Ellicott-Goodrich-Gerber house, Main & High Streets, c. 1880.
1150/1180 Amherst Street, Buffalo
Ellicott-Goodrich-Gerber house, Main & High Streets, c. 1880.
The story of 1150/1180 Amherst Street begins in 1828 at Main and High Streets. Joseph Ellicott began building his home
there but died before completing it. Wealthy merchant Colonel Guy H. Goodrich finished the house in 1831 and lived in it until
brewer
Charles Gerber
purchased it. It remained in his family until 1892 when the house and lot were sold to the
University of Buffalo for the
construction
of its Medical School building.
The Glenny home, 1150 Amherst St. c. 1900.
John C. Glenny purchased the home for $300 and had it moved in sections to a lot he owned at 1150 Amherst St. at a cost
estimated to be $10,000. Once it was reassembled,
he hired architect Charles Cary to design the addition seen above.
The Glennys
lived in the house until 1910.
The Hoyt Mansion, c. 1920.
Widowed in 1906, Mrs. John Glenny sold the home in 1910 to William B. Hoyt, a lawyer for the Pierce Motor
Car Company.
He hired
architect Charles Cary to design a second addition to the home, creating the final iteration seen
above. At this
time, the library
was added with oak bookcases reaching to the ceiling. The Buffalo Evening News
described the
mansion in 1946:
"Nestled among large trees, some estimated to be 400 years old, the mansion has a colorful history...The main hall is
decorated with five-foot panels depicting the Greek mythological story of Cupid and Psyche. A stair rail of exquisite mahogany
extends from the basement to the attic. There are fireplaces in all principal rooms and in the six main bedrooms, and several
large mirrors of considerable value."
In 1941, the widowed Mrs. Hoyt offered the home to the Buffalo Historical Society. It was believed that the center portion
of the mansion was
the oldest Buffalo home still standing. But the annual maintenance costs of $3,000 - $4,000 were too steep
for
the Society and they declined the offer. This took place a year after architectural historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock
called it "long the finest house in Buffalo." Over its long history it had entertained Buffalo's most elite, including three Presidents.
Mrs. Hoyt died in 1945 and her children put the house on the market. It and the 9+ acre lot were assessed at $69,000, but no
buyers came forward until the Church Home of the German Evangelical Churches of Buffalo & Its Vicinity, which purchased
the
property with the intention of using it as a home for the aged. Mrs. Hoyt's will prohibited the mansion to be used for any purpose
other than educational or residential until 1956. The organization purchased the
property for $35,000, of which the Glenny descendents
agreed to pay $26,000 in back taxes.
The original United Church Home building at 1150/1180 Amherst.
When the property was released from restrictions, the church planned to construct a new home for the aged on part
of the property. A number of neighbors mounted a legal challenge to the building-use permit issued, claiming that the
neighborhood was residencial and such a home was incompatible. But they failed, possibly because the
property was adjacent to a school (the Nichols School Campus), also in their neighborhood.
The Church Home Society was founded in 1877 by six German evangelical churches; they had previously
constructed a safe and affordable home for their widowed and aged parishioners in Forks (Routes 130 & 277,
Cheektowaga). The Amherst Street
property would represent growth in response to the need for increased space.
It took a number of years for the
church to raise the necessary construction funds; the original United Church Home
building on Amherst Street opened in 1954.
United Church Home addition
In 1976, the United Church Home facility at 1190 Amherst Street opened an addition to its original building. Over the years,
the Home enjoyed an excellent reputation as a caring environment for all; it remained affiliated with the United Church
of Christ.
Unfortunately, state reimbursement rates for Supplemental Security Income remained stagnant for 15 years,
creating a shortfall in financial support
that
eventually forced the United Church Home Society to close the facility
permanently in September, 2003.
1180 Amherst Street, 2005
The United Church Home and its neighbor, The Nichols School, enjoyed a long and warm relationship for nearly 50 years.
The School immediately acted to purchase the United Church Home property in 2003-2004, then estimated to be 6.4 acres.
It promptly demolished the original building and addition to make way for more athletic fields.
Special thanks to Mary Gregor, secretary of the United Church Home Society and history lover, for her generous assistance
with this subject.