Oliver Culver House (East Avenue Historic District) - Rochester, NY
Posted by: 
sagefemme
N 43° 08.972 W 077° 34.098
18T E 291165 N 4780622
This building was orginally built in two parts in 1805 and 1816 on the corner of University Ave and Culver Rd. It was moved to this address (70 East Blvd) in 1906...
Waymark Code: WME6RQ
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 04/10/2012
Views: 3
from the submission:
"originally consisted of a small rear portion built in 1805 and a main portion that dates from 1816. The Federal style frame house was moved two blocks in 1906 to its present location, on property that had been a part of the original Culver estate. In the move, the small portion was destroyed. The building's entranceway is considered to be one of the best examples of post-colonial architecture in the Genesee Valley. This is the only structure in the district known to have moved."
The writeup does not define the Culver Estate any further.
As for the description of the building's entranceway, this website ( (
visit link) ) gives a little more detail: "Oliver Culver's house was built as a tavern (actual construction was in stages from 1805 to 1818) and is considered to be the 'best example of Post Colonial architecture in the Genesee Valley', with the entrance said to be one of the most successful designs in the American Colonies."
Paul Malo's 1975 book "Landmarks of Rochester and Monroe County: a Guide to Neighborhoods and Villages" says this on page 60 and 63 about the Oliver Culver Tavern:
"Built in 1816 on a nearby corner of East Avenue, it was moved here in 1906. The combination of public inn and private residence was not uncommon in the frontier period, when more developed hostelries were infrequently found. The type of side door seen here has become popularly known as a "funeral door," from the notion that a coffin might be moved into and out of a front parlor through such a door. Associated with homes that also serve as taverns, it functioned as a super ate entrance to a public room. Inside there is a ballroom extending the full width of the second floor across the front. This recalls the general form of the ballroom in the Phoenix Hotel, Pittsford. It has a coved ceiling, a pair of fireplaces, and a double-floor system designed to absorb the noise and prevent the cracking of plaster ceilings below on especially festive occasions. The architectural detail of the interior is very fine, as is the development of the exterior cornice and singular entrance porch. The property has been beautifully maintained and decorTed by Miss Elizabeth Holahan, who is widely known as an authority on the restoration of period interiors. One of the parties has been portrYed in "One Hundred Most Beautiful Rooms in America" (Helen Comstock, Viking Press, 1958)."
The Pheonix Hotel mentioned above is also waymarked: (
visit link)