{"nrhp_refnum":"07001203","name":"Howell, Edgar W., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"52 Lexington Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buffalo","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.91292403700004,"lon":-78.87215636799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-11-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story wood-frame single-family house at 52 Lexington Avenue in northern Buffalo, Erie County, New York, built about 1889 by Edgar W. Howell.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an outstanding, intact example of Free Classic eclectic domestic architecture in Buffalo, with a high level of period integrity inside and out. Its setting on Lexington Avenue, one of the best preserved late 19th and early 20th-century streetscapes in the city, adds to its significance. It also illustrates the upper-middle-class homes built on side streets near Delaware Avenue.","narrative":"Built around 1889 at 52 Lexington Avenue in Buffalo, this two-and-one-half-story wood-frame house was erected by Edgar W. Howell, a member of John Howell's Sons, a firm that bottled soda and mineral waters. It sits a few doors west of Delaware Avenue, once one of the country's most prestigious addresses, on a tree-lined street of detached middle-class homes. The clapboard house has a stone foundation, a tall pyramidal hipped roof, a Colonial Revival porch with Doric piers, and a polygonal bay capped by a broken-pedimented gable. Inside, the open staircase, original oak floors and woodwork survive, and the attic rooms once housed servants. No architect has been identified, though the design resembles late 19th-century pattern-book houses. It was listed for its architecture, as an intact example of the conservative, classically influenced Free Classic eclectic style, and for its place in a well-preserved streetscape that reflects Buffalo's northward residential growth after the Civil War.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1889-1957","architect_builder":"Architect not yet identified; erected by Edgar W. Howell","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Free Classic-Eclectic style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a single-family dwelling; the interior retains original oak floors, woodwork and the main staircase, and a garage was added in 1957.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.697145-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/07001203.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001203/676d4d4473-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001203/676d4d4473-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edgar_W._Howell_House,_Buffalo,_New_York,_December_2009.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edgar_W._Howell_House,_Buffalo,_New_York,_December_2009.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"82005029","name":"Delaware Park-Front Park System","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/delaware-park-front-park-system-82005029/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317637","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_W._Howell_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5337510"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/howell-edgar-w-house-07001203/"}