Niagara, Lockport And Ontario Power Company
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John Joseph Albright (1 January 1848
Buchanan, Virginia Buchanan ( ) is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,196 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was the western terminus of the James River and Kanawha Canal when cons ...
– 20 August 1931
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 ...
) was a businessman and philanthropist, and one of Buffalo's leading socialites at the turn of the 20th century.


Early life

Albright was born on January 18, 1848, in
Buchanan, Virginia Buchanan ( ) is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,196 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was the western terminus of the James River and Kanawha Canal when cons ...
, to Joseph Jacob Albright and Elizabeth S. Albright, both from Pennsylvania. The family was descended from Andrew Albright, a gunsmith who supplied arms to the troops of the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
during the Revolutionary War, who had come to America in 1750. Albright's father, Joseph, was an iron manufacturer and eventually, president of the First National Bank, coal agent for
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...
, and the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...
. His family lived in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
, when he was a child and he attended public schools in Scranton, then
Williston Academy Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United S ...
in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, ultimately graduating from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
in
Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...
, with a degree in
mining engineering Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...
in 1868.


Career

Following his graduation from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
, Albright returned to Scranton. At that time, coal was in high demand in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
, and Albright got involved in its sale. By 1871, Albright was working out of
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
, selling coal wholesale, along with his business partner, Andrew Langdon (1835–1919). Their firm was called Langdon, Albright and Company. By 1873, Albright had married Langdon's sister, Harriet, and they all moved to
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, where Albright and Langdon started to work for the
Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company Reading Anthracite Company is a coal mining company based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in the United States. It mainly mines anthracite coal in the Coal Region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company owns the Bear Valley Strip Mine in Northumberland ...
. While in Washington, Albright started an
asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
business with his brother-in-law,
Amzi L. Barber Amzi Lorenzo Barber (June 22, 1843 – April 17, 1909) was a pioneer of the asphalt industry in the United States, and an early participant in the automobile industry as well. He laid many of the roads in Westchester County, New York and was ...
(who had married his wife's sister, Julia Louise Langdon). Together, Barber and Albright participated in the paving of Washington, DC, Scranton, and Buffalo. While Albright turned to other ventures, Barber continued with the asphalt business and secured a 42-year
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
concession from the
British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...
for the
Pitch Lake The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The lake covers about 100 acres (0.405 squa ...
in
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world. Barber used the asphalt from Trinidad for paving city streets, and by 1900, Barber had laid over 12 million square yards of Trinidad asphalt pavement in 70 American cities at a cost of $35 million. In 1883, the
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly called ...
tightened its shipping routes and started shipping
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
directly by rail through Buffalo, New York, to ship their coal to the west. Albright moved his family to Buffalo to oversee the operations. While there, he entered into partnership with Thomas Guilford Smith, another Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate and Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company executive. Their firm, Albright & Smith, handled all of Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company's coal sales in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...
, as well as all the railroad's coal going westward from Buffalo. Albright devised a plan to fill up the empty trains with grain on the haul back to the East. Purportedly, within a year, he had earned $100,000 (). By 1888, Albright had done so well that he decided to retire and took his family on a 14-month tour of Europe and Egypt when he was only 40 years old. Albright, however, tired of retirement and started working again upon his return. By 1889, Albright's business partner, Smith, had become a sales agent for Carnegie, Phipps & Company Limited, which later merged with the
Carnegie Steel Company Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was forme ...
, of which Smith was its Buffalo representative.


Ontario Power Company

In 1890, the US
Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company was an American company, based in Niagara Falls, New York that was the first company to generate hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls in 1882. The company built upon several predecessor co ...
and its subsidiary Cataract Company formed the International Niagara Commission composed of experts, to analyze proposals to harness
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
on the US/Canada border to generate power. They settled electricity (
alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
) as being the preferred transmission method, and after going through many proposals, they awarded the generating contract to
Westinghouse Electric The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...
in 1893, with further transmission lines and transformer contracts awarded to
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
. Work began in 1893 and in November 1896, power generated from Niagara Falls at the Edward Dean Adams Power Plant was being sent to Buffaloand the plants of the
Pittsburgh Reduction Company Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
, which needed large quantities of cheap electricity for
smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
aluminum.Mark Essig, Edison and the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death, Bloomsbury Publishing USA - 2009, page 274 A similar set of events was happening on the Canadian side of the falls. In June 1887, recognizing an opportunity, the
Ontario Power Company John Joseph Albright (1 January 1848 Buchanan, Virginia – 20 August 1931 Buffalo, New York) was a businessman and philanthropist, and one of Buffalo's leading socialites at the turn of the 20th century. Early life Albright was born on January ...
of Niagara Falls was incorporated in Canada "to supply manufacturers, corporations, and persons with water, hydraulic, electric, or other power." While its operations were in
Queen Victoria Park Queen Victoria Park is the main parkland located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada opposite the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Established by the Niagara Falls Park Act in 1885 and opened in 1888, the park is operated by the Niagara Park ...
in
Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...
, its executive office was in Buffalo with these officers: Albright, president; Francis V. Greene, vice president; and Robert C. Board,
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
and treasurer. In 1903, the company obtained an agreement with the commissioners of the Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park that allowed the company to develop at least 180,000
horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
of
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
. The company built its
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
generating plant, which opened in 1905, at the base of the
Horseshoe Falls Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, flows ...
just above river level. The plant had 15 generators, which produced 203,000 horsepower of
electric power Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...
. In 1904, Albright hired Buffalo
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
E. B. Green to design the Ontario Power Company buildings, Murray Street at Buchanan Avenue, including the Entrance Pavilion, Spillway Building, Office and Transformer Station, Gate House, Screen House, and Ontario Power Company Generating Stationat river level. The hydroelectric generating plant worked by allowing water to enter the generating station from an inlet located one mile upstream of Niagara Falls, near
Dufferin Islands Dufferin Islands are a group of scenic man-made islands located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, approximately 1/2 mile south of the Horseshoe Falls. The islands are known for their quiet seclusion and nature trails. History Early history While Niag ...
, and was then brought to the plant through buried conduit pipes and steel penstocks tunneled through the rock. The conduits, two steel and one wooden (bound with iron hoops and encased in concrete), ran underground 6,180 ft (1,884 m) to the top of the generating station. There, each conduit connected with six penstocks, six feet in diameter. At the point where the conduits and the penstocks join, a section turned upwards into a spillway, called a surge tank, which served to reduce fluctuations in heat and pressure during both the increase and decrease of loads. The open spillways sent any excess water to the
Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...
if the load suddenly reduced, which prevented any unwanted rise in pressure. From the distributing station, the transmission lines carried power at 60,000 volts each with a capacity of 40,000 kWs, running over a right of way that was 300 ft wide and 32,000 ft long. This ran north to an area down the Niagara River known as
Devil's Hole Devils Hole is a geologic formation located in a detached unit of Death Valley National Park and surrounded by the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, in Nye County, Nevada, in the Southwestern United States. Devils Hole is habitat for the onl ...
, where they then crossed the river into New York across a 1,300-ft-long span. In addition to the high-tension feeders, tabout 30 miles of lines served Canadian customers at generator voltage. The power that was transmitted to New York was then sold in bulk to Niagara Lockport and Ontario Power Company, a New York company, which was then distributed to individual customers. The largest individual consumers of power from these lines included several entities with direct ties to Albright: The Lackawanna Steel Company,
Empire State Railway The Empire State Railway, established in 1916, was an interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between citi ...
, New York Central Railroad, the Shenandoah Steel Wire Company, the Syracuse Rapid Transit Railway Company, the Lockport Gas and Electric Light Company, the Auburn Light Heat and Power Company, the
Erie Railroad Company The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...
, and the Genesee County Electric Light Power and Gas Company. The plant continued to operate until 1999, when the Ontario Power Generation (formerly Ontario Hydro) decommissioned the Ontario Power Company Generating Station from service to accommodate the construction of Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, built on the former transformer building location. As of 2015, the 1905 remaining generating station is owned by the Niagara Parks Commission, and sits abandoned.


Niagara, Lockport, and Ontario Power Company

In 1905, a syndicate headed by Albright and Henry Herman Westinghouse (brother of George Westinghouse) acquired control
Niagara, Lockport and Ontario Power Company John Joseph Albright (1 January 1848 Buchanan, Virginia – 20 August 1931 Buffalo, New York) was a businessman and philanthropist, and one of Buffalo's leading socialites at the turn of the 20th century. Early life Albright was born on January ...
from Joseph G. Robin and his associates. The purchasing syndicate included Albright, Westinghouse,
New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
, Vanderbilt interests, and Horace E. Andrews, of Cleveland (president of the
New York State Railways New York State Railways was a subsidiary of the New York Central Railroad that controlled several large city streetcar and electric interurban systems in upstate New York. It included the city transit lines in Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Oneida ...
, the Mohawk Valley Company, the Rochester Railway & Light Company, director of the New York Central Railway, the Michigan Central Railway, West Shore Railway,
Schenectady Railway Company Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
, Havana Railway, and Light & Power Company), among others. The acquired company's officers were Francis V. Greene, president (also vice president of Ontario Power Company); F. B. H. Paine, vice president and chief engineer (formerly export manager of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company); Robert C. Board,
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
(also
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
and treasurer of Ontario Power Company); and Clifford Hubbell, treasurer. Westinghouse replaced
Cassius Milton Wicker Cassius Milton Wicker (August 25, 1844 – November 2, 1913) was a railroad manager and banker.Lewis Randolph Hamersly, John W. Leonard, Frank R. Holmes (1907) Who's who in New York City and State, Issue 3. p. 1348. New York: L.R. Hamersly & ...
as a director of the company and the offices of the company moved to the
Fidelity Trust Building The Fidelity Trust Building, also known as Swan Tower, is a commercial Renaissance Revival office building located at 284 Main Street in the Joseph Ellicott Historic District (also called the ''Downtown Historic District'') in downtown Buffalo, ...
in Buffalo.
Stephen M. Clement Stephen or Steven is a common English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Ac ...
, (president of Marine Bank), succeeded Joseph G. Robin on the board of syndicate managers for the underwriting of the company's securities. By 1908, the company had around 400 miles of transmission lines running from Devil's Hole through Lockport and Rochester to
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
, a total distance of 167 miles from the distributing station. It had branch lines running to
West Seneca West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 44,711 at the 2010 census. West Seneca is a centrally located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo. West Seneca, Orchard Park and Hamburg form the ...
,
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,
Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all ...
, Avon,
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, and
Baldwinsville Baldwinsville is a village in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,898 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area. Baldwinsville (the village itself) is located in the towns of Lysand ...
near
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
. The right-of-way for the lines was owned by the company and was 300 ft in width from the Niagara River to Lockport, 200 ft from Lockport to Rochester, and 75 ft the remainder of the way to Syracuse. The company also leased a right-of-way on the West Shore Railroad from near Akron to Syracuse. In January 1918, Niagara, Lockport and Ontario Power Company acquired the Salmon River Power Company, which operated its own hydroelectric power plan in Salmon River (New York) on the shore of Lake Ontario. Later in 1943, the Niagara, Lockport and Ontario Power Company reorganized as the Niagara Hudson Company, Inc., and became a subsidiary of Niagara Hudson Power Corporation, which was a conglomerate of 59 separate power companies in Western New York formed in 1929, and in 1932, was the "nation's largest electric utility company". In 1950, Niagara Hudson Power Corporation reorganized as the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and in January 2002, Niagara Mohawk was acquired by, and became a subsidiary of,
National Grid plc National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...
.


Lackawanna Steel Company

In 1889,
Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company The Lackawanna Steel Company was an American steel manufacturing company that existed as an independent company from 1840 to 1922, and as a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel company from 1922 to 1983. Founded by the Scranton family, it was once ...
, at the time the largest steel company in the world, decided to move its facilities out of Scranton, Pennsylvania, because of increases in union labor cost and lack of railroad access to the company's newly emerging markets in the West. They were drawn to Western New York by the area's easy access to the Great Lakes and the numerous rail lines in the area. Lackawanna Company executives reached out to Buffalo attorney
John G. Milburn John George Milburn (December 14, 1851 – August 11, 1930) was a prominent lawyer in Buffalo, New York and New York City, a president of the New York City Bar Association, and a partner at the law firm Carter Ledyard & Milburn. Early life Mi ...
, who brought in Albright, who had been discussing organizing a steel plant in Buffalo with William A. Rogers (vice president of Rogers, Brown & Company, the largest
pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...
dealer in the United States). He asked that Rogers be brought into negotiations, as well as
Brig. Gen. Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...
Edmund B. Hayes Edmund B. Hayes, also known as General Edmund Hayes, (1849–1923) was an engineer and businessman who built bridges and manufactured autos. He was a pioneer investor in the development of electrical power from Niagara Falls. His company inst ...
(a
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
and businessman with the
Union Bridge Company The Union Bridge Company was a bridge fabricator and contractor with works in Buffalo, New York, (believed closed in 1890 per HAER references) and Athens, Pennsylvania. The Union Bridge company was formed in 1884 as a merger of several other bridge ...
). To avoid speculation, the company employed Albright to purchase land on its behalf. In March 1899, the company's executives met with Albright, Milburn, and Rogers (Hayes was in Jekyll Island at the time, but returned April 1) in Buffalo and explored several sites, ultimately choosing the undeveloped shoreline on Lake Erie in what was then the western part of the town of West Seneca, New York. Albright began purchasing land on April 1, 1899, and by the end of the month had obtained nearly all the required property for a price of $1,095,430.98 (). Albright was often accompanied on his purchasing visits by Milburn, the president of the Pan-American Exposition, and at the time, many property owners assumed the land purchases were for the exposition, which helped them obtain the land at a more reasonable price. In 1900, construction on the massive steel mill started, and in 1902, the company, of which Albright was then a principal shareholder, was reorganized as the Lackawanna Steel Company. The company moved its headquarters to the site and the plant began operation in 1903, By 1909, the residents of the area voted to split off from West Seneca and form the present-day city of Lackawanna, New York, named after the company. The Lackawanna Steel Company received its power from Albright's Niagara Lockport and Ontario Power Company and he served as a director of the Lackawanna Steel Company, which remained independent until 1922, when it was acquired by Bethlehem Steel.


Depew Improvement Company

In 1892, New York Central Railroad chose the Depew, New York, area (which straddles the towns of Lancaster and Cheektowaga and lies to the east of Buffalo) as a permanent location for its shops and auxiliary establishments. At the time, only minimal infrastructure was in the area. Chauncey Depew, attorney for Cornelius Vanderbilt’s railroad interests and president of New York Central Railroad, formed the Depew Investment Company and purchased 1,000 acres of land north and south of the tracks for the enterprise. The original shareholders included Albright, George Urban,
Wilson S. Bissell Wilson Shannon Bissell (December 31, 1847 – October 6, 1903) was an American politician from New York (state), New York and considered one of the foremost Democratic leaders of Western New York. Early life Bissell was born on December 31, 1847, ...
, and Charles Gould. The officers of the company were Albright as president and James A. Roberts as secretary. The area was eventually called "Depew" in honor of Chauncey Depew. Albright worked closely with Frederick Law Olmsted to structure the nucleus of the town. In 1896, the Depew Improvement Company built a brick building at the corner of Transit and Ellicott (now Walden) for a bank, community center, and village hall. The company donated land for the German Lutheran Church, St. Peter and St. Paul, St. James, the Northside Fire House, Depew Village Park, and a YMCA. The company built streets, houses, and the sewer system.


Buffalo Bolt Company

In 1897, Albright and
Edmund B. Hayes Edmund B. Hayes, also known as General Edmund Hayes, (1849–1923) was an engineer and businessman who built bridges and manufactured autos. He was a pioneer investor in the development of electrical power from Niagara Falls. His company inst ...
bought Buffalo Bolt Company, which George C. Bell had founded in 1859. Buffalo Bolt produced
nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...
and bolts that were used by manufacturers in the production of automobiles, ships, trains, household appliances, and hundreds of other products. Under Albright, production increased many times over. In 1869, Buffalo Bolt produced 14,000 nuts and bolts per day, and by 1911, the company was producing 1,250,000 per day. By 1920, Buffalo Bolt was producing 600,000,000 pieces of bolts, nuts, and screws, as well as 5,000 varieties of finished products and 50,000 tons of steel roll. In 1921, the company's main factory was located at 101 East Avenue in North Tonawanda, New York, the general offices were in Buffalo, and the western offices were at 934 Monadnock Building in Chicago, Illinois, and 1107 Chemical Building in
St Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...
. The officers were Albright, president;
R. K. Albright R. or r. may refer to: * ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler. * '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King * ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen * or , abbreviat ...
(Albright's son) and Ralph Plumb, vice presidents; G. A. Mitchell, treasurer; and Robert C. Board, secretary. The board of directors was composed of Albright, R. K. Albright, Edmund B. Hayes, Ralph Plumb, G. A. Mitchell, W. P. Cooke, and
Anson Conger Goodyear Anson Conger Goodyear (June 20, 1877 – April 24, 1964) was an American manufacturer, businessman, author, and philanthropist and member of the Goodyear family. He is best known as one of the founding members and first president of the Museum of ...
. The need for workers was so great that company paid the costs associated with passage to America to bring
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and Slovakian immigrants to the United States to work in its plant in North Tonawanda. The company built a company store and assisted employees with obtaining housing, with many employees settling in the Oliver Street area of North Tonawanda. The Buffalo Bolt Company, which employed up to 1,500 people at its peak, was sold to
Houdaille Industries Houdaille Industries was a diversified manufacturing company which produced automotive products, industrial products, machine tools, construction materials and contracting. The company had its beginnings in Buffalo, New York, in 1919, where the ...
in the Fall of 1958 as part of Houdialle's purchase of the Buffalo Eclipse Corporation. Determining that the 500,000 square foot Buffalo Bolt plant was becoming obsolete and too costly to modernize, it closed the plant at the end of June 1959.


Locomobile

In 1903, Albright's former brother-in-law,
Amzi L. Barber Amzi Lorenzo Barber (June 22, 1843 – April 17, 1909) was a pioneer of the asphalt industry in the United States, and an early participant in the automobile industry as well. He laid many of the roads in Westchester County, New York and was ...
, was in debt to the extent of $500,000 (). He had started the
Locomobile Locomobile may refer to: Transport * Locomobile Company of America, a US company that made automobiles under the brand name "Locomobile" from 1899 to 1929 * Steam-powered agricultural and haulage vehicles: ** Traction engine ** Portable engine * ...
automobile company in 1899, and to keep the company afloat, he surrendered two real-estate deals to Albright, who agreed to endorse $300,000 worth of Locomobile commercial paper and give Barber an annuity of $12,000 (). He also paid the remaining $100,000 Barber still owed. Unfortunately, the company did not recover financially and was eventually liquidated in 1922, where it was acquired by
William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...
of
Durant Motors Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers who financed GM. Corporate relationships Durant Motors attempted t ...
to compete against Rolls-Royce and Pierce-Arrow (manufactured in Buffalo).


Buffalo and Susquehanna Iron Company

Albright, along with Edmund B. Hayes and
Stephen M. Clement Stephen or Steven is a common English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Ac ...
, had invested in
William A. Rogers William Allen Rogers (1854–1931) was an American political cartoonist born in Springfield, Ohio. Biography He studied at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Wittenberg College, but never graduated. Rogers taught himself to draw and bega ...
’ Rogers, Brown & Company subsidiary, the Iroquois Iron Company, in
South Chicago, Illinois South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown. ...
, which owned a plant containing two
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...
s. In 1904, Rogers invited Albright, Hayes, and Clement to accompany him on one of his periodic visits, as they had not seen the property before. Purportedly,
Frank H. Goodyear Frank Henry Goodyear (March 7, 1849 – May 13, 1907) was an American businessman, lumberman, and member of the prominent Goodyear family of New York. He was the founder and president of several companies, including the Buffalo and Susquehanna ...
, another Buffalo businessman, heard of the trip and offered the use of his private car for the occasion. Rogers accepted and invited Goodyear and his brother
Charles W. Goodyear Charles Waterhouse Goodyear (October 15, 1846 – April 16, 1911) was an American lawyer, businessman, lumberman, and member of the prominent Goodyear family of New York. Based in Buffalo, New York, along with his brother, Frank, Charles was the ...
to join the party. Goodyear was so impressed with the capacity of the plant to produce tonnage that he wanted one established on the line of the Goodyear brother’s
Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad The Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad was a railroad company that formerly operated in western and north central Pennsylvania and western New York. It was created in 1893 by the merger and consolidation of several smaller logging railroads. It o ...
. Rogers and the Goodyear brothers joined forces to create a company and plant in Buffalo that was called the Buffalo and Susquehanna Iron Company, named after the Goodyear brother’s Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad. Soon after, the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad, the Buffalo and Susquehanna Iron Company, the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
, and the Lackawanna Steel Company jointly built a giant ship canal on the border of Buffalo and Lackawanna called the Union Ship Canal. The canal, used by all parties, allowed room for steamships to bring in iron ore from Michigan and Minnesota to be reduced to pig iron. The Union Ship Canal continued to be used as an industrial waterway until January 1982 with the closure of the Hanna Blast Furnace.


Banking interests

In May 1893, Albright, along with
George V. Forman George V. Forman (December 3, 1841 – October 22, 1922) was a founder of VanderGrift, Forman & Company, which became part of the Standard Oil Company. Forman was also a prominent Buffalo banker in the late 1800s and early 1900s, founding the F ...
, John Satterfield, and Franklin D. Locke, founded the Fidelity Trust and Guaranty Company of Buffalo, New York. In 1909, E. B. Green was commissioned to build the Fidelity Trust Building, today known as Swan Tower and owned by
Ellicott Development Co. Ellicott Development Co. is an American property management, leasing and development real estate firm based in Buffalo, New York and led by CEO William Paladino. The company's asset base includes residential, commercial, hotels, parking garages, a ...
, located at 284 Main Street in Buffalo. In December 1925, the Fidelity Trust Company, with $35 million in assets, merged with Manufacturers and Traders Bank, founded in 1856, with $64 million in assets, under the new name Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company (M&T). The $100-million company was headed by Fidelity's president, 36-year-old Lewis G. Harriman. Harriman and a group of investors including A. H. Schoellkopf, from the founding family of the
Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing Company was an American company, based in Niagara Falls, New York that was the first company to generate hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls in 1882. The company built upon several predecessor co ...
, and James Forrestal, who would become the first United States Secretary of Defense, owned enough shares to control both Fidelity and M&T.


Marine National Bank

In 1908, separate from his involvement with the Fidelity Trust and Guaranty Company, Albright served as vice president of Marine Bank's board of directors, along with
Stephen M. Clement Stephen or Steven is a common English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Ac ...
(president),
Charles W. Goodyear Charles Waterhouse Goodyear (October 15, 1846 – April 16, 1911) was an American lawyer, businessman, lumberman, and member of the prominent Goodyear family of New York. Based in Buffalo, New York, along with his brother, Frank, Charles was the ...
(founder of the Great Southern Lumber Company),
William H. Gratwick William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
(founder of the lumber firm of Gratwick, Smith & Fryer Lumber Co),
Edmund B. Hayes Edmund B. Hayes, also known as General Edmund Hayes, (1849–1923) was an engineer and businessman who built bridges and manufactured autos. He was a pioneer investor in the development of electrical power from Niagara Falls. His company inst ...
(
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
and businessman with the
Union Bridge Company The Union Bridge Company was a bridge fabricator and contractor with works in Buffalo, New York, (believed closed in 1890 per HAER references) and Athens, Pennsylvania. The Union Bridge company was formed in 1884 as a merger of several other bridge ...
), William H. Hotchkiss (a lawyer with Hotchkiss & Bush and later state superintendent of insurance), Edward H. Hutchinson (of Maerz Lithographing Co.),
Charles H. Keep Charles Hallam Keep (1861 – August 30, 1941) was an American banker who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1903 to 1907 where he was chairman of the Keep Commission and later served as president of the Knickerbocker Trust. Early ...
(secretary of the Lake Carriers' Association and of the Buffalo Merchants' Exchange),
John H. Lascelles John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
(director of the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad),
George B. Mathews 250px George Ballard Mathews, FRS (23 February 1861 – 19 March 1922) was an English mathematician. He was born in London. He studied at the Ludlow Grammar School which had instruction in Hebrew and Sanscrit as well as in Greek and Latin. He ...
(partner at Schoellkopf & Mathews flour mill), Moses Taylor, and Cornelius Vanderbilt III. Albright served as president of Marine National Bank of Buffalo and later as director of the Marine Trust Company.


Philanthropy


Albright Memorial Building

In 1890, Albright hired E. B. Green of Green & Wicks to design the Albright Memorial Building in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in honor of his parents. The building, also known as Scranton Public Library, was completed in early 1893 and is a two-story, "L"-shaped, Indiana limestone and Medina sandstone building with
Châteauesque Châteauesque (or Francis I style,Whiffen, Marcus, ''American Architecture Since 1780: A guide to the styles'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969, p. 142. or in Canada, the Château Style) is a Revivalist architectural style based on the Fr ...
-style design elements. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. ''Note:'' This includes


Schools and churches

In 1892, Albright helped found the Nichols School by bringing William Nichols to Buffalo to set up the school, and supported the Elmwood School (which merged with the Franklin School in 1941 to form the Elmwood Franklin School, founded in 1889. In 1904, he donated the land for the
Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo The Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo is an historic church complex located at 695 Elmwood Avenue, in Buffalo, New York. The building was designed by architect Edward Austin Kent in 1906. Kent died in 1912 aboard the RMS ''Titanic'' an ...
and gave significant donations to the South Park Botanical Gardens.


Albright Art Gallery

His largest gift was in 1900, when he made a donation of $350,000 () so the then Fine Arts Academy, founded in 1862, could have a permanent home. The building was designed by Green and was originally intended to be used as the Fine Arts Pavilion for the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, but delays in its construction and increased costs (the total cost was purported to be closer to $1,000,000 ()) caused it to remain uncompleted until 1905, when it opened as the Albright Art Gallery. The Pan-American Exposition was held in Buffalo from May 1 through November 2, 1901. Green designed the gallery along the lines of a Greek temple and included 102 columns, more than any other American structure except the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The building was constructed using 5,000 tons of white marble from a Maryland quarry, the same marble used in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. When the gallery opened on May 31, 1905, Harvard University President Charles William Eliot gave the
keynote A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...
address and four city
choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
organizations performed together. Richard Watson Gilder read a poem he had written celebrating the gallery's opening. Albright, however, did not give a speech or appear in any photographs from the ceremony, as he had always been inclined to avoid the spotlight. Birge Albright, his grandson, said that Albright took friends to the gallery on Sundays when few others were around. File:Albright Memorial Library 3.jpg, Albright Memorial Building File:Albright Memorial Library 2.jpg, Albright Memorial Building - Detail File:Nichols School Albright Hall Buffalo, N.Y..jpg, Nichols School Albright Hall File:Unitarian Church of Buffalo.jpg,
Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo The Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo is an historic church complex located at 695 Elmwood Avenue, in Buffalo, New York. The building was designed by architect Edward Austin Kent in 1906. Kent died in 1912 aboard the RMS ''Titanic'' an ...
File:Albright Art Gallery 1913.jpg, Albright Art Gallery in 1913 File:Albright-Knox Art Gallery Statues.jpg,
Augustus St. Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trave ...
"porch of the maidens" on theAlbright Art Gallery


Personal life

In 1872, Albright married Harriet Langdon (1847–1895), the sister of his business partner, Andrew Langdon. Harriet and Andrew were first cousins with Olivia Langdon Clemens (1845–1904), the wife of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), also known as
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
. Olivia, who was originally from a wealthy family in
Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...
, and Twain lived in Buffalo from 1869 to 1871 where Twain owned a stake in the ''
Buffalo Express The ''Buffalo Courier-Express'' was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 19, 1982. History The ''Courier-Express'' was created in 1926 by a merger of the ''Buffalo Daily Courier'' and the ''Buffalo Morning ...
'' newspaper and worked as an editor and writer. Together, John and Harriet had three children, all born in Washington DC: Raymond King Albright, Ruth Albright, and Langdon Albright. In 1895, Susan Fuller (1868–1928) was brought to Buffalo to educate the three Albright children. In March 1897, within two years of her arrival in Buffalo, 28-year-old Susan (daughter of Eben and Nancy Fuller) married 49-year-old Albright. Fuller was a recent
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
graduate from Lancaster, Massachusetts. The couple honeymooned at the Jekyl Island Club. Together, John and Susan had five children: John "Jack" Joseph Albright Jr., Elizabeth "Betty" Albright, Fuller Albright, Nancy Albright, and Susan "Susy" Albright. In 1915, Albright and two of his daughters were painted by
Edmund Charles Tarbell Edmund Charles Tarbell (April 26, 1862August 1, 1938) was an American Impressionist painter. A member of the Ten American Painters, his work hangs in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian ...
. The oil painting, entitled ''John J. Albright and His Daughters'', is owned by the
Westmoreland Museum of American Art The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is an art museum in Greensburg, Pennsylvania devoted to American art, with a particular concentration on the art of southwestern Pennsylvania. Art lover Mary Marchand Woods bequeathed her entire estate to e ...
in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Tarbell also painted a portrait of Albright that is currently at the Albright-Knox gallery. John J. Albright died on August 20, 1931, at the age of 83, six weeks after an intestinal operation. He is buried with his family at the
Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo Forest Lawn Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Buffalo, New York, founded in 1849 by Charles E. Clarke. It covers over and over 152,000 are buried there, including U.S. President Millard Fillmore, First Lady Abigail Fillmore, singer Rick J ...
.


Clubs and memberships

Albright was elected a director of the
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy Buffalo most commonly refers to: * Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to: Animals * Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...
in 1887, served as president from 1895 to 1897, and remained on the board until 1910. He was also a member Jekyll Island Club from 1890 until his death. He was a member of the American Academy in Rome, the Buffalo Club, the University Club of Buffalo, the
Country Club of Buffalo A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while th ...
, and Delta Phi. In April 1926, Albright sold many valuable paintings and works of art, including a Mauve, a
Jacque Jacque is a given name and a surname which may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Jacque Batt (died 2014), American First Lady of Idaho 1994-1999 * Jaque Fourie (born 1983), South African former rugby union rugby player * Jacque Fresco (1916–2017), Ame ...
, two by Diaz, a Claus, a Troyon, and others by André Crochepierre, Louis Adan, and
Abbott H. Thayer Abbott Handerson Thayer (August 12, 1849May 29, 1921) was an American artist, naturalist and teacher. As a painter of portraits, figures, animals and landscapes, he enjoyed a certain prominence during his lifetime, and his paintings are represent ...
, and a Lawrence portrait of George IV, at the Anderson Galleries in New York City as a gift to Buffalo. In February 1929, the University at Buffalo conferred upon Albright the Chancellor's Medal, its highest honor, recognition of his achievements throughout his life. Albright's second wife, Susan, was a member of the board of Women Managers' Entertainment & Ceremony subcommittee and the Committee on Fine Artsfor the Pan-American Exposition. Susan died on June 19, 1928.


Residences

In 1887, Albright acquired the
Wadsworth Wadsworth may refer to: People * Wadsworth (surname) * Wadsworth (given name) Places * Wadsworth, Illinois, United States, a village * Wadsworth, Kansas, United States * Wadsworth, Nevada, United States, a census-designated place * Wadswo ...
's House, former
mayor of Buffalo The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York. List of mayors Number of mayors by party affiliation History In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the town ...
, at 730
West Ferry West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
in Buffalo. In 1890, he hired the Olmsted Firm to design the grounds. When the house was destroyed by fire in 1901, he hired Green & Wicks to design a new Tudor style home. The Olmsted's work for Albright continued until 1907. E. B. Green designed the new Albright mansion after the manor house of
St. Catherine's Court St Catherine's Court is a manor house in a secluded valley north of Bath, Somerset, England. It is a Grade I listed property. The gardens are Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in Engla ...
in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
England. A former neighbor of the Albrights recalled, "It was a huge house. It was not unlike the
Rand House The Rand House, nicknamed "Random", is a historic house in Monticello, Minnesota, United States, constructed in 1884 and operated as a bed and breakfast from the mid-1990s until 2020. The house is now a private residence. It was the centerpiece ...
on Delaware". When the property was first built, the streets Tudor Place and St. Catherine's Court did not exist. The property had a red brick wall that surrounded the estate. Local writer Edwine Noye Mitchell wrote that the gray stone house was surrounded "by terraces where the crocus and scilla pushed up between the flagstones in the spring, and the pink magnolia blossoms lay thick over the grass from the sidewalk. The Albrights' property ran from 690 to 770 West Ferry and extended from West Ferry to Cleveland Avenue on at least 12 acres of land. In 1935, the Albright house on West Ferry was demolished and the estate was sold in multiple parcels for homes to be built. Green salvaged the stone
balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
from the terrace and had it reinstalled in front of Lockwood Library at the University of Buffalo's Main Street campus soon after. A wrought-iron gate, known today as Queen Anne's Gate still stands outside of the property. In February 1914, Albright and his second wife Susan, purchased the 26-room Joseph Pulitzer Cottage, in
Jekyl Island Jekyll Island is located off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, s ...
, in Georgia, fully furnished, after spending many winters on the island with their family. While there, the Albrights struck up a friendship with the poet laureate of England, Alfred Noyes, and his wife, who visited them in Jeykl Island in 1914. Albright introduced Noyes to William Rockefeller and other Jekyl Islanders who were at the club. The house was sold in 1931 after Albright's death, and when the state of Georgia acquired the entire Jekyl Island in 1947, the cottage was still standing. In 1951, a fire damaged the interior, and on June 23, 1951, the cottage was demolished as no funds were available to repair the damage. File:Albright Estate Entrance.jpg, Albright Estate entrance File:Albright Lawn.jpg, Albright Estate view from the lawn File:Albright Side.jpg, Albright Estate view from the side


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albright, John J. 1848 births 1931 deaths American business executives Philanthropists from New York (state) Businesspeople from Buffalo, New York Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo) Buffalo AKG Art Museum People from Buchanan, Virginia