Bruce--Briggs Brick Block
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 53.966 W 078° 40.020
17T E 690473 N 4752286
This rare rowhouse is located in the Village of Lancaster, New York.
Waymark Code: WM15CE
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 01/20/2007
Views: 16
The Bruce-Briggs Brick Block is significant as a locally significant and distinctive example of a mid-19th century rowhouse, unique in Western New York, which incorporates both Greek Revival and Italitante style decorative details. It was built circa 1855 is and associated with the first decade of growth of the Village of Lancaster.
The rowhouses were built for George Bruce, president of Merchants Bank. Bruce was one of the early settlers of Lancaster and was a leading citizen during the first quarter century of the existance of the Village. He was one of the first three trustees of the Presbyterian Church of Cayuga Creek (today the Lancaster Presbyterian Church), and is shown by public records to have been a major landholder in the area. In 1852, he paid $850 for this land and built the rowhouses shortly thereafter. Bruce eventually moved to Michigan and sold the property to Ebenezer Briggs in 1867.
Briggs retained ownership for a little more than a decade when the house was sold after Briggs' death in 1877. The rowhouse was partitioned in the first time in 1878.
Rowhouses were uncommon in Erie County, and less common in rural areas like Lancaster. The Bruce-Briggs Brick Block was one of two in the Village. The other, known as Dykstra Row, was located at 5466 Broadway. It burned in 1970 and was replaced by the Lancaster Public Library.
Street address:
5481-5483-5485 Broadway
Lancaster, NY United States
14086
County / Borough / Parish: Erie
Year listed: 1999
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Historic function: Domestic: Single Dwelling
Current function: Domestic: Single Dwelling
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 1: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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