REMEMBERING YESTERYEAR: Diminutive home has a great deal of charm

September 24, 2007 02:03 pm

— Louisa Parkway was laid out around 1924 through a tract of land owned by James Sweeney Thompson, in order to facilitate development. He is said to have stated that he named it for his deceased sister. The Parkway was part of what was originally a large wooded tract known as Sweeney’s Grove or Sweeney’s Park. James Sweeney Thompson lived in Buffalo but had a real estate office in the Sweeney Building, corner of Webster and Sweeney streets. Thompson was the grandson of James Sweeney, one of the earliest landowners in what is now North Tonawanda.
This dainty home was built circa 1938. Although diminutive, it nevertheless has a great deal of charm and character, and shows that gifted designers and craftsmen can give even a small building a high degree of elegance.
Colonial Revival in style, this is a side gable design that presents a three-bay facade to the street. The sheathing of the first floor is clapboard, and the frieze and gable ends are now clad in vinyl siding. Wood windows with eight-over-sash are an important element of the original design, and help make a strong connection to the Colonial past. The entry door is framed by fluted Tuscan pilasters topped by an entablature of six triglyphs.
The doorway opens to reveal a tiny entrance vestibule and narrow staircase rising straight up, its lower treads angled inward to allow space for the door swing. A step down to the right brings one into the surprisingly spacious living room, where nearly all the surfaces are covered in beautiful stained wood. The floor is of oak planks ranging from four to six inches in width, fastened with wooden pegs, the walls have full height tongue and groove paneling, and large cross beams support the wood ceiling. The highlight of the space is a convex curving wall with a pointed arch stone fireplace, built in the same convex curve, and adjacent built-in bookcase.
A wide opening leads to the small dining room, treated with the same materials as the living room. Although the small adjacent kitchen has been modernized, the rest of the first floor retains its historic integrity. Upstairs are two bedrooms and a bathroom.
This fine home was built by Lawrence J. Benson, the proprietor of Benson’s a coal business located on Goundry Street and Vandervoort. The business provided coal from a railroad trestle on Goundry Street, near the Post Office. It operated from the former Meyer Coal facilities.
A bachelor and a native of Buffalo, Benson received his degree in agriculture from Cornell in 1914, and he then served in the Army Air Corps during World War I. After coming to North Tonawanda in the early 1920s, he became proprietor of the fuel business at 165 Goundry Street, where he also lived before building this house.
It was here in his new home that Benson met a tragic end in 1949, at the age of 59. He had just returned from a vacation in Wyoming and he was splicing home movies at a table in the basement when he was asphyxiated by carbon monoxide leaking from a chimney. He was discovered by a friend, who immediately summoned help. Unfortunately, it was assumed that Benson had suffered a heart attack, and no one suspected the colorless gas until others began collapsing at the scene.
Five others were overcome, and Capt. Arthur M. Belein, a 25-year veteran of the North Tonawanda Police Department, became the second victim of the tragedy. It was the morning of his 58th birthday.
According to the Tonawanda News, “Neighbors on Louisa Parkway were stunned by the day of the tragedy. Police cars, Fire Department vehicles and doctors’ automobiles were parked helter-skelter all over, on the street, sidewalks and lawns. At one time, the two dead men were lying on the lawn and three of the four victims of the gas who were revived. It was a ghastly scene as firemen and policemen aided doctors in trying to administer to them.”
After the tragedy, the residence became home to Benson’s niece Mildred and her husband Kensett D. Whitcomb, who also took over as proprietor of Benson’s. The business name was changed to Whitco.
A 1942 graduate of Bennett High School, Whitcomb served during World War II, and received a degree from the University of Buffalo in 1950; he later taught at Tonawanda Junior High School. The Whitcombs had plans made to expand the house during the 1950s but moved to a new home instead, after a stay of about six years.
The house was then occupied by attorney Cameron L. Linderman and his wife Mary. A graduate of the University of Buffalo Law School, Cameron had served as North Tonawanda city attorney from 1948 to 1953. Mary continued to live here after her husband’s death in 1975.
This home was a participating home in the 2007 Historic Treasures Tour. Architectural and historical description by Martin Wachadlo, architectural historian.
“Remembering Yesteryear” is produced under the auspices of the North Tonawanda History Museum. We invite individuals with stories or news of local history to tell to e-mail nthistorymuseum@aol.com or call 213-0554.

Photos

Contributed photo HISTORIC HOMES: Louisa Parkway dates back to 1924 and was originally owned by a real estate agent from one of North Tonawanda’s oldest families. This home was the scene of a tragic accident in 1949, when five people died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a leaky chimney.