Frederick
Schmidt House
356 Richmond Avenue, Buffalo NY
Built:
|
C. 1898 |
Style: |
Beaux-Arts:
French
Renaissance |
Status: | Elmwood Historic District (West) |
Elmwood
Historic District (West), p. 245![]() |
The Shea Mansion Gets Buffed and Polished [Update] (online May 2016) ![]() ![]() ![]() The house was built by Frederick
Schmidt, probably around 1898 who sold it to Thomas
Shea in 1909 .
"…To
clarify a misconception: the house belonged to my
great-uncle, Tom Shea. My grandfather, Michael Shea, his
wife, and my mother, Mary, never lived here. Their home was
on Vermont St. My mother spent a great deal of time in her
childhood here with her many cousins. She and my father,
Emile Giffioniello, bought the house from cousins in the mid
1940’s and I lived here most of my life. After my marriage,
my family did live here and two of my sons continued to own
the home after my mother’s death until they sold it in the
90s. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Schmidt/Shea
House
History
of Buffalo (online February 2023)
... the Schmidt/Shea House,
located at 356 Richmond Ave. It was built in 1895 by William
H. Schmidt, a well-known local builder who constructed a
number of homes in the area. A unique home for the area, the
1897 Buffalo Merchants Exchange book described the home as
“one of the most lavish and recognizable houses on Richmond
Avenue, with its elaborate use of Medina
sandstone and Beaux-Arts
design.”
|
Schmidt-Shea
House, Buffalo, New York
By Andre Carrotflower Wikimedia Commons (online February 2023) Built circa 1895, the
gray- and mauve-hued tones of the sandstone façade make this
palazzo-style French Renaissance Revival house stand out from
the street, and the ornate Beaux-Arts style detailing
(particularly stone masonry on the third-floor frieze) and the
recessed archway on the second floor above the Ionic portico
only serve to reinforce that impression. The building was the
residence of building contractor William H. Schmidt
(1847-1910), who sold it shortly before his death to
restaurateur Thomas Shea (1862-1939), owner of the Ellicott
Square Buffet
and brother of theater
impresario Michael
Shea. After a long period of decline and vandalism, the
house was fully restored in 2007. |
Special
thanks
to Frits Abell for sharing his research