Cast Block Houses: Some Examples in the Westcott Area

 

Syracuse, NY. Cast block houses at 887 Lancaster Ave. (above) and 433 Roosevelt Ave. (below).  Photos: Samuel D. Gruber 2013.

Cast Block Houses: Some Examples in the Westcott Area 
by Samuel D. Gruber

Exploring the Westcott neighborhood for the past year while prepping my neighborhood walking tours, I've encountered a lot of  building details that I had previously overlooked.  There all sorts of houses types, building materials, architectural details, and site arrangements that we often take for granted but whose origin and purpose deserve some attention - if only because how curious they at first appear.  In a neighborhood of mostly wood frame houses, brick and stone houses stand out; and hose of cast block - discussed here - even more so.

The most important development in home construction in the19th and early 20th-centuries was the continuing invention, refinement and production of per-fabricated and standardized building materials. Best known of these, of course, are the standardized lumber pieces that could be cut in the millions by power-driven sawmills, shipped by railroad, and stocked and sold by lumber yards strategically located in growing neighborhoods close to actual building sites.  This is the lumber that built the millions of wooden balloon frame houses across America between the 1870s and 1930s.  These are the houses of our "Streetcar Suburbs,' like the most of the neighborhoods in the University-Westcott area that make up so much of our urban housing stock today.  

Not surprisingly, it was the lumber companies that got into the house-kit business and sold many more pre-cut house parts than the big retail companies like Sears and Montgomery Ward - even though those houses are more often mentioned in the historical literature.   Other pre-fab parts were as simple as standard nails and screws, and more intricate metal hardware for hinges, knobs, and grates; as well as standard windows and doors.  The architectural magazines of the period are full of ads that indicate the national nature of the building trades after about 1900.

One standardized building part that has received relatively little attention is the cast block - sometimes referred to as cement block, cinder block, or cast stone block.  This standardized building material first appears in the late 19th century and becomes more and more common in house construction - especially for foundations and garages - through the 1920s.  

 Syracuse, NY. Maryland Ave. Typical cast block house foundation. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2012

Syracuse, NY. Clarendon St., cast block garage. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2012.

In addition to foundations, some builders enjoyed using cast stone for upper walls and in the Westcott neighborhood there are several houses mostly or entirely build up of these blocks.  The walls would be mostly fire-proof and easy to build.  They are strong and can carry considerable weight.  The air in the hollow blocks also can serve as insulation. 

Syracuse, NY. 887 Lancaster Ave. Cast block in upper walls. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber

Unlike the common gray cinder block that most people are familiar with (and which often contain few or no cinders) the early cast stones actually tried to look like stone - and their outer faces were formed to imitate roughly cut or faceted stone, similar to earlier field stone or cut limestone blocks.  The effect in some houses, like that at 887 Lancaster (and others nearby such as 945 Euclid and 433 Roosevelt Ave.) is a rusticated look.
 

Syracuse, NY. 433 Roosevelt Ave. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2013.

In the end, the uniformity of the cast stones gives them away, but even this was combated by having a variety of cast stone sizes which could mixed and matched, or in some case single large cast blocks with the facing sides scored in ways that they appeared to made up of several smaller irregular-sized stones.  This is the case at  701 Ackerman, built by Robert Floyd in 1912-13) and at 732 Lancaster, built around 1911. Unless you are actively looking for cast stone it is easy to be fooled when quickly passing by.

 

Syracuse, NY. William L. Huber house,  732 Lancaster Ave., c. 1911.   Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2013. 

Syracuse, NY. William L. Huber house, 732 Lancaster Ave., dtl.  c. 1911. The house is especially notable for the use of cast block for the entire first floor. Each cast a stone block appears to be made of multiple cut stones.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2013.  

 Syracuse, NY. Robert Floyd house, 701 Ackerman Ave.,1912-13.  Garage on left is later addition.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2013.

Syracuse, NY. Robert Floyd house, 701 Ackerman Ave., dtl., 1912-13.  Each cast a stone block appears to be made of multiple cut stones.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2013.

Cast stone, like most masonry products, was produced locally.  The cost of transport - even by train - was just too much to make long distance hauling of concrete stone worthwhile.  Almost any locality had the raw ingredients for cast block.

In addition to foundations, some builders enjoyed using cast stone for upper walls and in the Westcott neighborhood there are several houses mostly or entirely build up of these blocks.  The walls would be mostly fire-proof and easy to build.  They are strong and can carry considerable weight.  The air in the hollow blocks also can serve as insulation.

Sears Catalog, 1910 (Dover reprint).  Pages advertising machines for cast block production

Sears Catalog, 1910 (Dover reprint).  Pages advertising machines for cast block production

The Sears Catalog of 1910 offers eight pages of products related to cast block production. Do-it-yourself machines for creating blocks of different sizes and shapes were available for only $42.50 for the hand-operated “Wizard Face Down Concrete Block Machine.”

The Aladdin "Built in a Day" Catalog of 1917 stated that:

"Of course, all excavation and masonry work must be done on the ground.  No money would be saved by including stone or brick or concrete  [in pre-ordered and shipped house kits], but every section of the country produces this material and prices vary but little.  we furnish you with the foundation plan and will give you figures on the amount of material  required for whatever kind of foundation material you decide to use - concrete, stone or brick...."

In Bennett's small House catalog of 1920 most of the houses are shown with cast block foundations.

A number of block houses can be seen in Buffalo.

Syracuse, NY. 433 Roosevelt Ave. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2013.

See: J. Randall Cotton, "Ornamental Concrete Block Houses," Old House Journal, XII:8 (Oct. 1984) 165, 180-183

Westcott's England Walking Tour Saturday June 1st at 1 pm

Westcott's England Walking Tour Saturday June 1st at 1 pm

Westcott Sundays on a Saturday! 

Join me Saturday June 1 from 1 om to 3 pm for the last of this spring's Westcott neighborhood history and architecture walking tours as we tackle Westcott's England: those streets south of Euclid that sound like they came from the War of the Roses: Westminster, Buckingham, Kensington, Lancaster. 

There is one big hill - so wear good walking shoes. 

We start from the Westcott Community Center at Westcott and Euclid.

The tour is free, sponsored by thew Westcott Neighbor hood Association with support form UNSAAC. 

Rain date is 6/2, 1 pm

 

Ward Wellington Ward on Walnut Avenue

Syracuse, NY.  The Herbert Walker House at 519 Walnut Ave. Ward Wellington Ward, architect, 1911.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013)

Syracuse, NY.  The Herbert Walker House at 519 Walnut Ave. Ward Wellington Ward, architect, 1911. Photo: [Ward Wellington Ward]: Some recent work (n.d., ca. 1920)

Syracuse, NY. The Sherbrooke Apartments.  Ward Wellington Ward, arch. (1914).  View from the south, showing additional floor of apartments added on the west side.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (May 2012)

Ward Wellington Ward on Walnut Avenue

One of my near-daily walks or bike rides crosses the Eastside intersection of Walnut Avenue and Madison Street, where one of the slowest lights in the city allows me good time to look at three surviving examples of Arts & Crafts architect Ward Wellington Ward's work on University Hill.  Ward (1875-1932), of course, was Central New York's most prolific and popular Arts & Crafts architect.

On the southeast corner is the large and dominant Sherbrooke Apartments, built in 1914 for George Wilson, an officer in the Wilson Bros. Lumber Company, and later president of the Wilson and Greene Lumber Company.  This is perhaps the largest Arts & Crafts style building in Syracuse - or at least it houses the most people.  According to architect Allen Kosoff, his father, Samuel Kosoff, was the contractor for the building construction.   The building has served as an apartment building for most of its life - though it owned and operated by Syracuse University as a women's dormitory between 1955 and 1976.  

Syracuse, NY. The Sherbrooke Apartments.  Ward Wellington Ward, arch. (1914).  View from the northeast. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013)

Syracuse, NY. The Sherbrooke Apartments.  Ward Wellington Ward, arch. (1914).  Madison St. facade. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013).

The Sherbrooke is kept in good condition.  Last year there was roof repair and one can frequently see owner-sponsored maintenance on the structure.  Most of the original features, including many in the interior, are intact. The biggest change can be seen on the west, facing the parking lot and 1960 school addition to Temple Concord, where one can see changes to the upper floors.  But the Arts & Crafts style fenestration with varied sizes and substantial wooden framing of the windows is intact on the Walnut and Madison facades.  So too, are the deep eaves and variegated roof line.  The building was listed as a local protected site in 1980 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 (see Carlson, Richard (August 15, 1996). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Sherbrook Apartments").

Syracuse, NY. The Sherbrooke Apartments.  Ward Wellington Ward, arch. (1914).  Northwest corner. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013)

Syracuse, NY. The Sherbrooke Apartments.  Ward Wellington Ward, arch. (1914).  West facade. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (June 2009)

Catercorner to the Sherbrooke is the Herbert Walker house, built in 1911 and still mostly intact, although a new wing was added replacing a porch and terrace on the Madison Street facade. The house is now apartments.  It is not listed as a local protected site but is designated as National Register eligible, but the nomination has not been written or submitted. 

Syracuse, NY. Walnut Ave. Looking north towards Madison Street one sees Ward Wellington Ward building dominating each corner. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013)

Syracuse, NY.  The Herbert Walker House at 519 Walnut Ave. Ward Wellington Ward, architect, 1911. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013).

Syracuse, NY.  The Herbert Walker House at 519 Walnut Ave. Ward Wellington Ward, architect, 1911. The hosue is well-designed for the site, for optimum visual effect. The off-center project bowed bay creates a double facade to be seen by those heading south, toward Walnut park and the University.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013).

 

 Syracuse, NY.  The Herbert Walker House at 519 Walnut Ave. Ward Wellington Ward, architect, 1911. The south end was originally a porch with upper terrace.  This was later converted for interior (apartment?) space, but the architectural style was maintained.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2033).

Syracuse, NY.  The Herbert Walker House at 519 Walnut Ave. Ward Wellington Ward, architect, 1911.  The original and still the main entrance. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013). 

Just down the street at 502 Walnut is another houses, determined in the city's Ward Wellington Ward Cultural Resources Survey of the 1990s as being deigned by Ward.  Built for Samuel Cook in 1910, it is apparently much altered since.

Syracuse, NY.  502 Walnut Street.  said to be the Samuel Cook House, designed by Ward Wellington Ward in 1910.  It is now a medical office. photo: Samuel D. Gruber (March 2013).

Standing in the street in front of 502 and looking south one sees the Ward building dominating the approach north to Walnut Park.  I don't known when Walnut was turned one-way going north, but one sees what is missed by changing the traffic patterns.  Buildings were designed to be seen from certain views - and many of these have been subverted or destroyed by latter traffics patterns.

On nearby University Avenue, now re-established as two-way, it is too late for most of the grand houses.  They've been torn down.  But it is nice that at the Northern end of the street both Temple Concord and Grace Episcopal Church can be viewed by (driving and biking) passers-by from different angles. 

I'll be posting more throughout the spring about familiar - but overlooked Eastside buildings.

The Avery-Burton House: Another Case of North Side Deterioration

 Syracuse, NY. The Avery-Burton House, 317 Bear Street. Photo: PACNY, 1980s.

 Syracuse, NY. The Avery-Burton House, 317 Bear Street. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2012)

The Avery-Burton House: Another Case of North Side Deterioration
  
The other day I posted about the mid-19th century Catherine Murray House on Danforth Street on Syracuse's Northside and its sad and continuing deterioration.   The Murray House is not alone.  Several other historic houses occupying prominent sites that were in good condition in the 1980s are also in bad condition and are at risk.  All these houses should receive quick attention from the city's new Land Bank before they are past the point of saving.

The Avery-Burton House, at 317 Bear Street, at the corner of Park Street, is one of the finest mid-19th century houses in the Washington Square Neighborhood.  Architecturally, the once-attractive brick house combines Greek Revival and Italianate elements.  Historically, it is associated with the Salt Industry of the old Village of Salina.  The house now boarded up, has unfortunately lost some of its earlier details, but it is mostly intact - at least on the outside.

When Benjamin A. Avery (1817 - 1882), who had come to Syracuse from Groton, Connecticut, built the house, he owned a fifty-kettle salt block near the Oswego Canal.  As reported in Eva Hardin's essential Syracuse Landmarks: An AIA Guide to Downtown and Historic Neighborhoods (p167), Avery helped organize the Central City Railroad, which in 1860 started to run between Clinton Square and Wolf Street as the city’s first horse-drawn trolley line. In 1865, he sold his home to Henry Burton, a second-generation salt manufacturer.

The house was included in Hardin's book, but like most of areas houses was never designated a local protected site of nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.  At the time the Hardin, Dennis Connors and others were documenting Northside and other city houses in the 1970s and 1980s that intention and expectation was that many of these would receive the recognition they deserve.  Now, while still potentially eligible for such designation, the now-deteriorated condition may make that difficult.  City officials are now moving ahead with efforts to re-survey the area that could lead to new preservation initiatives. 

Fortunately, there are still many fine houses in the neighborhood that are cared for and are in good condition.  Overall, however, my walking tours around the area over the years have shown - often quite shockingly - the continued fraying at the edge of the oldest of Syracuse' residential districts. 

  Syracuse, NY. The Avery-Burton House, 317 Bear Street. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2012)

 Syracuse, NY. The Avery-Burton House, 317 Bear Street. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2012)

Another Plan for Mizpah Tower

Syracuse, NY . Mizpah Tower.  The building boldly holds the corner of an important intersection. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2011.

 Syracuse, NY. Mizpah Tower in the 1920s from monograph on work of Gordon Wright.

Another Plan for Mizpah Tower
by Samuel D. Gruber 

According to the Post-Standard, Downtown's Mizpah Towers may soon be seized by the city for back taxes, then sold to a new owner for development.  The future of the historic building at the corner of West Jefferson and Montgomery Streets has been uncertain for years, as various projects have been floated and failed.   You can read about some of these at Syracusethenandnow. 

The Gothic style building was designed by local architect Gordon Wright and opened in 1914.  It served as a church until 1988 and has been vacant for most of the time since.  The building is covered with a tile skin and has notable stained glass windows on the lower floors - some of these were stolen after the building was closed. Pinnacles and other architectural features at the roof level have been removed for safety.  Mizpah's location and massing is somewhat better than its somewhat brittle Gothic design.  Combined, the tall building and its even taller corner tower boldly mark the intersection and nicely complements the other monumental public buildings around Columbus Circle.  

Syracuse, NY . Mizpah Tower.  The building boldly holds the corner of an important intersection. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2011

Syracuse lawyer Thomas Cerio has offered the city $30,000 for the building which will cost millions to adapt for new use.  Cerio wants to redevelop the first two floors as commercial space, the upper floors into apartments, and the top floor for his personal residence.  

The building is remarkable for its once-magnificent auditorium on the ground floor that served as the sanctuary for the Baptist Church, but has also been eyed for decades as a potential performance space. You can see beautiful pictures by David Bridges and more the building history here.

 

 

Syracuse, NY. Mizpah Tower sanctuary/auditorium in the 1920s from monograph on work of Gordon Wright.

According to Tim Knauss of the Post-Standard:

The current owner, Syracuse Bangkok LLC, of Bellevue, Wash., [which] owes more than $115,000 in taxes and interest dating back to 2008. If Syracuse Bangkok sought to block a sale to Cerio, the company could pay part of the delinquent taxes any time before the city seizes it.  The property is assessed for $550,000, but developers who have looked at the interior say it needs millions in repairs and renovations. Cerio has said he is prepared to spend millions, Ashkin said.

The vacant, Gothic-style building at Montgomery and Jefferson streets, erected in 1914, has deteriorated since its Baptist congregation sold it in 1988 and moved to the suburbs. Two groups of developers have tried and failed since then to undertake renovations.

The city seized the Mizpah for back taxes in 1998, anticipating a public "Avenue of the Arts" that never materialized. In 2005, the city sold it for $27,500 to Syracuse Bangkok.  Read the full story here.

 Syracuse, NY. Jefferson Street facade of Mizpah Tower. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2011.

The revitalization of this building (using Historic Preservation tax credits) would be a major shot in the arm for this part of Downtown.  Who knows?  First the Mizpah, then the Hotel Syracuse?

Why Save Urban Churches?

 

Syracuse, NY. Former First Presbyterian Church.  Photo: Bruce Harvey.  The large window behind the altar is a version of the great Tiffany Te Deum window (the firm made several), a drawing of which was recently on view at the Tiffany exhibit at MOBIA in New York.

Why Save Urban Churches?

Last month I was interviewed  (on a very cold morning) by Tim Knauss of the Post-Standard about why we should care if old churches and synagogues still stand in our community.  We met outside First Presbyterian Church - one of the grandest of Syracuse's establishment Gothic churches, and one that closed last year but is renting its premises to another congregation. Here is a video of part of the interview in which I lay out some reasons why religious buildings matter - and matter a lot.

Tim has written an article for the paper, too, and in a separate piece reviews the continuing saga of the lost windows of South Presbyterian Church, and how that structure is now more in peril than ever before. 

To see color pictures of many of the tremendous stained glass windows in First Presbyterian click here.

Restore the South Salina Rite Aid Facade?

 
Restore the South Salina Street RiteAid Facade?
by Samuel D. Gruber

Syracuse Post-Standard columnist Sean Kirst reported today on the possibility of upcoming restoration work on the Art Deco facade of the downtown Rite Aid (formerly Woolworth's) at South Salina and Jefferson Street.  The building is on one of the most important corners of the city - and it has one of the most representative commercial Art Deco facades in the region.

I wrote about this tile facade last year and urged the stripping off of the ugly metal additions.  While I don't really think anyone is listening to me - I'm glad others are having the same thoughts and seeing opportunities where storm damage present them.

Apparently the city and rite aid are having constructive - or should I say "restorative" discussions.

Here are some excepts from Sean's piece:

The clock and much of the facade were covered up by a bland metal sign after Rite Aid bought the building in 1979. When the wind blew off that covering in 1997, revealing a clock frozen at 1:06 p.m., pedestrians were delighted but Rite Aid quickly put the sign back up.

 

The wind returned a few weeks ago, dragging down another chunk of that sign. City officials, seeing an opportunity, contacted Rite Aid about the chance for a permanent exterior restoration.

“They’ve responded very favorably,” said Ben Walsh, the city’s deputy commissioner for business development. A connection between the city and the company had already been established, Walsh said, thanks to the “Bank Alley” project and other nearby improvements.

Walsh recalled how the first reaction at City Hall to news of the sign coming down was a concern that someone could have been hurt. Once downtown advocates knew there'd been no injuries, they chuckled quietly at the idea that even God wanted to see the original facade restored.

 Click here for the entire article - and pictures.