Elmwood Historic District EAST

The earliest extant architecture in the Elmwood Historic District is a small collection of vernacular houses, and they are significant as rare remaining examples of early residential architecture in the area.

Many of the smaller, early houses and cottages from the 1850s-1870s, notable on maps, were removed or demolished to make way for larger, more stylish houses in the later nineteenth century, but a few survive intact. Some of the earliest houses built in the area would have predated the construction of good, traversable roads in the area, which began to appear in earnest in the 1870s and 1880s. While some of these houses appear to have been part of small farms, others appear to have served as housing for those lower or lower-middle class workers and tradespeople who were employed in the area, then the outskirts of the city.

City directories indicate that many of the early residents of this period were carpenters, gardeners who worked in the large nurseries, or servants and coachmen for the larger houses on Delaware Avenue or North Street. Based on their architectural appearance and information from maps, these houses appear to have been constructed primarily in the 1860s and 1870s, just prior to the more widespread development in the Elmwood Historic District. Vernacular houses from this early period are primarily located at the south end of the nominated district, and along the earliest established west- east thoroughfares through the district area.

In general, these houses are of relatively smaller size and scale compared to their late nineteenth century neighbors. They are one-and-one-half stories or two stories in height and many are front gabled houses, generally three bays wide. Also common among the early vernacular houses is the L-plan variant, sometimes with a side porch. They are simply or plainly ornamented.

Some examples may feature interpretations or modest elements derived from contemporary Italianate and Queen Anne styles.

As many of these early houses predated the construction of neighboring properties, in many instances what distinguishes these buildings is that they are set back far from the street and don’t align with the more standardized setbacks of houses constructed later. Construction is of frame, with simple wood clapboard sheathing, set on a fieldstone foundation.

There are several examples of the front gabled type of vernacular residential architecture in the Elmwood Historic District (East), recalling one of the earliest phases of its development. The house at 639 Lafayette Avenue (c.1905, contributing), a wood frame L-plan vernacular house, is one-and-one-half stories in height, front and side elevation. Notably, this house is set far back from the street, and its lot is more generous in width, making it stand out amongst its turn-of-the-twentieth century neighbors.

Likewise, 700 West Delavan Avenue (c.1892, contributing) also stands out on its street as an excellent example of this type of vernacular housing. This two-story frame, L-plan house features wood clapboard sheathing, round headed windows on the upper story and a wrap-around porch. The porch is elaborated with a turned balustrade and frieze and carved brackets, suggestive of Eastlake or Queen Anne style ornamentation. Like the house at 639 Lafayette Avenue, 700 West Delavan Avenue is set far back from the street on a more generous lot.

These houses are significant as rare remaining early examples of housing that date to the era just after Olmsted’s parks and parkways began to attract attention to Buffalo’s 11th Ward but were built prior to the widespread real estate and development boom that replaced many existing buildings with larger Victorian-era houses.