Photo of Orton Place, circa 1890. 16 on left and 20 right.
At a Kleinhans Community Association meeting held on Wednesday August 18, 1999 it was agreed to have a housing committee formed to study criteria for demolition/redevelopment. Our neighborhood has a large number of vacant houses including: 18 Plymouth Ave., 43 Plymouth Ave., 49 Plymouth Ave., 32 St. John's Pl., 294 Hudson St., 315 Hudson St., 364 Hudson St., 370 Hudson St., 50-52 Normal Ave., 333 Pennsylvania St. and 20 Orton Place. This committee represents an important initiative to preserve significant housing stock that cannot be replaced. It's important that these houses, if resold, go to resident or non-resident owners that care about the quality of life in our neighborhood. Vacant houses in themselves are a danger as they harbor rodents and may become havens of criminal activity.
A survey was sent to the property owners and residents of St. John's Place and Orton Place soliciting opinions about the future of 20 Orton Place. The survey and results are attached. As can be observed, the overwhelming majority who returned the surveys are of the opinion that the property should be demolished and a garden developed. One idea that came up was a question as to whether a few parking spaces (3 or 4) could be incorporated into the design.
Bob Sienkiewicz from the Mayor's task force stated that we cannot create a community garden without permission from the owner, Judy Aquino. To accomplish that, I have sent out a letter asking her permission. Mr. Sienkiewicz stated that the lot, once vacant, will probably come up through the city's tax foreclosure sale at the end of October. As a community we may wish to purchase the lot for a nominal amount to assure control over its future. The owner of 20 Orton, Judy Aquino, has already submitted written consent to the city giving permission to demolish the house. Fortunately, the city has funding to accomplish the demolition, as it will cost approximately $8,000 to wreck it. The house is in the next round of homes to be demolished and should vanish within the next few weeks.
Mr. Milton Zeckhauser, of Grassroots Gardens , has agreed to meet with this group as soon as the property is demolished to lend technical assistance. Mr. Zeckhauser has been involved in several successful garden conversions, including the one on 11 Helen St. that is featured in the August 23, 1999 edition of Business First. We are privileged to have someone of his experience involved in this plan.
I have also completed the documentation/history of the house for archival purposes. Several good photographs of the house exist; one from 1890, another from the mid-1930s, and one from 1979. They contrast tremendously with the home's current appearance. One idea that has been presented is that we may be able to produce a good photograph or drawing mounted on a sign in the garden to give a visual depiction of the property's former use and appearance. I have not taken physical dimensions of the property, as I will require assistance with tape measures, etc. If someone is interested in helping me with this in the near (very near) future, please contact me.
Like the gardeners in the Business First article, Orton Place residents will bemoan the loss of another house, but in reality, the house was lost long ago. Demolition is anti-climatic. What won't be missed is the knowledge that the gardens, unlike the foreboding house, will never again harbor vice crimes. A review of Buffalo Police Dept. public records from the period of 1996-1997 reveals that the south end of Orton Place was a den for demon-like behaviors. As the properties were emptied and evil had lost its grip on the collection of houses, the vice went away. It was that simple - and no one that I've talked to welcome its return. The garden that will be created shall serve as a symbol of regeneration, rebirth and renewal for the community.
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A small lot such as 20 Orton Pl. (27 feet wide) is ideal for a community garden if the house on it is demolished. A community garden is a microcosm of community. Typically, a community garden is where a group of people garden together, each maintaining an individual or family plot, while dividing responsibility for maintenance of common areas including planting and weeding flower beds, cleaning paths, or filling water barrels. Community gardens range in size from those that occupy a single lot to gardens that take up an entire city block. They may be tended by one or two individuals or accommodate fifty or more gardeners.
Community gardens are usually bounded by an inexpensive fence and the common areas include paths, a water source, a compost pile, and perhaps a flower bed within the interior of the garden or along the exterior fence. They may also include a bulletin board, meeting place, a cold-frame, or a greenhouse. Community gardens often include hand-crafted signs, gates, borders, planters, trellises, arbors, and benches. Community gardens evolve over time. They may look rather simple after the initial construction, but as individual gardeners contribute their own ideas and constructions, the garden takes on its own identity.
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| Address | 20 Orton Place, Buffalo NY 14201 |
| Building Style | Queen Anne |
| Construction | Frame |
| Original Exterior | Wooden Clapboard |
| Final Exterior | Composition Siding |
| Original Owner | M. E. Anderson |
| Year Built | 1887 |
| Demolished | 1999 |
Photo of Orton Place, circa 1890. 16 on left and 20 right.
One of the last homes to be built on Orton Place because the lot is the most narrow of any on the street. It is only 27 feet wide and 127.5 feet deep. The first owners of this home were Manton E. and Mary A. Anderson. Tellico Johnson, of 22 Orton Place built 20 Orton Place for the Anderson's. On August 25, 1886, Fannie A. Gies purchased the property from Kittie J. Boughton. On May 17, 1887 Johnson purchased the undeveloped lot from Fannie A. Gies for $2,700. Next, on May 23, 1887, Johnson received permission from the city to erect a "frame dwelling 20 X 57 and two stories, west side Orton Place about 163 feet northerly from Hudson St." In October of that year, the Anderson's purchased the completed home from Johnson for the sum of $7,500.
Manton E. Anderson was a medical doctor and in 1888 had W. Elmendorf as a student in his home. Elmendorf later became a medical doctor. Anderson's obituary stated: "The funeral of Manton O. Anderson, M. D. who died at his home, No. 55 Granger place on Friday was held from Saint John's Episcopal church, Colonial circle, yesterday, the Rev. Walter Russell Lord, officiating, assisted by the Rev. Henry Mesier, both old friends. The bearers, business associates, were Dr. Pliny H. Hayes, Dr. George S. Hobbie, Dr. Albert J. Hobbies, Ernest B. Walker, John G. Monk and William C. Achilles. The burial was in Forest Lawn cemetery."
20 Orton is visible on left in this photo from 1935.
"Dr. Anderson was born in the little town of Wilkinsonville, Mass., on December 31st, 78 years ago. When the Civil war broke out he was but a youngster and four times during the first year he tried to enlist, but was rejected because of his age. During the last year, at the age of seventeen, he was accepted in the First Massachusetts light artillery. He was the only one of his company destined to return. In the attack on Fort Monroe he was captured by the enemy and for nine months languished in prison, first at Andersonville and later at Florence. He returned home almost a physical wreck, weighing 61 pounds in his army coat. His father carried him from the station to his home in his arms. A few years later he moved to Binghamton and in 1872 married Mary Antoinette Ogden. He studied medicine at the New York Medical college, class of ‘80. Dr. Anderson went to Sayre, Pa., to take charge of the Lehigh Valley railroad medical forces, that city being the company terminal at that time. He remained there for six years when the terminal was transferred to Buffalo."
"In 1885 Dr. Anderson became associated with Dr. P. Harold Hayes in the practice of medicine. He was active in his chosen profession up to April of last year, with offices at No. 600 Delaware avenue. He had undergone two previous severe operations. The one in April was more than his constitution, weakened by age, and handicapped as the result of his terrible war experience, could stand and he lingered until death relieved him of his sufferings on Friday."
"Dr. Anderson was very popular and his jovial disposition endeared him to all who knew him. He was a gentleman of the old school, kind and considerate among his patients and employees. His interest in the Y.M.C.A. began at an early age and continued throughout his life, being a member in good standing at all times. He was a former vestryman of Saint John's church and a member of several clubs."
"Surviving him are his widow, Mary Antoinette Anderson and two daughters, Katherine MacNaughton of this city and Mrs. Helen A. Cobb of Seattle, Wash., wife of Lorenso M. Cobb, formerly of Buffalo."
According to a 1900 census, Manton Anderson was born in December, 1849 and Mary, his wife, was born in July, 1848. Helen O., his daughter was born in June, 1878. The Anderson family must have enjoyed their Orton Place home a great deal; Manton and his wife Mary lived there over 30 years.
The house was a 2 ½ story Queen Anne style frame house with a gable roof. The front gable was pedimented with a reel molding, and had paired windows with a round arched window. The gable was further enhanced with a fan and scroll carving, then finished with shingles to give a fancy and varied appearance. The second floor had a stained glass window, and lattice work cut-out pattern in a corner scroll bracket. In addition, the second floor had an enclosed sleeping porch, which was so popular during the 1880s. The front porch on the first floor had carved posts and a paneled balustrade. The front entrance was enclosed in wainscoted vestibule. One the north side of the house, a bay was finished with a full pedimented gable roof. An oval window on the south side was installed in the entrance, and was probably originally filled with stained glass.
Image of 20 Orton Place from 1979.
The house remained true to its original appearance until the 1980s. Most of the original interior details were removed during a remodeling project from the 1950s. In the 1980s the exterior was greatly modified for the worse, as the house's original clapboard siding was sided with composition siding and the front porch was enclosed and shingled. The second story sleeping porch was enclosed as well, obscuring much of the home's original detail. In the mid-1990s, the house was abandoned and deteriorated rapidly. Due to improper winterization and the severe winter climate in Western New York, one or two seasons took its toll on the structure.
There is a house with similar architectural styling details to this one at 794 Prospect Ave. Because of the significant deterioration of this home, it was scheduled for demolition during the summer of 1999. A community garden is planned to replace the structure.
Sources
Buffalo City Directory, 1865-1900.
Buffalo City Atlases, 1854, 1866, 1872, 1884, 1891, 1894.
Erie County Clerk, Deeds:
Liber 521, p. 470, August 25, 1886. Kittie J. Boughton to Fannie A. Gies
Liber 521, p. 471, May 17, 1887. Fannie A. Gies to T. Johnson.
Liber 532, p. 446, October 26, 1887. Johnson to Manton E. and Mary A. Anderson.
Map of 20 Orton Place.
Written and researched by Christopher N. Brown, 34 Orton Place, Buffalo NY 14201. August 25, 1999.