Silsbee, the Arts & Crafts, and Buffalo's Parkside Neighborhood

The Parkside neighborhood in Buffalo, NY is probably best known for two things: that it was laid out by famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and that it is home to a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, the Darwin D. Martin House. A lesser-known history in the neighborhood involves some of its earliest structures and a prevailing interest in Buffalo for an American architecture inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House in Buffalo's Parkside Neighborhood.

The history surrounding the design of some of these early structures, beginning with the Church of the Good Shepherd (on the opposite corner as the Martin House), have been well documented by Ellen Parisi, Steve Cichon, and James Napora. I’ve added links to each of their names if you want to learn more. This is a closer look at some unique structures nearby.

In 1887, Silsbee & Marling were commissioned to design a church as a memorial to Reverend Edward Ingersoll. The church was developed with funds by local property owner Elam Jewett. The church design comes at the time when Silsbee’s connection with Marling was ending and Marling was beginning a new partnership with architect Herbert Burdette. The design was re-worked by the new firm and constructed as “Church of the Good Shepherd” to those designs. 

Marling & Burdette's Church of the Good Shepherd, constructed in 1888.

There are some differences in the two designs that are worth noting. In the earlier design, the entry sequence is less direct, taking the visitor through a long porch, with a 90 degree turn to the entry vestibule, and then another 90 degree turn to nave. The earlier design also has more variety, with angled walls at the chancel and buttressing at the end of each transept, a motif that Silsbee used on several previous chapel designs. In keeping with his other works, Silsbee likely had a stronger hand in the initial design as it was more varied and had a goal of allowing as much light as possible into the chapel interior. The executed design is more direct and removes the angled walls and buttresses. It also has more wall area with smaller windows, making for a more solid appearance. Being a former employee of H. H. Richardson’s, Burdette likely introduced these changes to create monumentality with a more straightforward approach that may have been the norm in his previous office.

Silsbee & Marling's initial design for Ingersoll Memorial Church from 1887. It later became Church of the Good Shepherd.

A rendering and plan of Marling & Burdette's final scheme for Church of the Good Shepherd.

Though the design approach to each scheme is slightly different, they share a goal in creating a substantial yet modest structure that was well crafted and inspired by Medieval precedents. Along with the solid monumental appearance, many architects were equally interested in employing like-minded craftspeople to construct and create decorative elements in these structures. While this in and of itself did not form an Arts & Crafts “movement” as it did in England, it did create working relationships between clients, designers, and craftspeople that had an affinity for European Arts & Crafts design and pushed them to create a uniquely American expression in that vein. These elements are apparent at the Church of the Good Shepherd, both inside and out. 

The influence of H. H. Richardson and an American Arts & Crafts architecture doesn’t end at Parkside with the construction of the church. It can be seen in the residential structures that follow. These include the church rectory and homes for William Northrup, Edward Kendrick, and Welton Shlaefer.

Map indicating related homes built near Church of the Good Shepherd by 1892. Four structures, including the Medieval-styled home of architect William Wicks are not discussed here. 

Soon after the construction of Church of the Good Shepherd, Elam Jewett’s nephew, William Northrup, constructed a home for himself at the corner of Crescent and Jewett. Northrup’s architect was former Silsbee employee and Chicago partner, Edward Austin Kent. Northrup‘s home was a substantial shingle style structure with the look and massing of a Queen Anne Style home. It has a stone base, ground floor made of brick, and shingle second floor and attic. Northrup’s home is gone but his shingle-style carriage house is still standing on Crescent. 

William Northrup House, designed by Edward Austin Kent in 1889, under construction. Church of the Good Shepherd is visible in the background.

William Northrup Carriage House, designed by Edward Austin Kent in 1889.

Kent left Silsbee’s office about four years earlier but it is clear by this structure that he maintained similar design interests as his former partner. In 1887, Silsbee began designing homes for the Edgewater suburb in Chicago and Kent’s design for Northrup has a remarkable similarity to some of that Edgewater work. The homes had a rustic and informal character, partly because of their planning but also because of their straightforward use of shingle and brick. Both architects still incorporated ornament into these larger homes, in spandrels and gables.  

Edgewater Home for John Cochran, Chicago, designed by J. L. Silsbee in 1887.

Soon after Northrup’s home was constructed, another home, built by a distant cousin, Edward Kendrick, was constructed next door, on Crescent Avenue. Kendrick was raised in Illinois but moved to Buffalo and was employed by Northrup, in his printing house, Matthews, Northrup & Co., owners of the Buffalo Express. Kendrick’s choice in architects is intriguing in that it is yet another former Silsbee employee, George Washington Maher. Maher had started his own firm a year earlier, after spending several years in Silsbee’s office. 

Edward Kendrick House designed by George Maher in 1889.

It is not surprising that the design of Kendrick’s home, while more modest, follows the same stylistic cues that were seen in Kent’s design for Northrup. Kendrick’s home is a beautiful shingle-style structure with a prominent front tower, open porch and large side gable. Again, taking cues from his work with Silsbee, Maher designs a sweeping roof that begins at the ground floor in the front, and rises three stories to the peak. To illustrate a point, I will call this the “tower and three-story side gable form”.  The overall appearance of the home is as if it is hugging the Earth. The simple forms and low eave also give the structure a strong monumental presence. Maher designed several homes in this mode.  

Two other George Maher designs that use a similar tower and side gable form that he used on the Kendrick House.

This tower and two-story side gable form is something that can be found in many architects’ work of the period but it is of particular interest here because we can observe how a “family” of architects used it in different ways. Silsbee used it again and again in his Edgewater homes and more importantly, it is a motif that ties together several of his Buffalo homes on Linwood Avenue. Kent employed the technique on his Curtiss House built in 1888 on Elmwood Ave. It is not necessarily a Silsbee invention but it is a planning technique that architects working with him would have been familiar with. 

Spec. Home for E. B. Smith (1886), Silsbee & Marling, architects, Linwood Ave., Buffalo.

George Fowler House (1887), Silsbee & Marling architects, Lindood Ave., Buffalo.

Henry Crane House (1887), Silsbee & Marling architects, Linwood Ave., Buffalo.

Dr. A. G. Curtiss House (1888), Edward Austin Kent, architect, Elmwood Ave., Buffalo 

After Northrup and Kendrick’s homes were complete, Church of the Good Shepherd began work on a permanent rectory for Clergyman Thomas Barry and has family. For this work, the church looked to its architects, Marling & Burdette, for a simple yet beautifully detailed design, again in the shingle style. This home has a unique double side gable (similar to the E. B. Smith Home above) ornamented with arched trim and varied shingle work. Like the Kendrick home, the roof eave begins at the front porch level and rises to the attic peak. Most of the front of the home is expressed as roof surface like the other homes that have been mentioned here. Instead of a monolithic tower, the front is punctuated with a bay surmounted with a square tower with a Paladian window at the center. A curved roof follows the form of the lunette on the façade.   

Rectory for Church of the Good Shepherd (1890), Marling & Burdette, architects.

Detail of bay/tower on Church of the Good Shepherd Rectory.

Marling & Burdette were commissioned for one more home in the immediate vicinity. While they are overseeing design of Rev. Barry’s home, they also designed a shingle style home and carriage house for insurance agent, Welton Schlaefer. Schlaefer was employed by real estate investor and perennial Silsbee & Marling client, Edward B. Smith (See the Linwood homes above). At Schlaefer’s home, Marling & Burdette do employ the tower and large three-story side gable form. It currently has a large porch across the front but that is a later addition and the home, with its strong front tower and second floor dormer, originally had a similar appearance to the Kendrick home and Good Shepherd rectory from the front.     

Welton Schaefer House (1889), Marling & Burdette, architects.

Welton Schaefer House (1889), Marling & Burdette, architects.

Schlaefer Carriage House (1889), Marling & Burdette, architects.

What is apparent by this collection of homes in Buffalo is that while Joseph Silsbee didn’t have any work executed in the neighborhood, he surely had an influence on the design of these homes there. With that being noted, it is impossible not to give some mention to the elephant in the room, the Darwin Martin house and its architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. While this home is of a different period and style, it is interesting to consider some of Wright’s earliest works in relation to those homes surrounding his masterpiece.

In Wright’s “Bootleg Homes” in Oak Park, the tower and three-story side gable form is used on one of them and the side gable is modified to a hipped roof on the other two. Knowing that Wright spent two of his formative years with Silsbee, it is no accident that he returns to his first Chicago employer’s work when he begins designing homes for himself and his Oak Park clientele. 

The Thomas Gale House (1892) on the left and the Walter Gale House (1893) on the right. These are two of Wright's "bootleg houses" in Oak park, IL.

The Walter Gale House from the front showing the prominent tower and roof that starts at the ground floor and extends over the top two stories.

Parkside continued to grow and develop well after the 1890's and like most American neighborhoods of the period, it is now a fine collection of Queen Anne, Shingle, Craftsman, Bungalow, and other revival-style homes. The Martin House is obviously one of these later additions. These early shingle style structures remain as a testament to Buffalo's earliest Arts & Crafts heritage and to the roots of Wright's early work. The neighborhood is unique in that respect and that it is one of the few places where you can see such a grouping of Wright's work with early examples of work related to his co-workers and associates from Silsbee's other offices.