{"nrhp_refnum":"99001409","name":"Bruce-Briggs Brick Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5481-5483-5485 Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lancaster","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.89919854100003,"lon":-78.66686120099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-11-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story, three-unit brick rowhouse at 5481-5483-5485 Broadway in the Village of Lancaster, Erie County, New York, built c. 1855 for George Bruce.","why_significant":"It is an intact, locally significant and distinctive example of mid-19th-century rowhouse design that combines Greek Revival and Italianate details. Rowhouses were uncommon in Erie County and in rural settings like Lancaster, and this one is described as unique in the village. It also reflects the village's growth in the decade after its 1849 incorporation.","narrative":"Three identical brick rowhouse units stand at 5481-5483-5485 Broadway in Lancaster, a village about twelve miles east of Buffalo. Built around 1855 for George Bruce, president of the Merchants Bank and an early settler, the building rests on a stone foundation and has a laterally oriented gabled roof. Flat-topped windows with stone sills and lintels reflect Greek Revival design, while sandwich brackets under the eaves and recessed doorways with round-arched door sections reflect the Italianate style. Parapets rise between the units, and wood and brick wings extend at the rear. Rowhouses were never common in Erie County, and the Bruce-Briggs block is described as unique in the village; a similar four-unit row on Broadway burned in 1970. Ebenezer Briggs bought the property in 1867, and the lot was divided among separate owners in 1878, including physician George W. McPherson. The block retains its period character and design integrity, which supported its listing for architecture.","period_of_significance":"c. 1855-1949","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century/Greek Revival; Late Victorian/Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as housing: the westernmost unit has been converted for two-family occupancy and the other two remain single-family homes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.171775-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/99001409.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001409/076bfa607f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001409/076bfa607f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shinerunner (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bruce-Briggs_Brick_Block.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Shinerunner (talk)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bruce-Briggs_Brick_Block.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312733","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce-Briggs_Brick_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14706203"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/bruce-briggs-brick-block-99001409/"}