Clement House (Buffalo, New York)
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The Clement House, also known as the Red Cross Building, is a mansion in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, that was built in 1913. The house was designed by the architect
Edward Brodhead Green Edward Brodhead Green (May 10, 1855 – February 2, 1950), very often referred to as E. B. Green, was a major American architect from New York state. Early life and education Green was born in Utica, New York, on May 10, 1855. He attended Corn ...
of
Green & Wicks Green & Wicks was an architectural firm of Buffalo, New York. Practice Edward Brodhead Green was an 1878 graduate of Cornell University's College of Architecture, and designed a number of buildings which made up Cornell's Agriculture Quadrangle ...
for
Stephen Merrell Clement Stephen Merrell Clement or S. M. Clement, Jr. (November 4, 1859 – March 26, 1913) was an American banker, businessman and industrialist in Buffalo, New York. Early life Clement was born on November 4, 1859, in Fredonia, New York, to Steph ...
, the president of
Marine National Bank Marine National Bank is located in Wildwood, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. The building was first built in 1908. In 1927 it was rebuilt and doubled in size. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, ...
, and his wife Carolyn. The building is a contributing property to the Delaware Avenue Historic District designated in 1974.


History

In 1908, Augustus Franklin Tripp died and his daughter, Carolyn Jewett ('' nee'' Tripp) Clement, inherited the Tripp residence at 786 Delaware which had been built by Erastus S. Prosser around 1855 and purchased by Tripp in 1881. She and her husband, the banker and industrialist Stephen Merrell Clement, tore down the Tripp residence in 1911 and commissioned Stephen's friend,
Edward Brodhead Green Edward Brodhead Green (May 10, 1855 – February 2, 1950), very often referred to as E. B. Green, was a major American architect from New York state. Early life and education Green was born in Utica, New York, on May 10, 1855. He attended Corn ...
to build them a palatial new residence. The fireplace in the drawing room of the Tripp residence was removed and installed in the master bedroom of the new house. Before that, the Clements were living at the home of Stephen's later father at 737 Delaware Avenue. Stephen died in
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...
, on 26 March 1913 before the house was completed later in 1913 at a cost $300,000 to erect. Their home had 20 rooms, including a music room, a library, a reception room and a wardrobe room. The family bedrooms were on the second floor and the third floor was the servants' quarters. The entire left side of the house was the Clement's music room which had two
Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...
grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
s, a harp and a pipe organ. In 1919, the neighboring residence at 776 Delaware Avenue, a
Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...
mansion known as the Gratwick House, was torn down. Carolyn's father had originally sold a portion of his property to William H. Gratwick who had
Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
design the house in 1886 as his last commission. The home was constructed in 1888 and completed by
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge was a successful American architectural firm based in Boston. As the successor to the studio of Henry Hobson Richardson, they completed his unfinished work before developing their own practice, and had extensive commissi ...
, the firm that continued Richardson's practice.


American Red Cross

In June 1941, Carolyn donated the house to the Western New York Chapter of the
American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
. The residence underwent major restoration in 1999. In 2017, The
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Falletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it ...
and the Red Cross announced that a local developer and philanthropist, John Yurtchuk (co-owner of
Calspan Calspan Corporation is a science and technology company founded in 1943 as part of the Research Laboratory of the Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division at Buffalo, New York. Calspan consists of four primary operating units: Flight Research, Transportat ...
), would purchase the property and donate the campus centerpiece, the Clement Residence, to the Buffalo Philharmonic as a gift. After the sale, the residence would house the administrative staff of both the Red Cross and orchestra "with the Red Cross occupying a portion of the first floor and the entire third floor while the BPO staff will occupy the second floor. The foyer and conference rooms on the main floor will be shared by the two organizations". In 1979, an office building and an adjoining structure connected by an atrium were built on the back portion of the plot near the carriage house and another parking lot. In 2018, BestSelf Behavioral Health, a non-profit agency, paid $3.15 million to buy the complex on behind the Clement Mansion.


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 through ...
* Gothic Revival architecture in New York


References

;Notes ;Sources


External links


Carolyn Tripp Clement House / Red Cross Building
at Buffalo Architecture and History {{DEFAULTSORT:786 Delaware Avenue Historic district contributing properties in Erie County, New York Houses completed in 1914 Culture of Buffalo, New York Houses in Buffalo, New York Green & Wicks buildings