The Mrs. Seymour H. Knox House (also known as the Grace Millard Knox House) is a 48,000-square-foot mansion located in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, which was built between 1915 and 1918. The house was designed by architect
C. P. H. Gilbert
Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert (August 29, 1861 – October 25, 1952) was an American architect of the late-19th and early-20th centuries best known for designing townhouses and mansions.
Background and early life
Born in New York City, ...
for Grace Millard Knox, widow of
Seymour H. Knox.
The building is a contributing property to the
Delaware Avenue Historic District designated in 1974.
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History
In 1915, Grace (née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Millard) Knox, the recent widow of Seymour H. Knox (who co-founded F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or simply Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, se ...
with his cousins Charles and Frank W. Woolworth
Frank Winfield Woolworth (April 13, 1852 – April 8, 1919) was an American entrepreneur, the founder of F. W. Woolworth Company, and the operator of variety stores known as "Five-and-Dimes" (5- and 10-cent stores or dime stores) which featured ...
), purchased property on Delaware Avenue north of Summer Street. The Knoxes lived at 1035 Delaware Avenue previously. Grace hired New York City architect C. P. H. Gilbert
Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert (August 29, 1861 – October 25, 1952) was an American architect of the late-19th and early-20th centuries best known for designing townhouses and mansions.
Background and early life
Born in New York City, ...
to replace an older Italianate house that stood on the property with a new residence. The resulting structure was an extravagant stone mansion built over the course of three years that was completed in 1918. The house was designed in the French Renaissance style with a symmetrical façade and a U-shaped floor plan. The projecting side pavilions flank a recessed central elevation with French doors on the ground floor topped with round arches.
Recent ownership
The Montefiore Club added a 20,000-square-foot addition to the building to house athletic facilities to the rear of the building, which included a gym, locker rooms, and three squash courts. In 1978, CTG (formerly Computer Task Group) purchased the property, which they used as their corporate offices.
Previous Knox residences
Before Grace Millard Knox and her children moved into the Gilbert designed mansion on Delaware Avenue, they successively lived at 414 Porter Avenue (a Queen Anne style residence designed by Milton Beebe) from about 1890 to 1894, 467 Linwood Avenue (a slightly smaller Queen Anne style residence) from 1894 to 1904, and 1035 Delaware Avenue (a Beaux-Arts style residence executed by Niagara Falls architect Edgar Eugene Joralemon
Edgar Eugene Joralemon (1858–1937) was an architect in the U.S. The Drum Hill High School and Dunkirk School Number 7 are among the buildings he designed that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
He worked in Minnesota and ...
) from 1904 until the Knox family moved to 806 Delaware Avenue (today known as 800 Delaware Avenue). After they moved, the family continued to own 1035 Delaware which they rented out until 1922, when it was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo
The Diocese of Buffalo is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is a suffragan diocese within the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of New York. The Diocese of Buffalo incl ...
for use as the official residence of the Bishop.
See also
* Delaware Avenue Historic District (Buffalo, New York)
Delaware Avenue Historic District is a national historic district located at Buffalo, New York, United States, and Erie County. It is located along the west side of Delaware Avenue (New York State Route 384) between North Street to the Sout ...
* Architecture of Buffalo, New York
The Architecture of Buffalo, New York, particularly the buildings constructed between the American Civil War and the Great Depression, is said to have created a new, distinctly American form of architecture and to have influenced design throughou ...
References
External links
Grace Millard Knox House / Computer Task Group Building
at Buffalo Architecture and History
{{DEFAULTSORT:800 Delaware Avenue
Historic district contributing properties in Erie County, New York
Houses completed in 1918
Culture of Buffalo, New York
Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York
Houses in Buffalo, New York
Architecture of Buffalo, New York
C. P. H. Gilbert buildings