It’s been awhile. I’ve been super busy with work in California and just haven’t had a lot of time to write. I have been able to see quite a few cool places: San Francisco, Hearst Castle, Tahoe National Forest hiking trails, Old Sacramento and a number of Gold Rush towns. I hope to share those awesome adventures on this blog in the near future but in the mean time I thought I’d do a simple post on one building.
A few weekends ago, I drove into downtown Sacramento to get a hair cut (a lob for those concerned) and that resulted in me getting dessert for lunch, exploring a used bookstore, and taking a number of photos of a few cute tiny Victorian houses in the area.
Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie….it was as amazing as it looks and a reasonable choice for lunch. Rick’s Dessert Diner is set up like a 1950’s shop and is located on J Street in Midtown Sacramento.One of the adorable homes I walked by while exploring the residential section of Midtown. It has much spindles.Another home I spotted while walking around the residential area of Midtown. The stained glass window and pediment (triangular shape in the roof above the porch) were very delicate looking.
One of the houses I photographed had a “name” or maybe more of a label “label,” called “Winters House.” I figured if the house has a name, it must have a story, and this house does.
The home has a label, so it must be important!
Winters House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria C, which means its architectural significant! Winters House is important because of it’s Queen Anne-Eastlake style and because of its size. It’s one of the largest Victorian homes left in Sacramento!
The home was constructed in 1890 for Herman Winters, a local successful merchant, who was a German immigrant. When the home was constructed, it was located on the outskirts of Sacramento in an area considered to be the, “gypsy camping grounds” (words from the National Register nomination, not mine). Through the rest of the 1890’s the area developed into a residential area outside of the city- kind of like suburbs; today the area is known as Mid Town.
Winters hired experienced craftsmen to give the three-story home many intricate, wooden, ornamental details. The home has an asymmetrical front facade with key elements including: the bay window, stained glass windows, a sunburst pediment, scroll work sunbursts, brackets, lower porch balustrade, various shingle and wooden patterns, and overall delicate spindle work. According to the National Register nomination, the interior also consists of intricate details such as carved mantel spindles, tile work surrounding two fire places, and trim details. The home exemplifies what it means for a building to be a Queen Anne- Eastlake Victorian home.
Side view of the Winters House. You can easily see all of the spindle work and the fanciful woodwork on the exterior of the home. These are key architectural elements for Queen Anne- Eastlake Style homes. Looking up the stairs of the home. This is a great view to see all the little details going on with the front facade of the home. The rose motifs are lovely. The color scheme is also amazing. The current owners have done a wonderful job.The other side view of the home, you can see that the home was raised a little bit and there is a flat under the first floor- Effie Winters did this in 1909.
Winters passed away in 1904 and his money, store, and home were divided between his widow and his two children from his first marriage. His widow, Effie Winters, inherited the home and put a lot of money into maintaining the home during her life. For example, Effie had the home elevated by ~ 2 feet in 1909 to build a flat under the first floor.
The interesting story of the home lies with Effie Winters. Apparently, Effie’s wealth and eccentricities did not sit well with her brother, Frank. In 1911, he petitioned the courts to get here declared incompetent. Luckily, the courts ruled in Effie’s favor based on her success in managing her inheritance from Herman. But that didn’t stop Frank’s crusade to have his sister declared of an “unsound mind.” Effie passed shortly after her brother petitioned the courts and when her will was read, Frank contested it because the primary beneficiary was L. S. Jones, her minister. The court records indicate that there was an investigation into the life and mental well being of the deceased Effie Winters. Records show that she had had a severe accident in 1901 when she was thrown from a buggy and hit a street car. She was unconscious for a number of days and when she finally pulled through, she had bouts of physical and mental distress; at least once, spent time in an asylum in Stockton, CA where she claimed to be the wife of Jesus Christ; she eventually was released. Her minister and others gave testimony to her character and lifestyle. It seems that those testimonies were not enough though and a postmortem autopsy was performed for examine her brain. Based on the testimony of five doctors who claimed Effie had a “small” brain, which meant she was of an “unsound mind” during life and in writing her will.
From the court finding, Frank, inherited the home she had lived in during her life. He did not keep the house for long and the Winters House went through a number of owners. That is until 1998, when the new owners began the long process of restoring the home to its former glory and getting the home placed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Resources and Further Information:
All of the information on the Winters House came from the National Register Nomination, prepared by Vickie M. Cosentino, 1998. See the following links for more information on the home and to see the National Register Nomination in its entirety.
Last week I was in downtown Sacramento for a chocolate tasting with co-workers and I had an opportunity to walk around 9th and 10th Streets in between J and K Streets- basically a square around the block.
I took a number of photos and wanted to share those images with you….and tell you about some jargon!
Art Deco.
Streamline Moderne.
They’re jargon and they’re architectural terms. Art Deco is a style that appeared in Paris in the early 1900’s in the construction of two different apartment buildings. The architects were Henri Sauvage and Auguste Perret. The apartment buildings were constructed of reinforced concrete- used for the first time for residential buildings in Paris. The architectural design of the buildings consisted of clean lines, rectangular forms, and there were no decorations on the facade. The term applies to not only architecture but to visual arts and design. The name, “Art Deco” comes from Art Décoratifs a phrase used during the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts that was held in Paris in 1925. In general Art Deco is associated with luxury and modernity; expensive materials were used with superb craftsmanship. Streamline Moderne is an architectural term used for a later styleof Art Deco seen during the 1930’s. Below are lists of the features seen in both types of styles.
Specific Features:
Art Deco:
Smooth Wall Surfaces
Stucco, Stone, Metal, Polychromy
Simple, Geometric Forms and Motifs
Vertical Emphasis
Rectangular Forms
Streamline Moderne:
Curved Forms
Stucco, Fluted/Pressed Metal, Ribbon Windows, Glass Block Windows
Long Horizontal Lines
Nautical Elements
Horizontal Emphasis
Curved Walls
Flat Roof lines
The following are images that I look around the Blocks of 9th and 10th Street, in between J and K Streets. They are in the order of which I took the photographs, where I started on 10th Street, walked up Kayak Alley, arrived on 9th Street and then eventually walked down J Street back to 10th Street. There were only a few buildings I could find information on; one building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; other information came from historic photographs of the streets and from the Pacific Coast Architectural Database created by the University of Washington.
This is the Forum Building. It was constructed in 1911. It definitely has Art Deco detailing around the main entrance and the general vertical feeling of the building. In 2000, rehabilitation work was done on the facade to preserve its wonderful details!The front doors of the Forum Building.
The blue building is the Ruhstaller Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was constructed in 1898 for the business man, Frank J. Ruhstaller. The building is eclectic in that in combines a number of architectural style features including Queen Anne, Romanesque, and even Art Deco motifs.Another view of the Ruhstaller Building. The building was used by Frank J. Ruhstaller for his business offices, for the Buffalo Brewing Company/ SPace was rented to doctors and other business. For a time the Elks Club has space in the building. The tall building seen behind the Ruhstaller Building is the California-Western States Life Insurance Company headquarters.A view of the California-Western States Life Insurance Company headquarters and its immediate neighbor.Looking up at the California-Western States Life Insurance Company headquarters. The building was designed by George C. Sellon and built in 1926. The building is 14 stories tall.
Architectural Styles: All of these links have wonderful photos of significant buildings that are designed in these architectural styles, check them out!
Today I’m trying out a new topic for an ongoing series much like my, “What is the Jargon!?!” series. It is no surprise that I enjoy exploring cemeteries wherever I go. The closest cemetery near me is Bayside Cemetery, here in Potsdam and when the weather is nice, I like to walk to it. There’s a lovely path that runs along the Raquette River that goes all the way to the rural cemetery.
Now, almost every time I adventure around Bayside or another burial ground, I take tons of pictures of gravestones that interest me for one reason or another. I figured I could share some of those gravestones with you all, along with information about the person who the stone represents.
The first story and stones I wanted to share with you are the gravestones of William and Thankfull Davis, located in Section E, Lot 168.
These are the gravestones for William and Thankfull Davis. They are buried in Bayside Cemetery located on the outskirts of the village of Potsdam. When you drive into the cemetery go right up the hill and go down the hill. There should be a “road” path to your left; it runs through the section of the old stones. These stones are located on a slight hill near a couple of trees.
The timing for this post was completely unplanned until I looked at a calendar on Tuesday and realized that May 25, which is today, is the death anniversary of William. He was a Patriot during the American Revolutionary War and possibly the War of 1812, though I couldn’t confirm that.
William Davis was born September 30, 1762 in the town of Rutland of Worcester County in Massachusetts. His parents were Nathaniel and Ellen (Hubbard) Davis. William was the youngest of 15 children! When he was 17, William enlisted in the 7th Worcester County Regiment.
This information comes from, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. A Compilation from the Archives. By the Office of the Secretary of State for Massachusetts, published 1896. The information is found on page 548. William’s father or oldest brother, also named Nathaniel, is listed on page 528 of this volume.
On July 5, 1787, William married Thankfull Nye in Hardwick, Massachusetts. Thankful (Nye) Davis was born February 10 1764 and was the daughter of Joseph Nye Jr. of Sandwich and Thankful (Goodspeed) Nye of Barnstable (they were married in Hardwick on October 20, 1757). Thankful (Goodspeed) Nye was the eldest child of Ebenezer Goodspeed and Elizabeth (Bodfish) Goodspeed; AKA Thankful Davis’ grandparents. On a side note, Thankfull’s gravestone is the only place where her name is spelled with two of the letter, “L.”
Both William and Thankfull passed away in 1833 in Potsdam, NY.
This close-up shows how much weathering the stones have faced from the elements. I assume the stones are carved out of either limestone of marble both of which can be weathered quite easily from rain. The iconography looks to be rays or a rising run, or maybe a setting sun. The rays or rising sun are symbolic of renewed life or resurrection, while the setting sun motif represents death.
So how did William and Thankfull get all the way from Hardwick, Massachusetts to Potsdam, NY. Well, it’s unclear when exactly they arrived in Northern New York. A source I used for initial information, indicates that they were in Potsdam by 1820 – they would have been in their 50’s.
The other curious thing about the couple, looking at the detailed family trees for both William and Thankful, none of them indicate that they had kids, which seems really weird. Especially when you envision two middle age people in the early 19th century moving all the way to Northern New York from Massachusetts. That’s normally a 6 hour car drive – imagine doing that on horses and wagons. Plus, during this time, it was usual to have large families because of infant mortality rates and having more kids meant having more helping hands on a farm. So that’s why I thought something must be missing in the record.
I went back to the New York State DAR blog that explained William’s service during the American Revolution and checked to see what records were used, so I could check them out for myself. Census records from 1820 and 1830 were used, so I found those online. Looking at the 1820 Census records, I kind of found the answer I was looking for. William Davis is listed and in the row associated with his name, marks were made to indicate that in his household there was one “Free While Male over 45,” and one “Free White Female over 45” and that one person worked in agriculture. A few lines under William, another Davis is listed, Joseph!
William Davis is the second from the top. Joseph Davis is fifth name from the top.
The markings in Joseph’s row indicate one male aged 16-25, one male aged 26-44, and one female aged 16-25. From this I assume, Joseph Davis is either a son or other close relation of William and Thankful. Joseph doesn’t show up on the family tree from William Davis’ family but they’re actually buried next to each other at Bayside.
Looking through online records for Bayside Cemetery and searching for the last name, “Davis” I was able to make some more connections. Mary Harwood Davis (1797-185?) was married to a Joseph N., the “N.” is probably for Nye, Thankful Davis’ maiden name. Mary Harwood Davis was the mother of Ebenezer H. Davis, who was born 1832 and passed away 1911. By the way, they’re all buried in a row next to each other at Bayside. So they all have to be related! Ebenezer is an interesting name to choose…it would have been same name as Thankful (Nye) Davis’ grandfather.
The “our Daughter” stone maybe for Thankful Davis who died in 1836…there’s no stone for this Thankful but she’s apparently buried in this same Section and Lot as the rest of the family members.
So based on the new information and comparing that to the 1820 Census information for Joseph’s household we can conclude that: Joseph is the, “male aged 26-44” and Mary would be the “female aged 16-25.” Her birth year is 1797, in 1820 she would have been 23. The other male in the household, I have no idea because their son, Ebenezer, wasn’t born until 1832, so it can’t be him. I assume it must be a relative of either Joseph or Mary. If the other male was a brother of Joseph, that would mean William and Thankful Davis had another son but why isn’t he living with them? I think it might be a relative of Mary Harwood, maybe a brother. That would make a little more sense…
I went back to the 1810 Census and William Davis shows up there too; I couldn’t find Joseph Davis listed on his own.
William Davis is the name in the middle. There are a lot of markings in his row, which indicate a total of 8 people living in his household in 1810. The first five columns relate to free, white males and the second five columns after the double line, indicate free, white females. According to the census: 1 male aged 10-15, 2 males aged 16-25, 1 male aged over 45; 1 female under 10, 1 female aged 10-15, 1 female 16-25, and 1 female 26-44. It’s very unclear who all these people are other than assuming William and Thankfull are the eldest in the group. Joseph Davis must be one of the older boys. Joseph didn’t marry Mary Harwood until 1816, so she shouldn’t be any of these people living in the household. This means there’s at 5 unidentified members of this household.
Looking through the Bayside Cemetery records further, I found some other Davis family connections and another Joseph Davis. I found the Joseph Davis that I have been talking, about via the census records from 1820 and 1830. In the cemetery records for Bayside, the Joseph Davis that is listed is occasionally listed as the husband of Mary Harwood. Sounds correct right? Well it’s not the same Joseph. This new Joseph that keeps getting confused with our correct, old Joseph, was born 1860 and died in 1872…..Mary Harwood Davis died in the 1850’s. The other glaring issue- this new Joseph would have been 12 when he passed away.
I assume the mix-up has happened because of a few possibilities:
There are two different Joseph Davis- our adult Joseph Davis, the son of William and Thankful and the child Joseph Davis, maybe a relative in someway;
The old Joseph Davis’ gravestone in actually broken and embedded into the ground next to Mary’s stone- it was never seen during the original inventory of the cemetery;
There’s only one Joseph Davis and his birth year has been recorded incorrectly but he still died in 1872.
If the last one scenario is the correct mix-up- Joseph when he passed away would have been at least 75 years old, assuming he was born the same year as Mary Harwood, his wife.
The other Davis family members that are immediately related to Joseph, Mary, and ultimately William and Thankful include:
Thankful Davis (died 1836) Apparently this Thankful doesn’t have a stone but is buried in Section E, Lot 168).
Catherine Davis Averill (died 1882). Her father is listed as Joseph Davis. Her spouse’s initials are E.W. buried in Section E, Lot 106.
Thankful Davis Chapman (1838-1882). Her father is listed as Joseph Davis. She is buried in Section E, Lot 105.
? Elmina S. Davis Barnes (1838-1859). No parents are listed for her entry in the cemetery records. Her husband was Charles. She is buried in Section D, Lot 019. I included Elmina because her maiden name is Davis and her birth year is very close to the other “confirmed” Davis daughters. Maybe she is a cousin.
William Davis again is the middle name. His row indicates four people living in his household: 1 male aged 30-40, 1 male aged 60-70 ( this is William), 1 female aged 50-60), and 1 female aged 60-70 ( this is Thankfull). It’s unclear who the two older people living in their household are.This is the 1830 census record for Joseph’s family. The markings are for 1 male aged 30-40 (Joseph), 1 female under age 5, 1 female aged 5-10, 1 female aged 20-30, and 1 female aged 30-40 (Mary). Let’s take a guess and assume one of the young girls is Thankful who passed away in 1836 and the other is Catherine whose birth year is unclear. In the 1840 Census, there are marks for a boy age 5-10 and a mark for 1 girl under age 5 and another girl between the ages of 15-20. These would be Ebenezer, the newborn Thankful Davis, and Catherine Davis.
A few final points about the family to make. William Davis was a supposed veteran from the War of 1812. I researched and I couldn’t find any records officially indicating this. Joseph Davis though, served during the War of 1812 in Darius Hawkins Company of the NY militia. The record for his pension also lists that he married Mary Harwood on September 16, 1816.
Joseph’s son Ebenezer H. Davis was a veteran from the Civil War. Ebenezer was a private during the Civil War. He served in Company B of the 50th NY Volunteer Engineer Regiment. Ebenezer’s enlistment lasted from September 1, 1864 to June 1865, when the regiment was mustered out.
So that makes three generations of the same family, veterans in a number of wars fought in the early years of American history.
Researching this family showed a couple of interesting issues in that can happen when researching history of a family. The first issue was the lack of information in William and Thankful’s family trees especially in regards to their own family and whether or not they had kids. Based off of their family trees it would appear they didn’t have kids but the census records and location of gravestones at Bayside would indicate they moved to Potsdam with some children. The lack of clear information can indicate a couple of things: records along the frontier area of the United States weren’t well maintained AND it can be assumed that once William and Thankful moved to Northern New York, their communication with their family back in Massachusetts was very limited.
The other unplanned aspect of this post is that it’s right in time for Memorial Day, which is May 29th here in the United States. So maybe if you have time this weekend, head to your local cemetery and see what graves you can find of veterans of the United States Army and Navy, and pay respects to our pass veterans.
If you have questions or comments, leave them below.
This month’s jargon term is, “board and batten” or “board-and-batten,” depending on whether you’re using the term as an adjective or noun; for the record, hyphenate when using the term as an adjective. Every now and then, this type of exterior siding many be called, “barn siding,” because many barns across North America are constructed with this.
The actual definition of “board and batten” from my handy-dandy Guide to Vermont Architecture is this, “Exterior siding of flush wide, vertical planks with narrow wooden strips (battens) covering the joints.”
Historically, board and batten would refer to siding built of wood but given today’s building material options, this siding can be made of plastic, metal, or even fiberglass. Board-and-batten siding can be seen on informal styled architecture, think country homes, churches, and/or barns. During the Victorian era it would have been seen as an architectural feature on Carpenter Gothic homes.
So, board-and-batten siding has an interesting back story. Basically, people built in this style because of a lack of materials plus it helps create a stronger and more energy efficient wall. You’re probably wondering what the hell I’m talking about…
Imagine yourself, a recent arrival to the New World. There’s extensive, old growth forests that you’re not familiar with; England really doesn’t have forests like this anymore. You are also in desperate need of a shelter for yourself and family. Cutting down trees and building a log house would be the easiest and quick; you only have axes and saws and there are no saw mills yet built. The log house is easy to build, for the most part, the issue is that the felled tress do no exactly fit together, so there are gaps that you and your family fill in with moss, leaves, sticks, and mud. It mostly does the job…but there’s still a cold draft during the winter. By the way, you’re not the only family that needs to build a quick home plus there’s also an extreme logging occurring in the New World with lumber being shipped back to Europe. The forests are slowly depleted but houses still need to be built because of the increasing numbers of colonists. Eventually a town is built up around where you and your family settled and a saw mill in constructed. Because of the lack of trees and a new sawmill, newer settlers are building there houses out of planks and strips of wood. Out of one felled log, a lot of planks can be planed, meaning it is most cost effective. The seams between vertical standing planks can easily be covered with narrow wood strips (batten), keeping the cold out during the winter.
For an actual visual of a log home located in Northern New York, check out this link: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20110108/DCO01/301089932. The article is about an actual log cabin that was reconstructed to represent the home of the first settler in Parishville, Luke Brown and his family. In the photos accompanying the article, you can see the space in between the stacked logs.
Check out the following images to see buildings constructed with board-and-batten siding. There are no spaces in between planks!
This patriotic home is one of the many summer cottages located in Thousand Island Park on Wellesley Island in the 1000 Islands Region. The battens are painted red while the boards are white. The home was constructed in 1876. The cottage is an example of Eastlake wood detailing, stick style elements, and I would call it Carpenter Gothic.This is a convenient store located in Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks. This photo was taken way back in 2015 on the way home from a Dave Matthews concert in Saratoga Springs. As of this post, the store might be permanently closed…but hopefully the building is still there and maybe a new tenant is in the building.
Buildings from Upper Canada Village:
This is a building seen at Upper Canada Village. The living history museum consists of a number of buildings that have been moved from around Canada to form this village showing what life would have been like in the 1800’s. This building combines board and batten on the upper story with squared log siding on the first floor. There are a number of buildings with this combination of siding at Upper Canada Village.This is another building at Upper Canada Village. The cheese shop shows 19th century techniques and uses period equipment to produce cheese that can be purchased at the Village’s store.This is the Masonic Lodge at Upper Canada Village. It is a 1863 building that was moved to the Village in 2008 from the Village of Kars in south-west Ottawa. The building is constructed on board and batten.
Hallstatt, Austria:
This is a building located in Hallstatt, Austria. Hallstatt is located in Upper Austria and is on the western shore of Hallstatter See (lake). The village and surrounding area is a World Heritage Site because of it’s wonderful history and culture. I’m not very sure about the history of the building or it’s current use. I assume it might be an inn along with being someone’s permanent residence.This building is also located in Hallstatt, Austria. It looks like it could be a barn but I have a feeling it might be another house. Hallstatt is part of Salzkammergut, in the eastern Alps. The village has a very rich history spanning all the way back to the Iron Age because of the salt mines. The town suffered from massive fire in 1750 that destroyed most of the wooden buildings. The center of the town is all in Baroque style, while buildings away from the center like this and the other building are wooden with board-and-batten siding.This is a door I saw while walking around Hallstatt. It is considered a batten door, most likely on the other side of the door are some kind of planks holding the battens in place to be a door.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or have any board-and-batten sided buildings in your neighborhood!
4) Like always, my handy dandy resource for architectural jargon is:
“The Historical Architecture of Vermont: Guide to Vermont Architecture,” Curtis B. Johnson, editor and Elsa Gilbertson, Principal Author, published by: the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, 1996.
I’m super excited to tell you all that the George T. Robinson House has been officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places. I wrote the nomination for the property this past summer! Working with a representative from the State Historic Preservation office, we edited the nomination during the fall. It was submitted to the State for review in December and officially listed to the State Register in February. From there it was forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register to be reviewed and finally it was listed April 17, 2017!
Today’s post is going to look at sections of the nomination that I wrote and submitted during the late summer. At the end of this post, there is a link to the final copy of the nomination.
This is a view of the house, looking north, as seen from the St. Lawrence. The house faces south towards Clayton, NY. During the summer the house was under construction and being restored by the new owners.
Building Description Summary The George T. Robinson House, located in the town of Clayton, Jefferson County, New York is a highly intact 2 ½ story, rear-facing “T” plan, Shingle Style home. The home occupies a center location on the southern side of Bluff Island overlooking the St. Lawrence River and mainland New York State. The home was constructed in 1901 and designed by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania architect, Thorsten E. Billquist, for George T. Robinson and his family, also from Pittsburgh. The south-facing front facade is dominated by an open porch that almost wraps around the entire length of the first floor; the porch is supported by evenly spaced stone pillars. The walls and roof are finished with shingles, and the foundation and porch supports are built of red granite that originated from quarry located on Picton Island located to the north of Bluff Island. The interior of the home is finished with wood paneling and wainscoting from floor to ceiling. There is an 11 foot granite fireplace located within the wall that separates the living room and dining room, so that there is a fireplace in both rooms. The upstairs historically consisted of seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a living space in the attic for employed help. To the east of house once stood a 2-story boat house that collapsed sometime after 1966. Other important resources of the property include surface remains of walled garden located directly north of the house on a slight slope. While to the west of house there is a path that leads to the powerhouse that was once used for water pumping. The Robinson Family Estate is in good condition with the only alterations to the home being general maintenance throughout the years, and the current renovations to update the utilities of the property and replace shingles that have been severely weathered because of the elements. The maintenance changes and loss of the boat house do not detract from the overall integrity of the Robinson Family Estate in terms of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.
This is a really basic map that I created in Google Earth. It shows where Bluff Island is located in relation to Clayton and a number of the other islands.
Setting and Location:
The George T. Robinson House is located on the southerly side of Bluff Island, one of the islands situated in the St. Lawrence River; the Island is located within the township of Clayton located in Jefferson County, New York. Bluff Island is a 61 acre island, with the property of the Robinson Family Estate occupying 26 acres of the Island. The property is accessible by boat and is roughly two miles north-east of Clayton, while the closest islands are Picton Island to the north and Grindstone Island to the west. The home is located on rocky south point of Bluff Island, with the front facade facing south towards Round Island and the mainland of New York. To the east of the home is another summer cottage, once owned by Colonel Harry C. Kessler, once called “The Bluffs.” Today the property has a shop on it called “Boateak” and the shop features American arts, crafts, and antiques and is only opened during the summer months. To the west of the Robinson Family Estate is a modern style home situated on a rocky outcrop.
This is one of the only historic photos I could find of the George T. Robinson House. In the photo you can see a windmill located near the pump house to the west of the house. While to the east there is a boat house. That no longer exists.The pump house still exists!
Before you check out the statement of significance, which is basically the WHY is this building important enough to be listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places…let me explain a little bit more about the statement. What you see below is literally only half of the statement. The section that is missing is related to the historical “context” that the house falls under. In this case the historical contexts for the George T. Robinson Houses includes the Gilded Age in the Thousand Islands Region and the commonly seen use of the shingle style in summer residences.
The other exciting part of this is that one of the main secondary sources I used in researching the Thousand Islands was the book, The First Summer People: The Thousand Islands 1650 – 1910, written by Susan Weston Smith and published in 1993. It is a great book and I suggest checking it out if you’re interested in learning more about the region and the history of the Thousand Islands, like all of the islands. So last weekend, I went to a writing fair located at TAUNY (a non-profit that focuses on folklore in Upstate NY). Susan Smith was there!!! I was able to thank her! And tell her how much her book helped me! I also told her about this nomination and how it was approved! I also told her about some of the other projects I might be working on in the area! It was wonderful to actually meet the person who had written a book that I used for research! I fan-girled out! I got a hug from her! It was beautiful!
Soooo anyways, here’s part of the statement of significance for the George T. Robinson House:
Statement of Significance Summary
The Robinson Summer Estate is locally significant under Criterion A, “property that is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.” The Robinson Summer Estate was designed by Thorsten E. Billquist in 1901 as the shingle-style summer home of George T. Robinson’s family. The Robinson family originated from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Robinson worked in the steel and manufacturing industries. The property remained the summer residence of the Robinson family until 1948, when Anne H. Robinson passed away. It changed hands during the 1950’s, and ownership passed to Harry and Ruby Butcher. The couple ran the property as the “Bluff Island Lodge,” where tourists could stay while visiting the surrounding area. The Robinson Summer Estate relates to the summer resort era of the Thousand Islands during the turn of the 20th century and then again in the tourism boom of the 1950’s. The property is also locally significant under Criterion C, “property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction.” The summer home was designed by Pittsburgh architect, Thorsten E. Billquist, in the shingle-style, a style commonly used in summer resort areas. The Robinson Summer Estate is significant under these two criteria in regards to its connections to architecture (a Shingle style summer cottage), entertainment, recreational, and tourism values, as well as its connections to the social history of the Thousand Islands region as a tourist resort during the early 20th century and again in the 1950’s tourist boom in New York State.
George T. Robinson House: Social History
The Robinson Family Estate fits into the overarching social history of the Thousand Islands in regards to entertainment, recreational, and tourism in the sense that the home served as a private residence and was used as a fishing lodge briefly during the 1950’s. The home was constructed at the turn of the century in 1901, near the end of the Gilded Age, to be used as the summer residence of a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania family, the Robinson family. The home is also built in the Shingle Style, an architectural style that has been considered the leading cottage design during the Gilded Age; the home was designed by Pittsburgh architect, Thorsten E. Billquist.
George T. Robinson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1838 to son of William C. Robinson and Ann Holdship. Ann was the daughter of Henry Holdship, who owned the largest paper making establishment in the area. William C. was a member of the firm, Robinson and Minis, which was a foundry that constructed engines. Specifically, William built steam boats and their engines; he himself owned a small fleet of steam boats.1 It was mostly likely because of his father’s work, that George became involved in the steel and engine building industry in Pennsylvania.
George married Althea Rebecca Dilworth on November 3, 1863. Together they had five children: Mary Mason, William Christopher, Anne Holdship, Stuart Holdship, and Henry Holdship. According to the United States census of 1880, George’s occupation was listed as, “iron founder and engine builder.”2 By the 1910 census, George’s occupation had changed to, “capitalist.”3 Up until 1897, George had been the president of Robinson-Rea Manufacturing Company, which was one of the first steel foundries in Pittsburgh, building engines and rolling mill machinery.4 In that same year his Robinson-Rea Manufacturing Company was consolidated with another Pittsburgh company, Leechburg Foundry and Machine Company, into a new larger organization, Mesta Machine Company. George still had a role to play in the new, larger company; he was a member of the board of directors for Mesta Machine Company. The plant that had been used by Robinson-Rae Manufacturing Company in the South Side, was still to be used by Mesta Machine Company.5
From his work in the steel industry, George was able to provide his family with a comfortable life, given the fact that he was able to purchase land in 1900 and then build a summer home on Bluff Island in the Thousand Islands in 1901. George bought land on Bluff Island from General Harry C. Kessler, who happened to be his brother-in-law. General Kessler was born in Philadelphia in 1844 and during the Civil War enlisted in the Union Army.6 Kessler had married Josephine Alden Dilworth on November 8, 1876; Josephine was a younger sister of George’s wife, Althea.7
From the deed records at the Jefferson County Clerk’s office, Harry and Josephine Kessler, who at the time were living in Montana, sold the northerly and western portion of Bluff Island to George T. Robinson. The transaction was recorded at the County Clerk’s office August 30, 1900. The Kessler’s had previously purchased the island from Fannie and Eugene Washburn and that transaction was recorded in the county records on August 20, 1900.8 The transaction was noted in the local paper, where Bluff Island was described as, “…one of the most desirable unimproved islands in this section of the river.”9 By the next summer, the Kessler and Robinson families had begun to build their summer homes. In May of 1901, the Watertown Re-Union, briefly reported that the construction work of the buildings on Bluff Island was “progressing rapidly.”10 George Robinson employed Pittsburgh architect, Thorsten E. Billquist to design his summer home; during the construction, the Robinson family vacationed on Grenell Island.11 Documents regarding the construction process of the Robinson Family Estate are lacking and consist solely of blue prints created by Billquist for the house and a boat house. The materials for the buildings are not mentioned in the blue prints but most likely were locally sourced. During the turn of the century, red granite quarries were located on both Grindstone and Picton Islands and Clayton and the surrounding area had a number of lumber businesses.12
View of the East Facade
View of the North Facade
View of the West Facade
The connection between the Kesslers, the Robinsons, and their ability to purchase a 60 acre island and build homes on the island, show the growth of wealth among those involved in industrial capitalism, which was common among America’s elite during the Gilded Age in summer resort areas. The summer people of the Gilded Age, looked for places where they could escape from the health and social problems of the inner cities by vacationing somewhere fresh and full of natural beauty much like the region of Thousand Islands and the St. Lawrence River. The Robinson family vacationed every summer at their cottage on Bluff Island. Snippets in the local newspapers of the Thousand Islands and even from Pittsburgh, give insight into how the upper class family lived during the summer. The Shingle home was officially finished by 1904, based on news reporting that members of the Robinson family were visiting Bluff Island. George’s son, William, his wife, and their young son visited the elder Robinson and his daughter, Anne Holdship for the summer.13
In 1909, the Robinson family prepared for two weddings at the Bluff Island cottage. The Hoffman- Kessler wedding was planned at George T. Robinson’s home on Bluff Island. The local paper documented activities of the members of the Robinson and Hoffman families such as when they dined at the Frontenac Hotel the week prior to the wedding.14 The bride was Althea Dilworth Hoffman, the daughter of Mary Mason Hoffman and granddaughter of George T. Robinson. The groom was her cousin, Harry C. Kessler Jr., the only son of Harry C. and Josephine Alden Kessler; their wedding was set for August 09, 1909. The second Robinson wedding of that year occurred on October 14, when Mary Mason Hoffman married her second husband, Frank J. Lynch at her father’s summer home.15
This is a view of the porch. After reading about the weddings that were held here, one can imagine the porch being decorated and full of people celebrating the weddings that happened over a hundred years ago.This is a view of the main room on the first floor. Walking into the home from the porch leads into here. The fireplace is about 11 feet tall.This is another view of the living room on the first floor. There is a built-in bench below that row of windows. To take the photo, I was standing in a doorway that leads into the former dining room. Beyond the dining room there is a hallway that leads into the kitchen and goes past the back set if stairs that house servants would have used.
Interesting tidbits of the family’s summer activities are found in the most unusual places such as the annual report for the Carnegie Museum. The Museum’s annual report lists Anne H. Robinson under their donations for the year of April 1, 1911 to April 30, 1912. Anne donated land and fresh water shells from Bluff Island and the St. Lawrence River, collected in July of 1911. She also donated, “insects, particularly Odonata and their nymphs, from Bluff Island.”16 These snippets of information into the Robinson family’s summer vacations paint a picture of how Robinson Family Estate on Bluff Island emulates the summer activities common to the summer peoples of the Thousand Islands during the turn of the century. It was a place to relax, socialize, and enjoy the natural splendor of the St. Lawrence River and as The House Beautiful put it to escape the “city turmoil.”17
George T. Robinson died December 24, 1917, at his home in Pittsburgh. In his will, George left his home in Pittsburgh at 4926 Wallingford Street and all of its possessions to his daughter, Anne Holdship. Anne along with his other children also received shares of the stock in the Mesta Machine Company and money.18 Anne Holdship continued to reside there during the summers and was involved in the local summer community by hosting occasional garden meetings at her home on Bluff Island.19 From local newspapers of the time, it is clear that Anne was involved with the local garden clubs. In 1935, the Cape Vincent Eagle that four ladies of the “Ann Robinson Garden Club,” attended an improvement league meeting in Clayton.20 Anne was not present at the meeting. Another garden club was formed in 1938 as part of Clayton’s Improvement League, that club formed in June of that same year. Their first meeting was held on July 5th, at the home of Mrs. Joseph Davis. The second meeting was held in Clayton, at the summer home of, “Miss Ann Robinson “Bluff Island,” ” that meeting included members of both the Clayton and Cape Vincent garden clubs.21 Anne’s own garden club was still around and made the news again in 1941, when the “Anne Robinson Garden Club,” held their meeting and picnic at her home on Bluff Island.22 Though there is no photographic evidence of Anne’s gardens, the historic newspaper record points to Anne having some kind of garden. Summer cottages of the Gilded Age, much like the Robinson Family Estate, typically had formal landscaping such as terraces or flower beds.23 The granite wall surface remains that are located north of the house on a slope are most likely the remains of her gardens. There is no other location of the property that appears to contain stone walls that would have been associated with a garden. Anne Holdship Robinson continued to summer at Bluff Island until her death in 1948; she passed away at her home in Pittsburgh.24
This is a feature located just north of the property; its up a slight incline from the backdoor of the house (where the kitchen is located). Emilie, from the State Office of Historic Preservation, and myself concluded that this was probably a walled garden that Anne Robinson would have attended to.
The records for the history of the Robinson Family Estate after Anne’s death are scarce. The majority of the history comes from the Thousand Island Museum’s archives and the Jefferson County Clerk deed records. In Anne’s will, the Robinson Family Estate was left to her brother, William, in December of 1948. William and his immediate family had no need for the property and donated it to Clayton’s Christ Episcopal Church, which Anne had been a member of during her life. In 1951, Christ Episcopal Church sold the property because they too had no use for the home. At that time Harry and Ruby Butcher of Clayton purchased the property.25 Prior to purchasing the property on Bluff Island, the Butcher’s had run a popular snack shop, “Harry’s Snack Shop,” in Clayton. The Butcher’s has plans on turning the former single family residence of the Robinson Family Estate into a fishing lodge and for three summer’s from 1951 to 1954, the Butcher’s ran the “Bluff Island Lodge.”26
In 1954, the Butcher’s began to look into selling the “Bluff Island Lodge.” The Thousand Island Museum’s archives had a number of news clippings related to the sale and eventual purchase of the Lodge. The sale ad listed the lodge as having 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a 38′ living room, an 11′ stone fireplace, quarters on the third floor for help, a dining room large enough to accommodate 24 people, a pantry, and a large kitchen. At that time the property also had a boat house and even came with seven boats. By October of 1954, the Butcher’s had either sold or begun to lease the Bluff Island Lodge to Mr. and Mrs. Jack Cutler, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and they continued to use the property as a lodge.27 The Jefferson County Clerk’s Office deed records show something a little different. In 1956, Ruby sold the property to Willard Cutler. The Cutler family eventually sold to Timothy Hubbard in 1963, after the death of Willard Cutler.28
Since 1966, the Hubbard family continued to own the home and live there during the summers. Timothy Hubbard was a professor of Syracuse University and in 1986 wrote the Dolphin Book Club best seller, The Race. His daughter, Stephanie Hubbard, also is a writer and wrote Bluff Island Rescue Service, which is a memoir of growing up on Bluff Island; it was published in 2010.29 The Hubbard family used the property as a single-family residence up until 2016, when the home was sold to the current owner, David and Robin Lucas.
Robinson Family Estate: Architectural Significance
The Thousand Islands has been a summer resort area since the 1870’s, when George Pullman invited President Ulysses S. Grant to his summer home on “Pullman Island,” located close to Alexandria Bay, bringing national attention to the St. Lawrence River.30 Shingle Style homes are a common sight in many of the northeastern seaside resorts like Martha’s Vineyard and Bar Harbor, the same can be said about the Thousand Islands. Between the townships of Clayton and Alexandria Bay, which make up a majority of the Thousand Island Region, there are only three other Shingle Style properties listed on the State and National Registers. Those properties include: the Boldt Yacht House on Wellesley Island built in 1903 for George C. Boldt’s estate, listed 1978; the Densmore Church, constructed in 1900, also located on Wellesley Island, listed in 1988; and Ingelside, a private estate on Cherry Island that combines Queen Anne and Shingle Style architectural features, it was constructed sometime between 1899 and 1906, listed 1980.
This is a close up of the east facade of the house.
George Robinson employed Pittsburgh architect, Thorsten E. Billquist to design his summer home on Bluff Island. Thorsten E. Billquist was educated at the University of Gothenburgh. He immigrated to the United States in 1892, first living in New York and working with the firm McKim, Mead, and White. He was involved to some extent with the designing of the Boston Public Library. Shortly after that, Billquist moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked for a brief time for the firm, Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow and then with architect William Ross Proctor. By 1896, Billquist had launched his own practice by having the winning entry for the Allegheny Observatory (added to the National Register June 22, 1979) in that year. By 1905, Billquist had partnered with Edward B. Lee, to create the firm Billquist and Lee that was active from 1905-1909.31
The Robinson Family Estate is located in a summer vacation area where Shingle Style homes were a common sight. There is also the previous work experience that Billquist had during his career at the firms of McKim, Mead and White and Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow. Both firms had key partners who had worked for Henry Hobson Richardson, the architect who designed the high style homes that emulated the key features of every popular architectural style of the late 19th and early 20th century. Both firms designed buildings that were key in creating the Shingle Style in America. Working with them most likely inspired Billquist in his own designs during his career.32
This is a view of the raised foundation of the porch. I took this photo during my second site visit to the property. The first there, I could not get down here- it was overgrown with vegetation and apparently a hangout for the local snakes.This is looking underneath the porch. The further north you would move under the porch, the tighter the space becomes. So basically, I could potentially stand up in the area seen here but would have to be crawling on the ground the closer I got to the north end of the house.
Billquist designed a summer home for the Robinson family that emulates many of the key architectural features commonly seen in Shingle Style summer homes. The home is a frame home that is clad in cedar shingles and has a raised basement constructed of rough cut red granite blocks. The front facade, which faces south towards mainland New York, is dominated by an open porch that is covered by the floor of the second story; the porch is supported by columns of rough cut red granite blocks. The interior of the home is finished exclusively in wood. The first floor of the home has a large, open layout, with spaces flowing into each via a hall running the length of the home. The first floor’s largest room is the living room, which is where all the main entrances open into. The room’s key features include a built in bench and an 11-foot granite fireplace. The fireplace is double sides, in that it is built within the wall that separates the living room from the dining room; both rooms could have a separate fire going simultaneous, if needed. Both of these rooms would have been used for family and social activities by the Robinson family and subsequent owners. The upstairs of the home had historically seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, and numerous closets. The historic layout of second floor is almost completely intact, the other differences are a bathroom and closet have been removed, most likely during the ownership of the Hubbard Family. The upstairs also a main hallway allowing easy movement throughout the different rooms; some rooms are connected to each other and even share bathrooms. The attic space was used to house the help during the summer months.
This is the main set of stairs from the first floor to the second floor. This set of stairs is located right when you walk into the living room.A view of one of the rooms upstairs. This room is on the east side of the house. There is a closet in this room (opened door on the left side of the photo). The opened door on the right side of the photo goes into another, smaller bedroom. The closed door leads into the main hallway that runs east-west. There is another hallway that runs north-south.This photo is taken in the room seen in the previous photo…just this time I was looking west. Almost all of the rooms are interconnected. Walking through this doorway, I would walk through a former bathroom and then into another room.This is a room located on the west side of the house. The current owners were planning on saving all of the old bathtubs to reuse.
Conclusion
The Robinson Family Estate is locally significant under both Criteria A and Criteria C. The Robinson Summer Estate was designed by Thorsten E. Billquist in 1901 as the shingle-style summer home of George T. Robinson’s family. The Robinson family originated from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Robinson worked in the steel and manufacturing industries. It changed hands during the 1950’s, and ownership passed to Harry and Ruby Butcher, who ran the property as the “Bluff Island Lodge,” where tourists could stay while visiting the surrounding area. The Robinson Summer Estate relates to the summer resort era of the Thousand Islands during the turn of the 20th century and then again in the tourism boom of the 1950’s. The property is also a great local architectural example of the Shingle Style. The summer home was designed by Pittsburgh architect, Thorsten E. Billquist, in the Shingle Style, a style commonly used in summer resort areas. Billquist also had ties and work experience in a number of important northeast architectural firms of McKim, Mead and White, and Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow. Both firms designed buildings that were key to creating the Shingle style in America. Both firms also had key partners who had worked with H. H. Richardson, the architect who can be credited with designing the prototype of the Shingle Style home in America, with the William Watts Sherman House. The Robinson Summer Estate is significant under these two criteria in regards to its connections to architecture (a Shingle style summer cottage), entertainment, recreational, and tourism values, as well as its connections to the social history of the Thousand Islands region as a tourist resort during the early 20th century and again in the 1950’s tourist boom in New York State.
If you have any questions of comments about the George T. Robinson House or about writing a national register nomination, let me know in the comment section below!
1Dorothy Smith Coleman, “Pioneers of Pittsburgh: The Robinsons,” The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 42, no. 1 (1959): 73, https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/2627/2460 (accessed July 15, 2016).
2United States Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1880, George T. Robinson, Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States,” citing enumeration district ED1 166, sheet 357D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington DC.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d, roll 1095, FHL microfilm 1,255,095, 1880), https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MG7T-YRN (accessed July 17, 2016).
3United States Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1910, George T. Robinson, Pittsburgh Ward 7, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States,” citing enumeration district ED 360, sheet 5, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington DC.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d, FHL microfilm 1,375,314, 1910), https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MG7T-YRN (accessed July 17, 2016).
7 United States Census Bureau, “United States Census, 1850, Joesphine Dilworth in household of William Dilworth, Allegheny City, Ward 1, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States,” citing family 82, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington DC.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d,), https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M44H-2LH (accessed July 17, 2016).
8“Deed of Sale from Fannie L. Washburn and Eugene R. Washburn to Harry C. Keesler August 20, 1900,” (filed August 30, 1900), Jefferson County Clerk’s Office: Watertown, New York, Liber 296 of Deeds, page 331-332.
9“Brevities,” The Watertown Herald, August 18, 1900.
10“Clayton,” The Watertown Re-Union, May 22, 1901.
11 Thousand Islands Museum Archives, “American Islands Binder A-M,” Clayton, New York.
12“Clayton News,” The Watertown Re-Union, March 31, 1906. “Clayton News,” The Watertown Re-Union, July 21, 1900. Smith, First Summer Peoples, 79, 81.
18 Thousand Islands Museum Archives, “Family Binder: Robinson,” Clayton, New York.
19“Last Will and Testament of George T. Robinson May 15, 1909, Sealed February 20,1917,” (filed October 20, 1920), Jefferson County Clerk’s Office: Watertown, New York, Liber 2361 of Deeds, page 571-572.
20“Improvement League Holds Meeting,” Cape Vincent Eagle, May 9, 1935.
21“Garden Club is Formed in Village,” Cape Vincent Eagle, June 23, 1938.
22“Garden Club to Meet,” Clayton News, August 12, 1941.
24 Thousand Islands Museum Archives, “Family Binder: Robinson,” Clayton, New York.
25“Deed of Sale from Christ Church of the Town of Clayton to Harry W. and Ruby K. Butcher October 9, 1951,” (filed October 9, 1951), Jefferson County Clerk’s Office: Watertown, New York, Liber 559 of Deeds, page 180-181. Thousand Islands Museum Archives, “Family Binder: Robinson,” Clayton, New York.
26 Thousand Islands Museum Archives, “American Islands Binder A-M,” Clayton, New York.
28“Deed of Sale from Willard Cutler to Timothy William Hubbard August 16, 1963” (filed September 16, 1963, Jefferson County Clerk’s Office: Watertown, New York, Liber 741 of Deeds, page 380.
29John Golden, “Island Author Navigates From Ocean to Banks,” Watertown Daily Times, July 9, 1995. Stephanie Hubbard, “Great Reviews Are Coming In! Get Your Own Copy! Tell Your Friends!,” Bluff Island Rescue Service: A Memoir Website, August 25, 2010, http://www.bluffislandrescueservice.com/ (accessed August 23, 2016).
So this blog is about my history and preservation adventures but have I told you about how much I love eating when I adventure around!?!
I enjoy finding unique eateries and stuffing my face fully of messy food. I also have a soft spot for anything made locally…so when I traveled to Rochester a couple of weekends ago, there were some really awesome places my friend, Amanda, took me to.
The first cool place we went to was a burger joint called, “The Playhouse and Swillburger,” which along with serving up classic American food, has a bar, and a number of old school arcade games. When we arrived at the restaurant, I was starving. I’m not good at planning for food stops when I’m traveling. I typically wait until I get to my destination…starving and questioning when we’re going to eat.
Sooo, I’m not just telling you about the Swillburger because of how awesome the vibe was or how great the food tasted. The building happens to be old and have a cool backstory!
This brings me to another topic I’ve been wanting to write more about- building rehabilitation and reuse stories. So the idea that an old, historic, unused property gets a Cinderella-type makeover into something cool and the building remains in use!
Check out the images of the exterior and interior of The Playhouse and Swillburger to see what the building once was. The captions for the photos will give a brief history of the building and how it got into its current state.
The church was constructed in 1890 for the congregation of the 2nd German Baptist Church. The congregation had formed two years prior when 50 people of the 1st German Baptist Church wanted to establish their own branch.
The brick building cost more than planned by the congregation. So they were in debt. As a way to raise money to pay off the costs of the church’s construction, the congregation began to host concerts open to the public. By 1902, the debt was paid off! In 1918, the 2nd German Baptist congregation rejoined the previous 1st German Baptist congregation. The building was left vacant.
For a brief time the former church was owned by the Standard Automatic Machine Company. In 1926, the Rochester Community Players ( a theater group) purchased the property and made it their home. They hired architects Arnold and Stern to renovate the interior – stages and balconies were built. The theater group called this place their home until 1984.
In 1985, the former church and theater, started a new chapter in it’s long history as the home for the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship. It was used as a church again until 2013!
In 2013, the current owners purchased the property at the corner of South Clinton and Meigs Street. Brian Van Etten and Jeff Ching eventualy started a Kickstarter campaign to fund their plans on renovating the old church and theater space into a arcade/bar/burger joint combo. The fundraising campaign began in the summer of 2015 and before the end of that year, they were open for business!
So back to the burning question you have…was the food any good!?!
For the love of all foods good, cheap, and served quickly. Yes. Much good.
This is a picture of the food I ordered at Swillburger- Crispy Chicken Sammie, Fire and Smoke Fries, and a Vegan Chocolate Milkshake….and a beer from the bar
The crispy chicken sammie (sandwich) with Swillsauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and dad’s pickles? That was amazing and everything was so fresh tasting.
The “Smoke and Fire” french fries? Spicy and crunchy just the way I like my french fries.
The vegan chocolate milkshake? Creamy, thick, and chocolaty with a hint of coconut.
On a super nerdy yet slightly related note… For those familiar with the television show, Supernatural, there is a scene of a recurring character who is eating a hamburger, and he says something along the lines, “These make me very happy.” Here’s a link to the clip on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0bpejn__bQ
That’s exactly how I felt eating the food I ordered at Swillburger. The added facts that it was in a historic building and I was with my bff. Priceless.
The Playhouse and Swillburger is located at 820 South Clinton Avenue. It’s open daily from 11:30 am – 2 am (the grill closes down at 10 pm and the bar stays open until 2 am). There is no parking lot but there is parking along the surrounding streets.
There was one other food place Amanda and I went to while I was visiting and that was the Rochester Public Market. The market is open weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; it’s a year round market place.
This was the main parking lot for the market. It was packed but luckily Amanda found a place to park!
Amanda and I went to the Union Street Bakery for breakfast because Amanda said they have the best breakfast sandwiches around. The bakery is part of a row of buildings at the Public Market.
They did not disappoint!
This place was packed. It was hard to get a seat. Amanda and I initially went outside to eat but it was too cold so we came back inside. Luckily we found a seat.
These were the two guys in charge of making breakfast sandwiches to order! They were quick. I would say the wait was less than 10 minutes.
This is a section of the row buildings located at the market.
This sandwich consisted on two fried eggs, cheese, and turkey (other options included ham, bacon, sausage, and/or peppers) all on a large roll. The sandwich plus water I got cost me like $5.00. It was real good!
The Rochester Public Market has been in operation since 1827 when it was located at the west end of the Main Street Bridge. In 1905, the market was relocated to its current location on Union Street. Originally, the vendors who sold at the market could only sell products wholesale. That changed in 1913, when the city began to allow retailers to sell directly to the shoppers. When we visited the market it was chilly out and overcast but that didn’t seem to stop people from being out and shopping at the market!
Researching the Rochester Public Market I came across some interesting articles about plans for upgrades to the market. Apparently, the Public Market has received quite a bit of money to build a few buildings and to do general upgrades to the location. The weird thing was that this collection of news articles were from 2012-2013….in one of the articles, some peoples opinions on the future upgrades were reported on. The main concerns were that the upgrades would “yuppify” the market- more hipster coffee places and prices would rise pushing out certain groups of people from shopping at the market.
I’m not sure how much work has been done on the market. My friend, Amanda, made it sounds like the biggest upgrades still haven’t happened. I’m not sure. What I do know though is when I was there, there were lots of people from all walks of life. The vendors varied from handcrafts to produce to livestock. It was great to see so many people from different cultures- I don’t get to see that often in Northern New York. I like it.
The prices also were very inexpensive. Breakfast cost me $5 and that sandwich was glorious. Between Amanda and I, we probably spent barely $30.00 on produce. I think the most expensive thing purchased were frozen pierogies that we had for lunch. Not to be too weird but I still have apples in my crisper from the market and they’re still good!
Click through the images below to get a sense of what the Rochester Public Market is like!
This is the main market space where almost all of the vendors are set up. It is a horseshoe shaped space, so it curves around. There were lots of people there as can be seen in this image.
I haven’t had cider donuts since November. So these were wonderful to buy!
This was very interesting to say the least. I saw this in the as one building at the market-all of the refrigerated foods are in this building. You can buy fresh fish in there too!
There are these type of gateways all around the public market.
Thoughts
Both of these places were really awesome for food adventures! If you find yourself in Rochester, check them both out!
Here in Northern New York, there are a number of good building reuse stories for me to share in the future. For example, there’s an Italian restaurant in an old train depot around the corner from me!
Is there a place in your hometown, with a cool and unique building reuse story that you frequent often? Or is there an eatery that’s really awesome and serves great food? Or does your town have a public market that is open year round?
Let me know in the comment section! I love hearing about good food.
Check out some of the links in the “Further Information” section- there news articles about the Rochester Farmer’s Market and the Playhouse and Swillburger there, along with a link to historic photographs of the market!
Collection of brief articles related to construction and planned upgrades to Rochester Public Market. This is where the concerns were voiced about the possible “yuppify” of the market.
During the week in Emmitsburg, I had the opportunity to travel to Gettysburg with a couple of my classmates, Aileen and Kathryn. Shout out to Aileen who brought her car with her so we could adventure!
The very brief history of the Battle of Gettysburg goes like this:
The battle lasted for three days during July 1- 3 in 1863. The battle is seen as a turning point in the American Civil War. The battle was ultimately a Union victory under Maj. General George Meade, who commanded the Army of the Potomac. The Army of the Potomac, after three days, was able to hold back General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army and force their retreat back south. This would be the last time, the Confederate Army would attempt an invasion of the Northern States.
During those three days it is estimated that there were between 46,000- 51,000 causalities, making it the most costly in United States History.
After the Battle, Daughters and Sisters of Charity from Emmitsburg (see previous posts) arrived in Gettyburg on July 5th to tend to the wounded of both armies. Other retreating soldiers were cared for by Sisters who had remained at Saint Joseph’s campus.
For more information about the Battle of Gettysburg, please check out the “Further Information” section, there are many wonderful online resources.
That’s all I’m going to write, the rest of this post are all just photos from the battlefield.
This statue is located outside of the Museum and Visitor Center. The Battlefield is free of charge as is the visitor center. There is a fee though for the museum.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This is the monument for Pennsylvania, it is the largest monument at Gettysburg. It is made of North Carolina granite over an iron and concrete frame. It was dedicated on September 27, 1910.
This statue weighs 7,500 pounds and was sculpted by Samuel Murray.
These are some of the bronze tablets along the base of the Pennsylvania Monument. It lists regiments and batteries; over 34,000 Pennsylvanians participated in Gettysburg.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This monument located at Little Round Top is dedicated to the 44th and 12th volunteer infantries of New York. The 44th was organized at Albany, NY and also went by the name, ” Ellsworth’s Avengers,” for Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, the first officer to die in the war. The monument was dedicated in 1893 and happens to be the largest regimental monument at the battlefield. It was designed by Daniel Butterfield, the original colonel of the 12th and at the Battle of Gettysburg, he was Maj. General Meade’s Chief of Staff.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This monument is made of granite and was dedicated on September 12, 1889.
This monument is located the at Soldier’s National Cemetery.This speech was given by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863 during the dedication of the Soldier’s National Cemetery. The speech was short and is estimated to have taken mere minutes for Lincoln to say. It made clear that the Civil War and its purpose, was the struggle to preserve the Union and human equality.
If you have any comments or questions, let me know in the comment section below!
Part deux of my adventures in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
The really cool part of being at the National Emergency Training Center is that it is right next door to the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. A tour was offered of the Basilica after hours if you were at the training center, so I took the opportunity to see the Shrine.
This is a view of the basilica for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. This building was constructed in 1965 and it is a very Italianate style basilica.
The grounds of the Shrine consists of a walking path, a number of buildings, and a cemetery. If you find yourself in the area, the grounds are open to walk around until dusk, while the Basilica and museum are open almost daily from 10- 4:30 pm.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) is the first native born United States citizen to be canonized, which means to be named a saint. She was canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI. In 1991 the chapel, which was originally designed as the chapel for the sisters in the Daughters of Charity, was designated as a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II; it was already the national shrine prior to this.
So, I’m sure you have some questions:
1. What exactly did Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton do during her life to be canonized?
2. What is a basilica, it sounds like architectural jargon!?! It is….
Anyways, I’ll answer the easier of the two.
Who exactly was Mother Seton?
The shortened biography goes something like this…Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in 1774 into an Anglican family in New York City. In 1794, she married William Magee Seton and they had five children. William was not in the greatest health and because of this he, Elizabeth, and their eldest child, Anna Marie, sailed to Italy for warmer weather believing this would help William’s health. William also had business partners in Italy, Filippo and Antonio Filicchi, who they planned to stay with.
Sadly, the warmer weather did not help. William passed away before the end of 1803. While in Italy though, Elizabeth was introduced to the Catholic faith through the Filicchi family. Upon returning to the United States, she converted to the Roman Catholic Faith in 1805. By 1808, she was traveling with her family and companions, to Emmitsburg to start a school for girls. She was successful in starting a school, St. Joseph’s Academy, which eventually morphed into Saint Joseph’s College. She also created the congregation of religious sisters called, the Sisters of Charity.
This is the Stone House, where Mother Seton, her children, and companions first lived when they moved to Emmitsburg to start a school. The home was constructed in 1750 and is also known as the Fleming farmhouse. The size of home today is almost double what Mother Seton and her companions lived in. When they first arrived, the home only consisted of 4 rooms and there were 16 people living in them, and they managed to have space for a temporary chapel in the same building.
This was the only photo I managed to take of this home. This house was constructed in 1810 after Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore visited Mother Seton and saw the condition of the Stone House they were living in. He did not like the conditions of the Stone House and directed that a new home be built for the group. This building is also known as St. Joseph’s House and would have been the original location for the academy.
The cemetery contains the graves of Sisters and Daughters of Charity, along with priests.
This little chapel was constructed after Mother Seton passed away in 1821. Her son, William, financed the construction. Mother Seton’s remains were here from 1846 until the 1960’s when they were moved to the basilica after her beatification.
This is the original gravestone for Mother Seton, the stones in front of her are for her family members that traveled to Emmitsburg with her.
This leads us to the other question.
What exactly is a basilica?
So historically a basilica was a type of large public building found in Rome. It was used for business or legal matters- not religious matters. It typically would have been a semi-circular space roofed with a half dome. Finally, when Christianity was no longer illegal in the Roman Empire in the 4th century, Christians began to publicly construct basilicas.
The most basic interior layout of the basilica would have consisted of:
Nave – This is the central aisle that religious processions walk down
Aisles– One on each side of the central nave
Apse– This is the location where the altar is, typically it is opposite of the main entrance
From this basic interior plan, a basilica can greatly vary. For example there could be transepts, which would go off of the outer aisles expanding the layout into a “cross” plan. There can also be differences in the ceiling vaults. Examples: the central nave has a ceiling that extends upwards another story allowing for windows while the ceilings above the aisles are not as tall OR the height of all three ceilings and their vaults are all similar in size meaning there might not be windows.
To confuse matters a little more, “basilica” can also refer to an ecclesiastical status for a church.
There are two rankings for basilicas with this type of status: major and minor.
There are only four major or papal basilicas, these are all located in Rome and have something called a “holy door” it’s a very specific type of door.
Then there are minor basilicas, these are churches, chapels, etc. that have been decreed by the acting Pope to be designated as a minor basilica (typically a Papal brief is issued). This allows that building the right to conopaeum, a specific type of canopy to be displayed. It’s red and gold and looks like an umbrella. There is also the right to display a bell called, tintinnabulum, and the cappa magna, which is a robe. All of these link the basilica to the Pope.
The basilica at Emmitsburg was completed in 1965 and the interior was made entirely by German and Italian craftsmen and artisans. I tried researching more on the architecture of the basilica but I could find nothing! The church is definitely Italianate in style. It’s beautiful.
The following are images from within the basilica for Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. You should be able to “right click” on any of the images to open into a new page, this will allow you to slightly zoom into the images to see more details.
The central image is of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
This is an altar to Saint Louise de Marillac, who was a co-founder of the Daughters of Charity in France in 1633.
This is where Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s remains are located within the Basilica. The statue was sculpted in Italy and beneath the altar is a small copper casket that contains the saint’s remains. This has been enclosed in marble.One final look down the Basilica.
Stay tune for the next post on Gettysburg, which has a link to the Sisters of Charity!
Thanks for reading!
For More Information:
All of my information came from a handout I received at the Basilica and from the Shrine’s website. I attached the National Register nomination again because it does discuss the Stone House, the White House, and the cemetery. I can’t seem to conclude whether or not the Basilica is actually included in the district. I assume it is, but there’s no real information about the building and it’s construction, which is weird.
I spent last week in Emmitsburg, Maryland at the National Emergency Training Center for FEMA. It was a long and exciting week filled with excruciating travel days, beautiful historic buildings, and a trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania.
Since there was so much seen, I’ve split my initial post into four different topics: Saint Joseph’s College, the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the Gettysburg National Park, and how to survive airport layovers of up to 15 hours. So that means, keep a look out for those upcoming posts!
This is the Burlando Building, which was designed by E.G. Lind. When designing the building he took into account the architectural features of the Chapel located right next to the building such as the arches, pilasters, and brick.
I arrived in Emmitsburg, Maryland in the late afternoon last Sunday. I was asleep most of the bus ride that took me from Baltimore Airport to the training campus. The National Emergency Training Center is located on the former campus of Saint Joseph’s College. The college, originally the Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School, was started shortly after Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton arrived in Emmitsburg in 1809. The academy was the first free parochial school for girls in the United States; officially it was incorporated as a school in 1816. It remained a school until 1973, during those years it changed names a number of times, and it was in 1902 that the school officially became a four-year liberal arts college for women. The college officially closed in 1973 and students and faculty merged with Mount Saint Mary’s University, which is located near Emmitsburg. The buildings and cemetery of the campus and the Mother Seton Shrine were listed in 1976 on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. In 1979, the Sisters of Charity, a religious order established by Mother Seton, sold the old campus to the FEMA. It was renamed the National Emergency Training Center in 1981.
The old campus buildings are a conglomerate of different architectural styles. I didn’t photograph every building, only the ones that were the most interesting to look at.
The photograph above is the Burlando Building constructed in 1870; it’s the most recognizable building on campus. I only was able to get a few exterior photos of the building because I never had enough time to get into the building. The building is considered to be a “provincial” example of the Second Empire Style, thanks to it’s prominent mansard roof! So…before I move on, “provincial,” not my word, this came from page two of the original National Register nomination (that’s listed below for you to check out).
When ever I see this word, I immediately think Beauty and the Beast and I want to break out in song! What it means or at least how it was used in the nomination for this district….is that it’s not “high-style,” so the building has some of the most common architectural features of a specific style but not all of the features to make it perfect prime example of what Second Empire Revival looks like.
This is the side facade of the Burlando Building. This side entrance leads into the campus library.
Right next to the Burlando Building is the Saint Joseph’s Chapel.
It took me two days to get into this building. The first attempt was after classes on Monday. Every damn door was locked. It’s not a usual thing when I can’t find a way into a building but when it does happen, I realize immediately how sketchy I look, systematically trying every door in the middle of the afternoon. It’s a good thing it wasn’t at night!
On an extreme side note, I always think that should I get stopped and questioned by law enforcement for looking sketchy outside of a locked building. I would just exclaim, “I’m a preservationist and this building DESERVES to be photographed…” and that would be more than enough and explain everything!
So anyways, since I couldn’t find a way into the Chapel, I checked out the “E” building on campus. This is the St. Vincent’s Hall, it seems to be connected to two other halls: Marillac and Seton. All three buildings were constructed between 1925-26 and are all Colonial Revival.
The interior of St. Vincent Hall is very intact, click through the photos to see.
This is in the entrance way into St. Vincent’s Hall
The auditorium is located on the second floor of St. Vincent’s Hall. It can seat over 400 people.
This is the oval medallion seen on the ceiling of the auditorium.
This is in the auditorium of St. Vincent’s Hall. It’s called a medallion and is a type of ornamentation seen on ceilings.
The next day I was able to get into the Chapel with some of my classmates. The Chapel was constructed in 1839 and in the National Register nomination papers, the chapel is considered to slightly be “Italianate” or even “Romanesque” in style because of the rounded arch windows. Mother Seton also asked that the church resemble the Tuscan architecture she had encountered while in Tuscany in the late 18th century. The plans were drawn up by Rev. Thomas Butler. Today the chapel is the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Chapel.
There’s a small sundial in front of the Chapel!
St. Joseph’s Chapel was designated in 1999 as the National Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial Chapel and dedicated to the memory of Chief A. Marvin Gibbons, who had was the past president of the Maryland State Fireman’s Association.
There’s a nice cherry tree growing behind the Chapel. From this side of the chapel you can see more of the architectural features of the building. From this angle, it does look Italian or Tuscan or even Greek.
Hmmmmmm. Would I call this strictly a provincial type of “Italianate” or even “Romanesque”? No. Where are the Syrian arches? Joking. But really, where are they?!?
I think it would be more interesting and accurate to look at the Chapel as a combination of many different architectural elements inspired greatly by what Mother Seton wanted in 1839 and what was present in other Catholic churches in the early 19th century. The Chapel, is obviously “provincial” and I think is combines a lot of architectural features that would have been commonly seen in the early 19th century: the steeple is Wren-Gibbs inspired and there are rounded arches but those could be found on Greek Revival buildings or even Georgian Colonial structures. The building does give off an “Italian” feel but if it wasn’t constructed of brick and say, marble or another stone or even wood, would it still give that feeling…I don’t know.
I compiled a list of churches from roughly the same time frame that are considered either “Georgian Colonial” or “Greek Revival” that have comparable architectural features to the Saint Joseph’s Cathedral. There is one church that was constructed in the 20th century and is considered to be “Colonial Revival.” This help shows that it’s not always easy to pin-point an architectural style. There’s also links to Wikipedia pages about
Let me know what you think about the architectural style of the Chapel below in the comments.
Make sure to check in tomorrow to read the next post about my trip to Emmitsburg. We’re going to learn about the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, which is located right next door to the National Emergency Training Center.
In honor of the holiday, I thought I’d share some finds from local sources on NYS Historic Newspapers related to St. Patrick’s Day!
An advertisement cashing in on the holiday to sell dry cleaning. This advertisement was seen in the “Courier Freeman”, Wednesday, March 3, 1915.
The following is a poem that was printed in Ogdensburg’s The Daily Journal on March 17, 1869.
This is a poem about St. Patrick’s Day that was printed in Ogdensburg’s, “The Daily Journal” on March 17, 1869.
This is the second part of the poem.
The poem and advertisement were found just by searching, “saint patrick’s day” for St. Lawrence County in the search engine of the NYS Historic Newspapers: http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/. If you live in New York State, see if you can find some cool articles or advertisements for the holiday in your area!
On that, you didn’t think you’d get through a post without any buildings, did you?
This wouldn’t be a preservation adventure blog if I didn’t have some photos of architecture to share!
So, last weekend I traveled to Ottawa with my friends, Nate and Logan. While we were in the capital of Canada, we checked out the Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica , which is located on Sussex Drive across from the National Art Gallery.
The front facade of the Basilica. The cornerstone was laid in 1841 but the building was officially completed until 1885. During the construction, there were many changes to the plans, most importantly the architectural style was changed from Neoclassical to Neo-Gothic. The steeple of the church are clad in tin, which is a feature seen in French-Canadian churches.
The interior of the Basilica is very ornate and brightly colored. Click through the photographs below for more history and information about the structure.
The interior of the Basilica was planned by Canon Georges Bouillon. A team of craftsmen, sculptors, and carpenters made the plans a reality. The ceiling is based on 16th century Gothic Style and the stars are gold-leaf. It was restored in 1999!
The main altar is 52 feet high and seeped in Gothic ornamentation. It consists of three arches with reliefs of the Nativity, Jesus teaching, and the Resurrection. Surrounding the main altar are large wooden statues of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and saints.
A close-up of some of the statues in the sanctuary. There are a total of 30 statues and they were the work of three significant Canadian sculptors: Louis-Philippe Hebert, Pierre Rochon, and Philippe Parizeau.
A view of right side altar: The Blessed Virgin or also called the Altar of the Immaculate Conception; it was completed in 1885. In this photo you can see some of the narrow columns that are in the Basilica, they are all decoratively painted to look like stone. The statue seen here is of St. Anne holding Mary as a child.
So many Gothic Arches in this church! The first organ for the church was installed in 1850; carved in 1871 by Flavien Rochon. This organ was replaced in 1892 with a new organ built by Casavant & Co. That organi has been reconstructed and repaired multiple times, most recently in 1998 to recreate the organ as it would have sounded in 1892.
The first stained glass windows were installed in 1879. Other stained glass windows were installed in the 1950’s by Guido Nincheri of Montreal. These are some of those windows installed in the 1950’s.
This is a view of the right side aisle and the vaulting beneath the upper gallery.
This is a view of one of the stained glass windows seen in the aisle right to the nave (the center aisle of the church). You can also see the details of the ceiling vaults beneath the upper gallery.
So outside of the Basilica there was some interesting local architecture on a certain street. Can you guess the name of the street that runs alongside the Basilica?
If you guessed St. Patrick Street- you’re right!
Here are some of the cool buildings located on St. Patrick Street of Ottawa located in the Byward Market District.
This is 138 St. Patrick Street, named the Rochon Residence. This was the home of Pierre Rochon, who was one of the Canadian sculptors working on the church across the street. The home might have been built as early as 1832, is 1 1/2 stories tall and the architecture of the home is considered to be the traditional house style of Lower Town in Ottawa.
This building is located at 142-144 St. Patrick Street; it’s located right next to the Rochon Residence. Both homes are listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. This home was constructed in 1866 for Dr. Francois-Xavier Valade, a Lower Town doctor. It combines both British elements (front entrance, high dormers) with French-Canadian architectural elements (casement windows, the stonework, the balcony, asymmetrical massing).
I couldn’t find any information about the history of this building. It is a Victorian era home and has some pretty neat Eastlake style elements with the roof line and the second story balcony. The building is currently the home of a art gallery: Jean Claude Bergeron.
Again, I have no information about the history of this building but it has some cool architectural elements such as the glass bricks in the center and the brick designs above that igivng it a Streamline Moderne vibe. Based on those elements, the building was probably constructed in the late 1920’s-30’s
Hopefully this inspires you to go check out your local “St. Patrick’s Street.”
adventure with courtney 