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.
Page by Chuck LaChiusa in 2016
| ...Home Page ...| ..Buffalo
Architecture Index...| ..Buffalo History
Index... |.....E-Mail ...|
.
web site consulting by ingenious, inc.