My Favorite Buildings: Frosting anyone?
How could this one not be on everyone's favorite list? This charming little cottage at 73 Johnson Park was built, by various accounts, in either 1855 or 1866. It was the home of custom book maker Christopher Chamot.
Johnson Park is located in what is now known as the West Village, commonly thought of as Buffalo's oldest residential neighborhood. The house is packed with extremely high quality English Carpenter Gothic details layered onto a French Mansard roof. The exaggeratedly steep pitch of the highly decorated front pediment gives this tiny house great presence on the street; it is a real eye catcher in a row of very special houses.
When you think of the many lives that have passed through this house and the changes that have occurred in our society (from slavery to space flight and beyond) over the span of its existence, this little treasure becomes even more special. As long as I can remember it has had the same color scheme and has always been in relatively good condition. I do dream, however, that some day its owner will come to his/her senses and remove the aluminum siding and restore the original open porch. This one must be seen in person to be fully appreciated. The rest of the street isn't too shabby in the architecture department either.
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Emjay
Nice post. You could write this column featuring almost every house and building on that street. Truly one of Buffalo's architectural treasure troves.
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HelenWheels
Some very good friends of mine live next door in the Queen Anne and I agree, I love this place. And your title including the "frosting anyone" is just so true.
About the aluminum door, though. An elderly gentleman owns this property and has very limited income. I know that the neighborhood group WVRG, has been trying to assist him, but he is set in his ways and does not want to burden them with any expenses. They have tried to seek assistance for him with a grant but that is still in the works.
From what my friends tell me, he has lived there for over 30 years and still assists an elderly woman living next door. He still goes out every week to trim his bushes and mow his lawn, though. It's a shame the preservation community couldn't come up with a solution for these elderly urban pioneers who put so much into their homes many years ago and now have to find additional fix up money since the historic classification of the neighborhood.
If you want to see a real gem, though, Steel, knock on #69's door. It is fully restored inside and out and even still has gas lights in operation. Johnson Park is truly a gem.
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Jefferson
the detail in this house is truly amazing. All I can think is "they sure don't make 'em like this anymore".
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AuburnAve
I think you SHOULD do a daily posting of residential houses in Buffalo, complete with a bit of history, neighborhood information and what the future may hold for it.
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MRodgers
HelenWheels is SPOT ON with her assessment of this property and its owner. Real nice guy. For more info on the houses and architecture of the West Village you can click on to:
http://www.westvillage-buffalo.com/HOMES.html
This link will tell you the addresses, type of architecture, and the year built as taken from the National Register of Historic Places application for the historic designation of the WV. And, I say this proudly, mine's the oldest - 1830.
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STEEL
MRodgers,
23 years and you can celebrate your house's bicentennial! WOW! I wonder how many Buffalo houses will be hitting 200 in the near future. Maybe people will start respecting what Buffalo has when that becomes commonplace.
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sbrof
The truth is the larger section of people, most of whom probably passed this post over could care less about anything old.
Great post and house, I look forward to the day when I can actually own one of them.
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pgf1948
sbrof, you have no idea what it's like to live in a place where most people really think one's love of anything old is utter insanity. Buffalo is a miracle of architectural grace preserved. Guard it always.
Buffalo's historic buildings, and stock of incredibly interesting houses, are what pulls me back there, again and again. Crummy shopping-- of course. Limited public transit-- a given. But architecture and beauty-- fantastic. We are out there. Thank you, Steel
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chiknlil
It is too bad that this is 3 houses away from a crack house and less than a block away from a troublesome rooming house. I bet the owner is probably scared to death of what the neighborhood has become in the 30 years since he bought the house. He probably checks on his elderly neighbor to make sure that she is still alive and wasn't mugged or raped by one of the sick bi-polar bastards who live at the corner. Well... at least the house looks nice, like a peanut in a turd.
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pgf1948
Yeah, and thirty years ago it was a couple of houses away from two alcoholics and four obstreperous children, and a murder happened two blocks away, and the sidewalks were cracked nearby,
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MRodgers
chiknlil - boy did you pick the right name - the sky isn't falling anymore, sweetie. Three houses away is either my home or the home of the great-nephew of Sinclair Lewis. The property you mention on the corner has been cleaned up very well - and was noted on a video on BRO (49 JP). When was the last time you came down here, anyway? Gee, I normally would be irate at your comments, but I really feel bad for you that you haven't been out of the house much lately.
pgf1948 - some sidewalks are still cracked, but we're working on it since we work very closely with our councilmember. 30 years ago was a time when a group of businessmen came through and purchased seven boarded up properties and sold them after rehab. The couple who owned my home purchased it from these fellows. The problem was with the American Rescue Workers Mission at the time, but that is now the New Phoenix Theatre. We love kids in the neoghborhood, they add a certain atmosphere that allows smiles on neighbors' faces. That's why Arts in the Park was so well attended in 2004 with just a splash of guerilla marketing. Hell, the difference from 30 years ago is amazing - even five years ago - property values have shot up as has home ownership. Sorry you can't see it.
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MRodgers
Steel, if I only live that long - what a celebration it will be! Thanks for this article - and check out #69 - it is truly a work of art built by Ebenezer Johnson for his daughter. One other note - #51 was the home of Grover Cleveland when he attended law school in the area. There's more, but giving all the info in this space would take far too long.
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WCPerspective
Keep plugging MRodgers- you're an example of how one person and a strong block club can turn around a neighborhood one home at a time. Diligence and hard work are key.
What about 85 JP? Any issues with THOSE owners? :)
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pgf1948
Oh, my goodness, Marilyn! Just kidding! Feebly trying to make the point that real city neighborhoods are not suburban cul-de-sacs where everything is hidden and never were.
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EricOak
Delicious! Johnson Park is really getting strong again; its future seems bright.
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MRodgers
pgf1984 - Sorry, so used to the naysayers here.
WCP - wish you were ECP - we can always figure out a place for you somewhere in the WV. 85? Naw, they're part of the "Good Guys Bunch."
EricOak - you can say that again. So bright - we gotta wear shades.
To All - hope you can make it down for two already scheduled events on the Johnson Park Green - #1 - June 10 for our WV GIANT Flea Market # 2 - July 28 & 29 during GardenWalk when we will be hosting a Children's Clothesline Art Show that depicts kids' feelings about trees and nature.
There's one more event we haven't scheduled yet - the ribbon-cutting on our new display case describing the history and legacy of the WV. Once we have received the actual case we will be scheduling the installation and press conference. Thanks to our partnering organizations throughout the City - together we continue to grow strong.
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Biniszkiewicz
Johnson Park does form a cul de sac, which is a very beneficial thing. The street is dead ended at Carolina, which restricts vehicular traffic to those people who actually use the neighborhood as opposed to those passing through. Pedestrian traffic is unimpeded.
This single block of Johnson Park (Elmwood to Carolina) features two large apartment buildings (30+ units each), some smaller buildings (5 units, 6 units, 4 units, a rooming house), a large high school, a theater and numerous doubles, triples, etc. The look and feel is nonetheless very residential. In no small part this is due to the dead end: vehicular traffic is light because it is local. The cul de sac nature of the street helps tremendously.
Anyone who doesn't know downtown's history since the 1960s should find comfort in the fact that in the early 1970s, Johnson Park was skid row, yet now is attractive and populated. Many of the structures were uninhabited by the early 70s. Many were sold at tax auction. All those at the end of the street (where the dead end is) were scheduled for demolition, but were saved by an early developer (Panasci). In 1976 the area became protected as a historical district. Since that time, it has been a slow but steady rise in quality of life as numerous properties have been rehabilitated.
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hennesey
I agree. Tthe history here is fascinating and much has been done to restore and grow the neighborhood. Strong leadership since the early 2000's has made a tremendous difference in the fabris of the street and homes and it still continues without fallig apart as many organizations do after a few years. Crime has dropped considerably due to the collaborations with the city, police, and court systems. I believe they also received an award recently, for their efforts so it comes to no surprise to me that they have attempted to gain financial assistance for this homeowner. Wasn't there also an article a few years back in Spree Magazine about this being one of Buffalo's great neighborhoods?
Of course there are still two or three properties that seem to have endless renovations with no end in sight. I only hope that those working so slowly will finally finish what they've started. They owe it to the neighbors that have worked these miracles in the past five years or so.
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