In 1887, it was written in the Real Estate and Builder's Monthly that "among the new short streets of the city, St. John's Place, running out of Wadsworth near the Circle is decidedly one of the prettiest." The KCA thinks that it is still a pretty street.
51 St. John's Place on the corner of Orton Place was built in 1887 and when it was being marketed in 1891, it was advertised that "four lines of street-cars [were] within one square. The house is in one of the most convenient locations, and on one of the handsomest and most desirable residential streets in Buffalo." Someone must continue to think that the houses on St. John's Place are handsome: for recently, 51 St. John's Place became a vandalism and burglary victim. Three of the tapered columns that support the front verandah were stolen from the building during the night in December, 1998. In January 1999, the thief came back and stole two more; five in total had been taken from this house. Undaunted, the owner of the property, who lived there for several decades, restored the missing columns.
47 St. John's Place was built in 1888 for William S. Tweedy and designed by architect Charles R. Percival. Tweedy came from an old Buffalo merchant family who were wholesale dealers in hats, caps, furs, etc. with a store at 217 Main Street. The business was started by his father, William Tweedy about 1828. Today the Tweedy home is lovingly maintained by its current owner, Broady Richardson who has painted the home in recent years.
39 St. John's Place was an extremely large Queen Anne home that was a victim of demolition by neglect. At one time it had a large brick carriage house and the front house had a porte corche. After being used for as much income as the house could produce without reinvesting the profits back into the property, the house was a candidate for demolition in no time. It came down in August of 1997. Because the lot is so large (approximately 50 feet by 153 feet), it is a good candidate for an appropriate Victorian style infill house.
33 St. John's Place is a lovely Queen Anne Victorian house built in the late 1880s for Mr. and Mrs. Edgar O. Cheney. Mrs. Cheney was a descendent of a Revolutionary War patriot and their son, Nelson became a New York State Assemblyman. In recent times the house had fallen on hard times and became part of an estate. The owners of the home next door at 29 St. John's Place - Pat and Mike Heaverlo - decided to purchase the house and restore it.
Across the street at 32 St. John's Place the large dwelling, formerly a rooming house, was victim to a firebomb cocktail in April, 1998. The house has been vacant since that time and is in great danger of being demolished. It is owned by the city of Buffalo. The Preservation Coalition of Erie County has partnered with the KCA to try to market the property to an audience willing to preserve and restore the property through their web site. The city of Buffalo is willing to sell the property for $1 to any individual willing to restore it. One prospective owner who saw the property and was interested in purchasing it said: "I saw 32 St. John's Place today. Wow. What a sad disaster. I have money to put into a house, but I see $100,000 easy in that house. No way. At least not for me. The guys from the city that showed us the house said the city should make it a rehab project. Not a bad idea." The likelihood of the house being demolished is very high.
At 29 St. John's Place, Pat and Mike Heaverlo are the anchors of St. John's Place. Not only have they restored their lovely Queen Anne home, but they are actively concerned about the welfare of their neighbors that share the street with them. Pat chose the pleasing green color scheme that has been recently applied to the house. In 2001, Pat and Mike continued to show their commitment to the community by opening a coffee shop called "Morning Glory" at the intersection of Porter and West Avenues. The Heaverlo's finely detailed Stick-style house is distinguished by an extended asymmetrical gable overhanging the angular brackets of the porch.
25 St. John's Place is notable because of its Stick-style design and original verandah. It received a fresh coat of paint in 1998 on two sides of the house.
20 St. John's Place also received its exuberant pink/purple paint job in 1998 and 1999.
Painting was the theme on St. John's this year as 18 St. John's also received its beautiful paint treatment in 1998. The paint job brings out the intricate details of the Victorian dwelling. 17 St. John's Place was the first home to be built on the street. It was constructed in 1884 for Donald Bain and designed by architect George Metzger. The home sold in 2001 to a resident who rented the property for the last several years.
On a street of homes all built in the Queen Anne style, 13 St. John's Place, one of the first houses to be constructed on St. John's Place in 1885, is distinguished because of its unique mansard style roof line.
At number 12 St. John's Placestands a truly remarkable Queen Anne style home. It was restored by its owners, Margaret and Dan Gaughan and the restoration is notable for the exacting work that was performed to restore the home's pebbledash treatment in the gable and the brick verandah. When it was completely rebuilt a few years ago, each brick was individually numbered for reassembly. The home at 8 St. John's Place is a near twin to 12 St. John's Place. Unfortunately, it was ravaged by fire in January, 1997, although it is in the process of being restored.
The house at number 5 St. John's Place was sold in May, 1999 to a family who are pleased to be part of the community. The home's former owner, Pat Kellogg, made sure that the lovely Queen Anne style home was featured in 1998's Allentown Tour of Homes, also known as Secrets of Allentown.
The brick house at 3 St. John's Place at the corner of Wadsworth Street was most recently a rooming house, but in 1888 it was an elegant home built for Dr. Hubbard A. Foster and designed by architect Henry H. Little, who designed many fine Buffalo mansions. The house sold recently and is in the process of being renovated. A new roof was installed in 2001 and a fire escape which obscured many of the home's details was removed.
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