"Grand stories, incredible architecture, and a secret passage."

The Red Cross Sits on a Wealth of Western New York History.

By Lisa Littlewood

I’m a sucker for old houses. I’m not sure that I would want to live in one—the upkeep, the draftiness, the ghost stories— but I love a good house tour.

     Perhaps that is what drew me to Massachusetts for almost ten years—the history, the architecture, the old houses. Houses that belonged to notable historical figures such as Paul Revere, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, and for a time, on my running route, I used to jog right by the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow house, also known as General George Washington’s headquarters for his wartime use of the house.

Buffalo has its own historical figures and stories still remembered within the walls of some of its oldest houses and buildings. As a teenager, growing up in the Buffalo area, I used to drive down Delaware Avenue admiring the large stone mansions that lined the street. I’d imagine the extravagant parties, the horse-drawn carriages, the servants, the grounds, and the decadent food prepared in the kitchens. The fact is, the stately homes stand as mementoes to old Buffalo—a time when Buffalo was on the rise, emerging as a leader in industrial innovation, home to an incredibly wealthy cast of characters; presidents of large banks, owners of industrial corporations, leaders with national appeal.

     My recent visit to 786 Delaware Avenue, presently known as the Red Cross Building, did not disappoint. It is a building that comes with grand stories, incredible architecture and a secret passage built into the wall from the music room to the library.

     The house, also known as the Carolyn Tripp Clement House, was designed by the notable Buffalo architect E.B. Green—an architect responsible for designing close to 200 buildings and homes in the Buffalo area (buildings which included the Albright Knox Art Gallery, the Lockwood Library at UB and First Presbyterian Church on Symphony Circle) and who can be credited for a significant portion of the architectural landscape of the Buffalo that we still know today. If Buffalo were a portrait, Green would have been one of the primary artists. For those privy to architectural terminology, the style of the house is considered to be English Tudor or Tudor revival—a style that borrows ideas from both the large medieval palaces and the cozy medieval cottages of the English Gothic and Renaissance eras. It is a style dictated by beautifully patterned brick or stonework, the use of parapets, high, overlapping gables and long narrow windows.

     The beautiful peaks and use of stone at 786 Delaware Avenue are certainly more palatial and castle like than reminiscent of any sort of cottage, a fact that would not have been lost on its owners—good, philanthropic people, but wealthy Buffalonians none the less, who would have been trying to Keep Up with the Knoxes more than the Joneses during their day. The house was symbolic of their great wealth and status in Buffalo’s high-society— a wealth amassed by Mr. Stephen Clement, the then president of Marine Bank.

     Sadly, while money may buy many things, it cannot secure everything. Mr. Clement, who had the house commissioned, plans drawn and walls built starting in 1912 for a cost of $300,000, never lived in the house with his wife. He died at age 52, a day before his 29^th wedding anniversary and before the family moved into the beautiful estate. It has been said that his funeral was one of the first events held in the house.

     Mrs. Carolyn Tripp Clement, her six children, and later generations of family did inhabit the house, and considering Mrs. Clements’s status in society, as well as her philanthropic, educational and religious interests (she was a member of Westminster Church for 67 years and donated land for what eventually became their parish house, as well as giving $80,000 to the University of Buffalo and serving on their leadership council for 21 years, Clement Hall at UB is named after her, it is likely that numerous fund-raising and social functions took place in their home.)

     Also a lover of music, it is no surprise that one of the most impressive rooms in the house is the 2-½-story music room that looks onto Delaware Avenue (if you are staring at the front of the house the music room sits to the left, adorned by the gorgeous tall bay window in the center). The music room measures 52’ by 20’ feet and has been described as “the heart of the family’s life.” While the family lived in the house, the music room held two grand pianos, a harp and a full-scale pipe organ (Mrs. Clement spent a year studying piano and traveling through Europe before she was married and played both the harp and organ.)

      Other notable features of the 20 room house are the oak paneled wardrobe room (used to receive guests and hold their coats and wraps) off of the main hallway, the reception or “morning” room (between the wardrobe and music rooms), the Italian marble baseboards, archways, floors and mantles throughout the house, and the beautifully grand limestone staircase that still greets visitors as they walk through the front door. Also worth mentioning is the still functioning copper lined Otis elevator—the first ever installed in a Buffalo residence.

      Mrs. Clement donated the home to the Red Cross in 1941, no doubt impacted by the Red Cross’ involvement in WWII at that time. In an interview Mrs. Clement was noted as saying, “There is no other organization to which I would rather give it…it serves day in and day out in times of war as well as in times of peace.”

      The Red Cross is happy to inhabit the house and enjoys meetings in the grand music room, now their boardroom, as well as the library with its dark towering shelves. Cubicles and workers inhabit many of the nooks and crannies, bedrooms and former storage spaces. While Mrs. Clement likely would not recognize the computer screens, printers, telephones, copiers and fax machines that propel modern business, the “bones” of the house remain in tact, and I have to believe she would be proud of the upkeep and the meaningful work still taking place within its walls.

     Thank you to the staff at the Red Cross who graciously welcomed me and showed me around. A particular thanks to Jay Bonafede, Communications Coordinator and Heather Flipowicz, Director of Advancement for their time and the stories they shared.

     Many of the details in this article were also borrowed from a comprehensive website created by Chuck LaChiusa. The site “Buffalo Architecture and History” can be found at www.buffaloah.com.!