Clement House (Buffalo, New York)

Mansion in Buffalo, New York, U.S.

The Clement House

The Clement House, July 2017

General information
Architectural style| Tudor/Gothic Revival
Location| 786 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY
Coordinates| 42°54′21″N 78°52′22″W﻿ / ﻿42.9057°N 78.8728°W﻿ / 42.9057; -78.8728
Completed| 1913
Owner| Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Technical details
Floor area| 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)| Edward Brodhead Green of Green & Wicks

The Clement House, also known as the Red Cross Building, is a 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) mansion in Buffalo, New York, that was built in 1913. The house was designed by the architect Edward Brodhead Green of Green & Wicks for Stephen Merrell Clement, the president of Marine National Bank, and his wife Carolyn.[1] The building is a contributing property to the Delaware Avenue Historic District designated in 1974.[2]

## History[edit]

The Clement House, July 2017 The Clement House, July 2017

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,[a] tore down the Tripp residence in 1911 and commissioned Stephen's friend, Edward Brodhead Green 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.[5] 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, on 26 March 1913 before the house was completed later in 1913 at a cost $300,000 to erect.[6]

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 1,040 square feet (97 m2) music room which had two Steinway grand pianos, a harp and a pipe organ.[7]

In 1919, the neighboring residence at 776 Delaware Avenue, a Richardsonian Romanesque 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 design the house in 1886 as his last commission. The home was constructed in 1888 and completed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the firm that continued Richardson's practice.[8]

### American Red Cross[edit]

In June 1941, Carolyn donated the house to the Western New York Chapter of the American Red Cross.[9] The residence underwent major restoration in 1999.[7] In 2017, The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Red Cross announced that a local developer and philanthropist, John Yurtchuk (co-owner of Calspan), 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".[10]

In 1979, an office building and an adjoining structure connected by an atrium were built on the back portion of the 4 acres (1.6 ha) 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 53,500 square feet (4,970 m2) complex on 2.85 acres (1.15 ha) behind the Clement Mansion.[11]

## See also[edit]

* Delaware Avenue Historic District (Buffalo, New York)
* Architecture of Buffalo, New York
* Gothic Revival architecture in New York

## References[edit]

Notes

1. ^ The youngest of the Clement's six children was Stuart Holmes Clement (1895–1974), who in 1911 married Margaret Livingston Bush (1899–1993),[3] the daughter of industrialist Samuel Prescott Bush, sister of U.S. Senator Prescott Sheldon Bush, aunt of President George H. W. Bush and great-aunt of President George W. Bush.[3][4]

Sources

1. ^ Martin, Susan (20 October 2013). "Meet the mansions: A stroll along Buffalo's historic Delaware Avenue". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 13 March 2009.
\- "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2016. Note: This includes Cornelia E. Brooke (December 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Delaware Avenue Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved 1 May 2016. and Accompanying photographs
3. ^ a b "Margaret Bush Clement; Bush's Aunt, 93". The New York Times. 2 June 1993. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
4. ^ Shapiro, T. Rees (26 June 2010). "Prescott S. Bush Jr., brother and uncle of U.S. presidents, dies at 87". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
\- "Yale Officers: Calhoun College". Yale Library. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
5. ^ LaChiusa, Chuck. "Clement House / Red Cross". Buffalo Architecture and History. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
6. ^ LaChiusa, Chuck. "Clement Mansion". Buffalo Architecture and History. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
\- Davis, Henry L. (30 October 1999). "REVIVED MANSION REMAINS A CORNERSTONE FOR CLEMENTS". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
7. ^ a b "Explore Buffalo Building Profile: The Clement House". Buffalo Rising. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
8. ^ Kowsky, Francis R., et al. Buffalo Architecture: A Guide, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1981.
9. ^ "MRS. S. M. CLEMENT, A PHILANTHROPIST; Gave $80,000 to U. of Buffalo and Endowed Chair at Yale -- Civic Leader Dies at 82". The New York Times. 30 December 1943. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
10. ^ "John Yurtchuk to purchase and donate historic Clement Residence to the BPO" (Press release). Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
11. ^ Epstein, Jonathan D. (28 September 2018). "BestSelf Behavioral Health buys former Red Cross building on Delaware". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 23 February 2021.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clement House (Buffalo, New York).

* Carolyn Tripp Clement House / Red Cross Building at Buffalo Architecture and History