Beyond the Box, Resurrection and Efficient Living in Camillus

Camillus, NY. St. Luke's Episcopal Church (1957). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2014)

Camillus, NY. Wilcox Octagon House (1856). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2014)

Beyond the Box, Resurrection and Efficient Living in Camillus
by Samuel D. Gruber

Usually driving down a strip in Central New York in the inner or outer suburbs, and along some of the old entrance routes to Syracuse, one drives by rows of boxes.   Closest to the city center are a few decorated Art Deco boxes and some small post-World War II brick retail and service stores simple and functional in their design.  On older streets (like James Street in Syracuse), are more delicate, often see-through modernist boxes, where they replaced mansions torn down in the 1960s and 70s., and to these we can add some fast food outlets that still draw on post-war modernism for inspiration.  Lastly, and so common now, are the rows of big bulky boxes with nothing to look at all to catch the eye - so uninteresting in their design inside or out - that their bigness and boxiness has given them their name of "big box stores".

Well, I had a pleasant break from this the other day heading to Camillus, when I drove by in quick succession two striking buildings that seem to have escaped from the box - and delight in offering alternate geometry.  The sanctuary of St. Luke's Episcopal Church at 5402 West Genesee St., designed by Crenshaw & Folley  and built in 1957, has a tall thin profile with steeply slanting sides, like someone cut it a like a piece of pie from a larger building.  The architecture seemed perfectly appropriate for the adjacent sign proclaiming "Allealuia, Christ is Risen," for indeed this building with its tall cross inscribed on the window wall facing the street seems to have arisen itself, sprung up for Easter beside the busy road.  Inside, the narrow sanctuary space soars, but the wood lined space is warmly intimate.  The is one of the most expressive modern religious buildings in the Syracuse area.  And for those who know my interest in plastics in architecture, there is the added fact that St. Luke's interior wood is Rilco laminated wood from the Weyerhaeuser Co., bonded with "structural glues stronger than wood itself" (plastics).

 

Camillus, NY. St. Luke's Episcopal Church (1957). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2014)

Just down the road is the Wilcox Octagon House of Camillus, built in 1956, and one of the best preserved buildings of this type in Central New York.  In my mind the two buildings seemed instantly related, because the octagon, since Early Christian times, carried the meaning of resurrection, too.   In Early Christian baptistry design seven sides stood for the days of the week, and the eight side represented the Day of  Resurrection and Eternal Life, when the soul was reborn through Christian baptism.  Now, the builder's of the Octagon House almost certainly did not have this in mind - they were following the building precepts of Orson Squire Fowler in his influential book A Home for All; or, the gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building of 1853, in which he made the case for the octagon as the healthiest house form.

 

Camillus, NY. Wilcox Octagon House (1856). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2014)

Camillus, NY. Wilcox Octagon House (1856), National Register plaque. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2014)

 

 Camillus, NY. Wilcox Octagon House.  First floor plan from Wilcox House website: http://www.octagonhouseofcamillus.org/

Fowler promoted the octagon house as cheaper to build, and with more  living space and natural light.  He maintained that because of the geometry it was easier to heat, and that it remained cooler in the summer.  Fowler believed that a circle is the most efficient shape, but would be difficult to build and awkward to furnish, so an octagon was a sensible approximation.  The octagon house is remarkable, however, not just for its design, but because it referred to an entire philosophy of living quite different from the societal norm represented by the dominant Greek Revival and Italianate houses of the period. To a certain extent, builders of the  octagon houses accepted a less formal domestic arrangement, and this often mirrored their other social and political views.

Another octagon house is the Henry E. Pierce house on Bear Street, near Washington Square, in Syracuse. 

Other Octagon houses in New York include these:

The Armour-Stiner Octagon House
http://www.josephpelllombardi.com/5homes/octagon.html

The Rich-Twinn Octagon House
http://www.buffaloah.com/a/NEWST/main/145/

Further reading:

Church construction with rilco laminated wood (Weyerhaeuser Co. 1961)

[includes photo and caption of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Camillus]
https://archive.org/details/WeyerhaeuserCoChurchConstructionwithRilcoLaminated0001

Fowler, Orson S., The Octagon House, (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., first edition 1848 (1853 edition reprinted in 1973)

Westcott Porches

 

 Syracuse, NY. 421 Westcott St.  A late Victorian porch.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

Westcott Porches
by Samuel D. Gruber

The best residential streets include a variety of houses, and these houses consist of a variety of parts.  The balance of consistency and  variety is what makes a walk down any block visually interesting, and makes one want to do it again and again.  There should always be - even in the most familiar settings - something new to see, or some relationship of parts, or  revelation in changing light or foliage - that has never been seen before, or at least not seen for a long time.  We need - even crave - visual stimulation even more than we know.  Dullness breed dullness.

This Sunday I'll begin my spring walking tours in Syracuse's Westcott neighborhood (click here for the schedule).  In the grand scheme of things, these few dozen blocks are really pretty much all of a piece.  Built mostly between 1880 and 1930, they comprise a fairly typical American "streetcar suburb" - an early type of segregated (by function) residential development.  Yes, despite the commonality of it all - there is ceaseless variety street to street, from house to house, and upon each facade and in each yard and on each porch. 

Syracuse, NY.  Westcott and South Beech area mapped in 1892.  This the area of Sunday's (April 27th) walk.

Sunday, we'll stroll down the 400 and 300 blocks of Westcott Street between Dell and East Genesee.  The first block - until Hawthorne - contains some of the oldest houses in the neighborhood.  Most already show up on our first map of the area published in 1892 (above).  These houses are mostly narrow wood frame late Victorian structures, simple in form and easy to build, but often more ornate in their applied decoration - some of which can still be found where house hasn't been stripped and vinylized.  Most decorative in these types of houses were the porches, which were also essential functional features in an era when street crime here was not an issue, and air conditioning was unknown. 

Syracuse, NY. 417 Westcott St.  An early example of a Colonial Revival porch, common from from the 1890s on.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

I like to anthropomorphize houses.  If the windows are the eyes, gables the brow, and the roof the hair, then a house's front porch is its mouth - and smile.  Some porches/smiles are more radiant and open than others.  Some have recently had a cleaning and maybe some orthodontia, others present crooked smiles of quirky beauty, and distinctive personality, and suggesting deep secrets, too (yes, twenty years ago, my first year in the neighborhood, body parts were found under a porch on South Beech - but that is not what I'm talking about).  Sadly, not a few porches look like they've had their teeth kicked out.

Westcott Street still has some fine and old porches - though some have been recently painted in more modern (garish?) colors, and few have been stolen - walled up to create more rentable interior space.   A walk on Westcott presents a primer of local porch types.  Here are a few samples, and we'll look at these and others on our upcoming walks....

Syracuse NY.  456 Westcoot St.  Parts of a double-decker stick style porch remain, include the valence between the turned wood columns of the lower level.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

Syracuse, NY. 400 Westcostt St.  A distinctive porch of paired bulging columns, supported on cast stone blocks.  The porch was probably added after 1900.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

 Syracuse, NY. 430 Westcott St.  Triple-deckers are more common in Boston, but we have several on Westcott St.  Big houses maximized the potential on these lots, and today are filled with apartments.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

The New Urbanism movement touts the value of porches - and has championed their construction in planned and suburban developments as a way for residents to show themselves to their neighbors and create community.  In the Westcott neighborhood the Old Urbanism works fine - though sometimes it needs a tune-up.  I'd like to see all of Syracuse devote itself to porches - fixing them up, spending time on them, and letting houses reconnect with their streets through these essential transitional spaces.  The porch is public and private - the best model of an urban life.  What kind of porch do you like? 

Westcott Sunday Architecture and History Walking Tours (Spring 2014)

Westcott Sunday Architecture and History Walking Tours (Spring 2014)

With architectural historian Sam Gruber 

Join me on this year's Westcott Neighborhood architecture and history walking tours, as we explore the development of the Westcott neighborhood, its architecture and its distinctive “Streetcar Suburb” characteristics.  Most of the neighborhood was planned and built between 1870 and 1930, and in its blocks are scores of examples of fine residential architecture in many styles: Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and a variety of examples of the Arts & Crafts Movement.  I'll discuss these and other trends in urban design, and many features of house architecture and city streets we often take for granted.  Whether you are a long time resident of the Westcott Neighborhood or a first time visitor, you’ll see and learn something new on these community-sponsored walks. 

(All tours are free to the public.  They start ast 1 pm and last approximately 2 hours)
 

Sunday, April 27

The Old Neighborhood: South Beech, Dell, Columbus and Westcott Streets 
Startpoint: Picasso’s Pastries, NW corner of Dell and Westcott Streets
(Parking: on street and at free community lot on Harvard Place)

Sunday, May 4 

West of Westcott: Euclid Street, Clarendon Street & Adjoining Streets 
Startpoint: Westcott Community Center, Westcott St. & Euclid Ave.
(Parking: on street or at Erwin Methodist Church, across From WCC)

Sunday, May 18 

Stately Streets: Allen St., Cambridge St. ad Harvard Place
Startpoint: Recess Café, 110 Harvard Place (off Westcott)
(Parking: on street and at free community lot on Harvard Place, across from Cafe)

Sunday, June 1

 Westcott's England: Westminster, Buckingham, Kensington & Lancaster Neighborhood 
Startpoint: Westcott Community Center (Westcott St. &Euclid Ave.)
(Parking: on street or at Erwin Methodist Church, across From WCC)

Sam Gruber is an internationally known art and architectural historian, and cultural heritage consultant, who is a long time resident of the Westcott Neighborhood.  He served for many years on the board of Westcott Neighborhood Association and the Preservation Association of Central New York, of which he served as president, and formerly led the Westcott Neighborhood Historic House Tours.  Sam teaches part-time at Syracuse University and writes the blog My Central New York.

More Gotho-Deco: The Former Madison School

Syracuse, NY.  Former Madison School.  James A. Randall, architect (1917). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2014)

Syracuse, NY.  Former Madison School.  James A. Randall, architect (1917). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2014)

Syracuse, NY.  Former Madison School.  James A. Randall, architect (1917). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2014)

More Gotho-Deco: The Former Madison School
by Samuel D. Gruber 

I recently wrote about the austere design of the Chaumont Apartments at 502 University Avenue, which used patterned brick as decoration - a common touch in the 1920s.  A block away is the Washington Arms Apartments that mixes Gothic and Art Deco motifs to create a dynamic form with an impressive entrance way, in what I called a Gothic-Deco mix.  More of this Gotho-Deco can be found at the former Madison School on Madison Street between University and Walnut, about equal distance between the two apartment buildings and directly across from the north flank of Temple Concord (1911). 

Syracuse, NY.  Former Madison School.  James A. Randall, architect (1917). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2009)

The Madison School was built in 1917, not long after Temple Concord - after the sanctuary building but before the 1920s classroom building which replaced three adjacent row houses, and faced the new school.  James A. Randall (1861-1940), already a prominent local architect who would become one of the region's most prolific school designers, was the architect.  We can watch his style develop over several decades, until he is working in the full Art Deco of the Grant Junior High School, built in 1931.

The Madison School is a transitional building. Like most schools, the plan is the main thing, but the exterior articulation had to set a tone, too. It is symmetrically designed, and had entrances for girls and boys at opposite ends.  The building had three floors of well lit classrooms which in the 1980s were converted into residential condominium units.   A main formal entrance, up a flight of exterior stairs, was set beneath a wide flattened Gothic arch facing Madison Street.  The organization of this entrance with its upper two turrets adapts a traditional English Gothic tower-gate design that was well known in America  through its common use at colleges and universities (Princeton, Penn, etc.).  The entrance element no longer was defensive, but stood instead for an ideal of serious education. Between the little towers, and over the chiseled stone with the school's name, is a short combination parapet-pediment.  In the center of this shied resting on branches, and within the shield is an open book.  The book makes sense for a school, but also coincidentally parallels the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) set about the pediment of Temple Concord's classical porch.  

Randall had previously designed classically-inspired educational buildings, including the Carnegie Library on Columbus Circle in Downtown Syracuse, and only two years earlier (1915), the big Blodgett School on the West Side.  That  building, with its columns and other classical-Italianate elements was a direct descendant of the Central High school designed by Archimedes Russell and Melvin King that opened in 1910.

Syracuse, NY.  Blodgett School.  James A. Randall, architect (1915). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2012)

Syracuse, NY.  Former Central High School.  Archimedes Russell, architect (1910). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2012)

Syracuse, NY.  Former Nottingham High School / Levy Middle School.  Albert Brockwayl, architect (1924). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2012)

Both Randall and King would keep working to strip down their school designs to reduce costs and also to standardize a building type.  The trend is clear in the 1924 Nottingham High school by Albert Brockway, which has no Classical or Gothic elements, and no monumental entrance either, though there is still a bit of patterned brick and a few inserted limestone or cast stone blocks for decorative accent.   But overall, the form of the building looks like a factory for learning.  Compare it, for instance, to Ward Wellington Ward's 1909 Moyer Automobile Factory.

Syracuse, NY.  Former Madison School.  James A. Randall, architect (1917). East entrance. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (200)

Syracuse, NY.  Former Madison School, southwest corner from Madison St.  James A. Randall, architect (1917). Photo: Samuel D. Gruber (2009)

A list of his schools designed by James Randall from Syracuse Then and Now is:

• Blodgett Vocational High School, 1915, 312 Oswego St., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Delaware School, 1917, 900 S. Geddes St., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Jefferson School, 1916, 512 Le Moyne Ave., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Madison School, 1917, Madison St., & Walnut Ave., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Charles Andrews School, 1921, Salt Springs Road, Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Danforth School, 1924, Kennedy Ave., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Seymour School, 1923, 108 Shonard St., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Percy Hughes School (Crippled & Grade School), 1929, 345 Jamesville Ave., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Washington Irving School, 1926, 725 Harrison St, Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Frazer School, 1929, 741 Park Ave., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Grant Junior High School, 1931, 2400 Grant Blvd., Syracuse, NY. Extant
• Cathedral High School, 1916, 420 Montgomery St, Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• Sacred Heart High School, 1001 Park Ave., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• St. Patrick's School, 210 Schuyler St., Syracuse, NY. Extant.
• North Side High School -- Extension & Addition, 1980, Syracuse, NY.
• Oswego High School, 1921, Oswego, NY.
• Sayre High School, Sayre, PA.
• Sauquoit High School, Sauquoit, NY.
• Marathon School, Marathon, NY.

Mostly Modern: The Washington Arms Apartments

Syracuse, NY. Washington Arms Apartments.  621 Walnut Ave. 1928. Photo: Samuel Gruber (2013)

Syracuse, NY. Washington Arms Apartments.  621 Walnut Ave. 1928. Photo: Samuel Gruber (2013)

Almost Modern: The Washington Arms Apartments

The 1920s were years of easy credit and fast money, and that meant a real estate and building boom in most American cities, and Syracuse was no exception.  Architecturally, the period offers a mix of styles, with Classical, Gothic and Byzantine styles still popular.  But throughout the decade a simple functionalism also took root - in part keeping with a taste for stripped down style in art, literature (think Hemingway) and fashion (think flapper), but also because it was generally more economical for speculative builders.  Higher end buildings had more decoration, but this tended to be variations of the flat, often geometric Art Deco.  The simpler version could be substituted, as was done in Chaumout Apartments, by simply patterning brick. 

When one thinks about Walnut Avenue on the east side, the large houses - mostly now frat houses along Walnut Park - come to mind.  But in the early decades of the 20th century the older part of Avenue at he north end was already being transformed with new apartment buildings rising replacing 19th-century single family homes.  

I've written about the Sherbrooke Apartments at Walnut and Madison, designed by Ward Wellington Ward in 1914. Another noteworthy apartment building is the soaring (everything is relative) Roosevelt Arms Apartments one block south, up the hill, opening in the fall of 1928, at 621 Walnut Street.  This fine building, the architect who which remains unknown to me at this time, is a fine example of everything that was though modern at the time (we known, however, that Anthony Paratore, was the contractor).

 

 Syracuse, NY. Washington Arms Apartments.  621 Walnut Ave. 1928. Photo: Samuel Gruber (2013)

The building shares characteristics with the commercial Hills Building downtown, built the same year.  Both are steel frame and brick buildings that emphasis versatility in their sleek design, but bow to tradition with the inclusion of stylized vestigial Gothic details on the ground floor, and on in certain other details.  We might call this type of Art Deco building a cross - something akin to Gotho-Deco. The combination was surprisingly common in the 1920s.  For vertical building its a kind of mash-up of the New York's City giants, the Woolworth and the Empire State Buildings.

While the outside of the Washington Arms no doubt looked strikingly modern on Walnut Avenue, possibly as out of place in its time as Bird Library at the top of Walnut Park would be seen in its time (and even today), it was the modernity of the inside of the apartments that them desirable.

Advertised as the "most exclusive apartment in Syracuse" and the "Apartment Home Supreme,", Washington Arms boasted large kitchens, plenty of closets, gumwood doors and trim, tiled baths and storage lockers in the basement.

 Advertisement of the The Washington Arms, Syracuse Herald (Sept. 9, 1928)

A prominent advertisement in the Syracuse Herald of September 9, 1928, announced the building this way:

The Washington Arms

Opposite Chancellor's Residence
Corner Walnut Ave. and Harrison St. 

Opening selection of choice 3, 4 and 5-room steam heated apartment locations, richly furnished lobby with fireplace, mirror wall, attractive sunny living rooms, large corner front bedrooms with cross ventilation, roll-away beds, complete baths with specially finished walls which gives a rich appearance, showers with bath curtains, etc., convenient kitchenette with gas or electric range, plenty of built-in cupboards, broom closets, ironing board, composition tile drain boards, Kelvinator, attractive dinettes, plenty of clothes closets, a dressing room and full length mirror with each apartment, gumwood package receivers. Abundance heat, hot water, elevator and janitor service. Two apartments ere completely furnished for your inspection.

An extra and very interesting feature is the large beautifully furnished sun parlor overlooking city for general use of the tenants. This is a mammoth enclosed sun porch giving a clear view of the entire city besides being a health spot. 

Visit The "Apartment Home Supreme" 

The Washington Arms 

Distinctive in its location and build, which consists of 33 apartments; three, four and five rooms each; and presents a soundproof, well-built, practicable place to make your home. Many exclusive features await the prospective tenant, Briefly outlined they are: Adams type hardwood floors throughout, Oiltex walls which can be washed without losing the exquisite Neutral color shades, composite tiled dinette and breakfast rooms, Gumwood doors and trim, Walnut finish in every apartment and corridor, tiled baths, safety mail boxes, lockers in basement, grand tiled corridors with a heavy one tone runner, iron-trimmed entrance door.

 Syracuse, NY. Washington Arms Apartments.  621 Walnut Ave. 1928. Photo: Samuel Gruber (2013)

The building is designed on an dumbbell or H-plan, with two blocks three bays deep a the west and east connected by a longer narrower block.  This design, pioneers in the 19th-century for better tenement design, here provides, because the building is free-standing on a corner lot, abundant windows for all apartments.  Compare this to the simpler blocklike plan of the Chaumont Apartments, where it was more difficult for light to penetrate deep into the building.

The five-story structure originally 33 apartments, but the Great Depression put pressures on this building, as on so many other new apartment and commercial buildings. Already in late 1929 and early 1930 it is clear that many units were becoming available. 

According to the Syracuse University Archives  website (a great source on SU buildings), Syracuse University acquired the Washington Arms in 1943 to house Army Air Corpsmen, but  because of housing shortages caused by the war, the soldiers were moved to other quarters and  the apartments were available for civilian rentals. In 1946 nursing students lived in the apartments and by 1950 it was  a women's dormitory.  the building was renovated in 1978 and again in 2002.  By 2010 housed 64 students in suite-style rooms with full kitchens on each floor.

Syracuse, NY. Washington Arms Apartments.  621 Walnut Ave. 1928. Photo: Samuel Gruber (2013)

Other CNY Early Modern Buildings:

The New Times Building, Formerly Giminski's Furniture Store 

Grant Middle School 

Former First Trust & Deposit Wolf Street Office 

The New York Telephone Building 

The Hills Building 

The Chaumont Apartments, 502 University Avenue

Deco Delight or Mostly Modern?: The Chaumont Apartments, 502 University Avenue

Syracuse, NY. 502 University Avenue. The Chaumont Apartments (1928). Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

Syracuse, NY. 502 University Avenue. The Chaumont Apartments (1928). Photo: Samuel Gruber 2013

Deco Delight or mostly Modern?: The Chaumont Apartments, 502 University Avenue

One of the many ironies of the development of the Connective Corridor on University Avenue is that for more than a decade before the project the University had pursued a continuing program of acquisition and demolition of older properties, leading to the much of the desolation of the street that was used, in part, to justify its redevelopment.  Yes, the money has (mostly) come from government sources intended to "save the rain" but it was the policy of demolition over renovation that caused that particular street - of the many north-south axis on the Hill, to receive attention.  Gone are the Wyatt House and the former Chancellor's House, both of which I watched as they were torn down.

One building that was spared - and a good thing too - since it is one of the few properties on the street that pays taxes - is the brick apartment house at 502 University Avenue, just south of Madison Street.  Known as the Chaumont Apartments when it opened in late 1928, the building is a proto-modern structure that sits on the cusp of the stylistic change between Art Deco and the International Style.

 Syracuse, NY. 502 University Avenue. The Chaumont Apartments (1928). Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

The Chaumont Apartments, developed by Ben Menter and designed by architect James F. Schindler,  was one of many apartment houses erected throughout the city in the late 1920s, and especially in 1928 ad 1929, that were built quickly to cash in on a booming housing market, and combined practical and efficient design and use of material with just the minimum of decoration to provide the residents with a little class.  The building was erected of "brick, tile and steel," (Syracuse Herald April 4, 1928) and is reported to have cost about $65,000 to build. 

The most distinctive features are the decorative designs made of brick patterns.  Similar designs - an attractive and very inexpensive type of decoration - can also be found on contemporary low-scale commercial buildings such a those found nearby on Westcott and East Genesee Street.  The decorative patterning maintains the building's flat walls and and simple rectangular geometry.  Only a slightly raised attic level parapet wall atop the facade breaks the box.  The Chaumont is right across the street from the classical style Temple Concord, built in 1910-11.  The flat simple geometry of apartment is in scale with the Temple, and its plainness offers a nice foil to the older more monumental building.  

Syracuse, NY. 502 University Avenue. The Chaumont Apartments (1928). Dtl of decorative brick.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

Syracuse, NY. 502 University Avenue. The Chaumont Apartments (1928). Dtl of decorative brick.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

If anyone has information on either Menter or Schindler, please let me know.  I suspect Menter was Jewish - just by his name - but also because the location of the building was close to the heart of the Jewish neighborhood of the 1920s.  In addition to Concord, Temple Adath was erected just a few years earlier jut one block southwest.

Syracuse, NY. 502 University Avenue. The Chaumont Apartments (1928), view from south.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014

Syracuse, NY. 502 University Avenue. The Chaumont Apartments (1928), view from north.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2014