176 Windsor Avenue
Nestled quietly onto 176 Windsor Avenue in Buffalo is the Harold and Frances Larkin Esty House, which proudly showcases the many prominent features of the Colonial Revival Style.
Designed by the architects McCreary, Wood and Bradney, the Esty House gives Buffalo a sense of America during the provincial colonial period while still displaying the contemporary architectural elements we see in architecture today.
The Colonial Revival style was featured best from the 1880s to the middle of the 1950’s
and incorporated features inspired by the Victorian era and early American Georgian
style. Most noteworthy, the style’s inspirations came from English colonists in the
late-seventeenth century who had modeled their homes after architecture in England,
but would be able to withstand the turbulent weather of New England. The Colonial
Revival style was most known for its practical, symmetrical architecture and uniform
roofs, using grounded materials such as wooden clapboards, shingles, brick, and stone
to create simple designs with ornate furnishings.
This style can be seen within the 5,353 square-foot Esty house’s slated roof,
red-bricked walls, Doric columns, and its symmetrically placed five bay windows. The
mansion features a sun porch and detailed recreation rooms that are surrounded by
various gardens and patios, and a limestone wall surrounds the mansion and its
grounds.
The architects McCreary, Wood, and Bradney—who also designed the Sidway Building
and Spaulding Buildings downtown, and the John D. Larkin House (demolished) and
John D. Larkin Jr. houses on Lincoln Parkway—designed the Colonial Revival style
mansion at 176 Windsor for John D. Larkin’s daughter, Frances “Daisy” Larkin, and her
husband, Harold M. Esty. Larkin, who was the head of Larkin Soap Company, had four
other houses built for his family around Lincoln Parkway. While John D. Larkin’s home
at 107 Lincoln Parkway was demolished in 1939, the four houses built for his children at
65 Lincoln Parkway and at 160, 175, and 176 Windsor Avenue still stand proudly in
Buffalo today.
Not only can the Colonial Revival style be seen within the Esty house, but you may
notice it subtly through other buildings such as libraries, schools, churches, and other
government buildings. Features of bay windows, columned porches, symmetrical
furnishings, and even broken pediments over front doors give hints of the Colonial
Revival style being in full effect. Next time you are taking a leisurely stroll around your
neighborhood, see if you can spot this simple, English-styled architecture around
everyday places that you may have not even realized adopted the signature look.
Buffalo is a unique city where you can find all types of architectural styles that showcase
our rich history.
With Explore Buffalo, you can discover more of these styles and feel better connected to the rich history and architecture throughout our city.
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Buffalo is a unique city where you can find all types of architectural styles that showcase our rich history. Explore Buffalo tours are a way to discover more of these styles and become connected to the rich history and architecture throughout our city. Explore Buffalo is a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving this indispensable knowledge of Buffalo’s history, architecture, and neighborhoods through quality tours and programs to learners of all ages. For more information, visit explorebuffalo.org