{"nrhp_refnum":"12000367","name":"First Presbyterian Manse","other_names":["Porter, Lavina E., House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"162 Buffalo Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Niagara Falls","county":"Niagara County","state":"NY","lat":43.08514276300008,"lon":-79.05974135399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-06-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Italianate brick house covered in stucco at 162 Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls, New York, built around 1849-1851 for Lavinia E. Porter and used as the First Presbyterian Church's manse.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a rare, well-preserved early Italianate residence in one of the oldest parts of Niagara Falls, where most surroundings are now twentieth-century hotels and commercial buildings. It is also one of the few surviving buildings tied to the influential Porter family, whose patriarch Judge Augustus Porter shaped the settlement of the Niagara Frontier.","narrative":"Built around 1849-1851, this two-story Italianate house at 162 Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls has a square plan, stucco-covered brick walls, a low-pitched roof with wide bracketed eaves, and a full-height projecting entrance. Lavinia E. Porter, daughter of Judge Augustus Porter, had it built but probably never lived in it. She let the First Presbyterian Church use it rent-free as a parsonage, and she left it to the church in her will in 1863. Repairs in 1927 and around 1930-1931 brought a faux fireplace, new floors, bathrooms and a combined east parlor, yet much original fabric survives, including the central hall, staircase and second-floor rooms. The church sold the house in 1963. It is considered significant as a rare early Italianate residence in an area now dominated by hotels and tourist businesses, and as one of the few remaining buildings connected to the Porter family. No architect or builder has been identified.","period_of_significance":"Ca. 1851-1931","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Sold by the church to a private owner in 1963; still used as a residence, and the form says very little has changed since 1931 apart from a 1940s garage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.571348-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/12000367.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000367/155c699a37-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000367/155c699a37-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Presbyterian_Manse_Niagara_Falls_NY_Jul_12.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Presbyterian_Manse_Niagara_Falls_NY_Jul_12.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320098","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Presbyterian_Manse_(Niagara_Falls,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453719"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/niagara-county/first-presbyterian-manse-12000367/"}