originally sat on top of the Dutch gable now rests on a chair on a landing |
Window in the front gable |
Terra cotta ornamentation which has designs (strapwork) similar to those in the porte-cochere wood designs |
Another distinctive, beautiful window |
Driveway (north) side foundation |
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Rear and driveway side of the house with porte-cochere roof to the right |
Rear of house foliated terra cotta ornamentation |
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Medina sandstone foundation of the porte-cochere |
Eastlake style using English strapwork design in addition to spindles |
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Eastlake style using English strapwork design in addition to spindles |
Chimney cap ... gargoyle |
The Silsbee-designed Bemis House at 267 North Street. Note the similarities in design to the Linwood house. |
Style: Queen Anne
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Christopher
Payne:
In 1886, [William]
Lock commissioned architect George
Metzger for four more brick homes to be built on his
properties. It appears that he developed all of the
properties from 429 Linwood to 455 Linwood. A likely
hallmark to Lock's background and knowledge of masonry, all
of these homes feature elaborate brickwork, terra
cotta and stone detailing, and fit neatly in what is
commonly referred to as Queen
Anne style architecture.
I
first visited the Lock Home in 1992. I had the opportunity
to tour the inside and to take some measurements of it. It
is a beautiful home but I recall thinking at the time that
it had none of the features that I would consider
"Silsbee-like". No elaborate woodwork, no built-ins, no
elaborate fireplace surrounds, no monumental stair, and art
glass that seemed out of place from anything else I had seen
in Silsbee homes.
For now, I am
keeping 429 off of my list of works by J. L. Silsbee and
will continue to cringe when I see folks post about "Edward
Butler's home in Buffalo designed by J. L. Silsbee". |
Location
The plot of land the house is built on can be traced to Rumsey and Butler Families. When it was built in 1885 (1886?), the house was part of the greatest building boom the city had seen. Residences were spreading out from the city's center at a rapid rate. 429 still was an easy walk, for residents much more used to walking, to downtown, and it was conveniently located near Forest Lawn cemetery and Delaware Park, the big green spaces which constituted the northern extent of Buffalo. Horse drawn trolleys were in service for those who did not wish to take their carriages downtown. |
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Sources:
- October 2000 Graycliff Conservancy tour of four Silsbee houses
- "Dog on a High-Pitched Roof: The Question of Silsbee in Buffalo," by Austin M. Fox, in Buffalo Spree, Spring 1986
- Summer 1999 Preservation Coalition tour of Linwood Avenue, Tim Tielman, tour guide.
- Research by Christopher Payne and Martin Wachadlo
- "A New Look at an Old Neigborhood: Historic Homes of Bufalo's Linwood Avenue Preservation District 1820-1982," Susan M. Pollack, ed.