Thanks to the hard work of Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. and support from the Kleinhan's Community Association, one of Buffalo's historic homes has been saved from the wrecking ball. 44 Plymouth Avenue, a four bedroom, two bath home, has been rehabbed and is now available for purchase by a low-to-moderate income buyer.
The first block of Plymouth Avenue, between Hudson Street and Pennsylvania Street, was dominated by the large brick Sidway mansion, built in the mid-1830s. Its barn and grounds took up nearly the entire first block of Plymouth Avenue's west side. However, by the late 1840s, several residents moved onto streets at the edge of the Sidway estate and erected sturdy one or one and one-half story picturesque cottages of stave construction made from wide wood-planks.
The first house to be built on Plymouth Avenue, at the time known as Upper Twelfth Street, was constructed at 44 Plymouth Avenue in 1853. The house was designed in a practical gabled style designed for a 25-foot wide lot. When the house was paired with similar neighboring dwellings, they created a comforting density on the street while they remaining detached for privacy. The house was of the type and style that was romanticized as the American ideal of domesticity by Victorian-era house and gardening authors such as nationally-known Andrew Jackson Downing and Buffalonian Lewis F. Allen. The belief in these ideals was not misplaced: 44 Plymouth Avenue has endured while the large Sidway mansion that spurred the block's development was demolished by the early 1890s.
The house at 44 Plymouth Avenue was built by Mr. Thomas Bath, who came to Buffalo from England in the early 1840s and entered the law profession as a clerk. Soon after his arrival, he began his career at the Erie County Clerk's office where he remained for 15 years, eventually becoming Erie County Commissioner of Deeds. After his tenure with the County Clerk's office, he became a law clerk for Congressman John Ganson.
The house that Bath built at 44 Plymouth Avenue was modified several times. It appears to have originally been built as a one story cottage, located in the center of the present configuration of the house. The house was later expanded to the front of the lot with a second story added; and also expanded in the rear. At one time the house had a double entrance door, a full front porch with woodwork typical of the 1880s, two large windows on the first floor and a bay window on second floor of the front facade.
By the late 20th century, the well-worn house at 44 Plymouth Avenue fell on hard times and eventually became home to pistol-dueling drug dealers. In 2003 the FBI closed the former drug house and its future was in doubt until 2005, when with the support of community residents, the house was acquired by Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. (HCN), a not-for-profit community housing development corporation. HCN has been headquartered next door at 42 Plymouth Avenue since July 2004.
The historic Bath house may have come to an end if it were not for HCN's intervention. Today, the house has been reborn and will be home to a new family, targeted to a low-to-moderate income homeowner. The lovely 1½ story house has a mixture of Victorian charm and modern conveniences with features such as a lovely rear yard, new front porch, new roof, new windows, insulation, new structural supports, new walls, a parlor, a dining room, four bedrooms, first and second floor bathrooms, a new kitchen and modern plumbing and heating systems. Complimenting these new features, the home still retains its original structure and basement, rear tucked-in kitchen porch, 19th century interior staircase and newel post, as well as a charming walkway made from antique sandstone flagstone.
When the Bath family lived in the house, 44 Plymouth Avenue would have been considered to be located in the country with no conveniences such as electricity, central heat or plumbing. Today, the house is located in a thriving and diverse urban environment steps away from the world famous Kleinhans Music Hall and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Olmsted parkway system, D'Youville College and adjacent to the nationally-registered Allentown Historic Preservation District with its restored homes, stunning architecture, lovely art galleries, entertaining theaters, quaint boutique shops and delectable restaurants. HCN will now be turning its attention to renovating 23 Plymouth Avenue.
Saving derelict properties takes time, money and a tremendous amount of work. But the end result is a win for a new homeowner, a win for the neighborhood and a win for all of us. With the recently completed HCN reinvestment, 44 Plymouth Avenue may well be home to Buffalonians for another 150 years!
Get connected: Kristy L. Palumbo, HCN Executive Director 716.882.7661