Buffalo Brick Beauties on the Register

Check these out:

1 North Pearl Street
17 North Pearl Street
18 North Pearl Street
34 North Pearl Street
47 North Pearl Street
56 North Pearl Street
74 North Pearl Street
120 North Pearl Street


Brick Eye Candy to be sure!!!

Milling

This house is on the Western side of the Welland Canal in Port Colborne.  It is on the South end of King Street before the road becomes commercial.  It is a short distance from the ADM mill.  I find more of these old brick houses near at the ends of the canals.  As is usually the case, I find one -- but rarely more.

Milling likely played a key role in the construction of these types of brick houses.  Mill and factory owners would have been the ones to build grand homes, while the other lots were used to house workers.

The ADM mill in Port Colborne is part of a large conglomerate (Archer Daniel Midland) that also owns a mill in Buffalo.  At one time, Buffalo was the grain center of America (c. 1925).  Mills in Black Rock were productive and important in the early part of the 19^th century but ultimately failed to succeed because they could not compete with the facilities that were built on the harbor in Buffalo.  The mills in Black Rock never fully harnessed water power – rather than relying on the current of the Niagara River and instead used a small water fall that was created between the canal and the river.

The mills in Black Rock burned down and that form of industry died out.  The earliest mills were the Globe and North Buffalo Mills.  Managers from the Globe mill ended up opening the Thornton and Chester Milling Company.  From tracing the title of the Dayton House while researching for the registry application, we found that one occupant was the manager/CEO of the Chester Milling Company.

People always think of the mills downtown as the only evidence of the predominance of Buffalo in the grain industry.    There are really no vestiges of the industry as it once existed in Black Rock, other than the few remaining homes that housed the residents connected to the mills.

Port Colborne

Port Colburne is a town in situated at the South end of the Welland Canal.  It shares a few similarities with Black Rock.  The town was founded in 1832 and like Black Rock, life revolved around a canal.  The Welland Canal connects Lakes Erie and Ontario.  Today's canal was not the original -- there was an earlier version that opened in 1829.  It took five years to build the 26 mile waterway.

The main source of industry in the early days of the Welland Canal were nickel mining.  That industry benefited from the hydro power of Niagara Falls.  The town was prosperous enough to have a healthy start, but like Buffalo, the prosperity did not continue.  Unlike Buffalo, Port Colborne's canal never went out of use and is well used today.  The first ship to pass through the canal did go to Buffalo.

Like Black Rock, Port Colburne has a few old brick  houses that are similar in style to the Dayton House.  This once again proves the theory that you can find these old structures within close proximity of a canal.  Unfortunately, these houses have not fared well.  I have looked and looked along the canal for a surviving old brick example of domestic building for the early canal period, but come up empty  handed.  Here's what's left:

The first house I found is located on the aerial photo in the area I've circled.  This is closer to the terminus of the canal and is probably the oldest of the three structures I found.

The house is no longer occupied as a Residential structure.  Is is part of an industrial property -- a recycling/scrap facility.  The first picture faces South and is the front of the building.  This is a five bay Georgian style.  The addition seems to be a later addition and looks as if it is a separate area.  The second picture is a side view.  As you can tell, this house is a gonner in so many ways.  I don't think it will ever serve as a home again.  Sad!

Further down the road, you have two brick homes that are side by side and both constructed during the same period.  These resemble the Dayton House but there are a few differences as well.  These were also converted from residential to commercial use.  The integrity of the structures have been greatly compromised.  They are obviously in a serious state of deterioration. 

These examples are another example of how rare it is for these canal era brick residences to survive intact.  The ones that I find are always in a very sad state.  That in turn makes me sad.  But it also makes me feel very fortunate for being blessed with the house.  The old brick man is a survivor and I think he still has many strong years ahead of him.  In fact, bearing any great tragedy, I see no reason why the Dayton House won't survive long into the future.  The house has beat the odds for sure!

A Distant Cousin

The Dayton House has a cousin in Bern, NC.  Gary Rogers found it and sent me pictures.  This house is in much rougher shape than the Dayton House -- but it's also for sale so if you want a fixer-upper, this one is 150K.  It's a smaller house -- this is just what the original section of the Dayton House was built like.  But other than the door being on the opposite side, these could be considered doppelgangers!  Thanks to Gary for sharing.... his wife would not let him buy it.

I work with appraisers and assessors and one gentlemen gave me a tip that if I want to find houses like mine, to look in similar areas -- in our case a block from a river.  He said if I went on these old brick house hunts near rivers, I'd find more examples.  As it turns out, the 218 Front Street is one block from the river!

Here is a more frontal view of the house.  You'll see that only two of the chimneys remain and the roof isn't as steeply pitched as Old Man Dayton's is -- that's the work of the Italianate update. You can see scorch marks on the bricks in the attic of the Dayton House which show where the original roof line fell.  The Italianate update probably came as a result of a fire.

I just love these old piles of brick and will continue to hunt for them!

A Blast -- and Twin from the Past!

This is the very first incarnation of Millard Fillmore hospital.  It’s pretty cool because it looks just like what the Dayton House would have looked like prior to the Italianate update.  What’s even more of a coincidence, I guess, is that Lewis P. Dayton was a doctor.

Back at that time, the practices of medicine were pretty barbaric and unsuccessful.  Most doctors weren’t formally educated and did not have medical degrees or licenses.  Dr. Augustus Hoxsie developed what is known today as “Homeopathic Medicine.”  The principles are much like our modern science of immunology.  Needing a place to practice this form of medicine, his wife raised funds to build a hospital.  The first building that served as the hospital was a modest three story house at the corner of Washington and North Division Streets. It was rented in 1872 , equipment purchased, and the Buffalo Homeopathic Hospital opened in October of that same year. The staff included six physicians, a nurse, a janitor and house cleaning staff. In the beginning, the hospital could accommodate only three patients.

The hospital quickly expanded and is now operating at Gates Circle (although soon to close and relocate).  M&T Plaza now occupies the site where this home once stood.  Homeopathy has never fallen out of practice and that its birth in the US as a modern form of medicine can be traced to Buffalo is one more thing for our city to be proud of.

And it’s pretty cool that the first hospital looks a lot like the Dayton House!

Sibling Rivalry

When you own a unique old house, you sometimes get a little obsessive.  In our case, we always wanted to know if the others like it in the city were still standing.  There was one we watched for years off of lower Niagara near the thruway ramp.  It was sad to see it decay further and further until finally it was demolished.  There are now no other houses like ours in the city.   But that doesn't mean I'm not still  looking out for the other old brick men (I don't consider my house a lady as he is not Victorian).    The last house I am showing at the end of this posting is on Amherst St, not far from Wegmans.  I hope that it's in good condition inside and that there is a way to get it designated if it still is intact.

This first house is no longer intact and it's sad.  This one sits on W. Delavan at the corner on Niagara.  It's been added on to.  It's now part of a used car dealership.  This house was probably built around the same time as the Dayton House got his Italianate update.  The round segmental window arches give that clue.

This is a picture of that structure from the front.  The facade has been completely obliterated.  A preservationists nightmare!

 This is a side view of an old brick building on W. Ferry near Grant.  This house was converted to offices but still appears to be part residential. It is a double too.  This building could not get historic designation on account of the windows.  It is also not as old as the Dayton House.

Here is a front view of this house.  I think the McDonald's sign distracts from it (and people think the decrepit house next to ours is a killer!).



I've picked these buildings as comparisons because they are masonry construction.  That is different than a brick veneer over a wood frame.  Most "brick" houses in the city are not full masonry construction. That is a lost form of building that will never be revived because it is so costly.  However, it makes for a house that is far more durable than a wood/clapboard counter-part.  This is part of the reason the Dayton House has survived for so long.

I am also going to say that I am not a fan of people who look to these houses -- or at houses like the Dayton House with a mind to find "Comparables" from an appraisal standpoint.  As a person who works in the mass appraisal industry, getting the true value of an old home is a tricky proposition and the attention paid to comps as the result of HGTV shows and get-rich-quick self-proclaimed moguls is the enemy of historic preservation.  It doesn't do these homes justice and it certainly won't help them survive into the future.

We are pulling for the house on Amherst -- we are kindred spirits.  Old brick men who don't want to go over to the dark side and become investment or commercial properties.  If anyone knows the people who own the house on Amherst, please speak up!  It's on our radar....