Former Convent & Retirement Home near Buffalo NY

St. Mary of the Angels Motherhouse Complex, Williamsville New York

Date added: December 26, 2024

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The St. Mary of the Angels Motherhouse Complex was built in 1928 as an expansion of the Amherst headquarters of the Sisters of St. Francis, the main building was designed explicitly for a religious community, functioning as a combined convent, motherhouse, teaching facility, and home for the poor and elderly. The Collegiate Gothic style institutional building complex was designed by Dietel and Wade, a Buffalo architectural firm well known for Buffalo City Hall and other prominent early 20^th Century civic and religious structures. The Motherhouse Complex continued to serve most of its original functions from the time of construction through 1998, and in its plan, design, materials and architectural embellishment, the complex illustrates the functioning of a self-sufficient early 20^th century religious social service institution and its various components; the main building, gatehouse, boiler house, garages, and landscape features. The historical significance of the complex lies in its association with the social service policies initiated by Bishop Timon, Bishop of Buffalo in the mid-19^th Century, with a particular focus on caring for the poor, the sick and the elderly. This mission was central to the establishment of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Third Order Regular of Buffalo in 1861; the Sisters gradually expanded their operations in Buffalo until 1901, when they assumed ownership of a nearly 100 acre parcel in Amherst and opened the Holy Family Home for the Aged. The 1928 complex expresses the growing attention which the Catholic Church devoted at this time to care for the poor and infirm, and especially the elderly.

The American branch of the Sisters of St. Francis was established in 1855 in Philadelphia, when the Rev. John N. Neumann, (now St. John Neumann), a native of Williamsville and at the time Bishop of Philadelphia, received three German immigrants into the Third Order of St. Francis. The purpose of the order was to care for the poor, the sick, the orphans and the homeless. The Sisters conducted their work and maintained a home near St. Mary's Church on Pine Street, Buffalo, until 1901, when they were able to accept donation of a 100-acre farm in the Town of Amherst, given on the condition that they construct a home for the aged on the property. The donation was made by William Blocher, a wealthy Buffalo shoe manufacturer who had assembled extensive property in the Williamsville area in the 1880's and 1890's. Located roughly 10 miles northeast of Buffalo, Williamsville was a growing and prosperous suburban village within the Town of Amherst.

The 100-acre parcel included a large farmhouse near the southern end of the property, off Reist Street. Utilizing and adding to the existing farmhouse, five Sisters opened their Holy Family Home for 50 aged men and women in 1902. This facility served one thousand elderly residents through 1937, with those who could afford to paying $3.00 per week. The Sisters built a Chapel, bought the adjacent Kuhn farm, and built or relocated several farm and residential buildings to create an active living and farming complex, with farm products used to support the aged residents and the residents of the Sisters' Motherhouse in Buffalo. Improvements between 1902 and 1922 included new barns and sheds, repeated enlargement of the residence, telephone and electrical service, public water, and a bridge across Ellicott Creek. After coming under increasing pressure to upgrade the wood-frame and combustible residential facilities during the 1920's, the Sisters opted to replace the complex with the new Motherhouse and residence, completed in 1928. The farm complex continued to operate at the south end of the property, but all residents were relocated from the Holy Family Home for the Aged by 1937 and the original residential complex was demolished in the late 1930's. In 1939 the Gethsemane Cemetery for Sisters was dedicated near the chapel on the southern portion of the site.

The 1928 complex was constructed at the northwestern end of the property to address the growing need for housing for the Sisters, their novitiates and the aged population they served. The Convent and Motherhouse Building of 1928 represents an expansion of the religious and social service function of the Sisters, with the construction taking place on the high ground in the northern part of the Blocher parcel. Work began in the fall of 1926, and the facility opened in October 1928, with a construction cost of approximately $750,000. The community at the time consisted of 408 professed sisters, 21 novices and 5 postulants. The Convent housed the retired sisters, the main offices of the order, the novitiate or training facilities for new sisters, and the sisters whose parishes did not provide a local convent facility; in addition one wing was designed as a residence for the aged, to accommodate the residents of three congested facilities, the Holy Family Home for the Aged, St. Francis Asylum on Pine Street, Buffalo, and St. Francis Home in Gardenville.

The work of the sisters was in teaching the mission of the order to novitiates, care of the poor and elderly, and perpetual prayer. The sisters also worked the land to provide food for their use and for the needy. The farming function of the Holy Family Home, including production of food for the use of the residents and for the downtown Pine Street facility, was continued out of the Convent; the remaining orchard trees reflect this element of the operations. During its most active period of time, the Motherhouse provided a home for 200-250 sisters as well as up to 100 of the elderly and infirm.

Residents included the Mother Superior and the sisters, retired sisters, novices (young women studying to become sisters), and sisters teaching in nearby schools with no convent. Community functions held at the Motherhouse included regional meetings of the order, classrooms and faculty offices for St. Clare Junior College for young women, annual Fireman's Festivals, plays, and a public midnight Mass at Christmas.

A pre-1956 aerial photograph of the Motherhouse shows its prominent position on a rise overlooking a wide undeveloped area. A circular drive surrounds the building, and radial walkways lead outward into the grounds to various contemplative destinations, the wide orchard down a long set of stone steps, the arbor, the gazebo, the stone grotto, and the memorial garden, many of which were graced with statuary. While the statuary has been removed, the grounds and garden structures remain intact and the property retains the feeling of a complex devoted to study, contemplation, and religious service.

At various times the Sisters of St. Francis subdivided and sold off parcels from their original holdings. In 1956 a parcel at the south end, partially within the Village limits, was split off for the construction of St. Francis Home, a health-related home for the elderly. In 1963-64 a parcel of 8.5 acres adjacent to the convent on the north was created for construction of a new Holy Family Home for the well-aging; at this time a new bridge was built over Ellicott Creek to accommodate travel between the St. Francis Home and the Holy Family Home. In the mid-1990's, with a reduction in the number of sisters living at the 1928 Motherhouse/Convent, the Sisters built a new Convent on a 13.5 acre parcel at the south end of the site, adjacent to the St. Francis Home, and moved out of the 1928 Motherhouse. Their remaining holdings, totaling about 85 acres and including the 1928 convent and outbuildings, were transferred in 1998 to New York State and the Town Amherst for public park use.

The Motherhouse Complex is a classic example of early twentieth-century institutional architecture in the late Gothic Revival (or Collegiate Gothic) style. Renewed interest in the Gothic style was generated in the early twentieth century by architects Bertram Goodhue and Ralph Adams Cram. The reconstruction of the United States Military Academy at West Point in the Gothic style paved the way for use of the style on academic and institutional buildings, and it was enthusiastically employed in religious sites such as Holy Cross Monastery, designed by Henry C. Vaughan and Ralph Adams Cram over the period 1902-1921. The style remained popular up until the mid-twentieth century. Distinguishing characteristics of the style employed at St. Mary of the Angels include the tower with buttresses, the small spire above the tower, the steeply pitched slate shingle roof with gabled dormers, the pointed arches at the tower, the chapel and the stone trim.

The Motherhouse was designed to combine many aspects of the institution under one roof including the chapel, dormitory rooms, classrooms, offices, kitchen and dining hall. Its double courtyard plan is a variation on the H plan employed in many of the seminary facilities built by the Roman Catholic Church in the first third of the 20^th Century, a substantial period of growth for the church and its missions throughout the industrial northeast. Motherhouse complexes at this time were less likely than seminaries to employ a symmetrical and formal model, as they frequently were built by expanding upon an existing facility (like the original Holy Family Home). Likewise, motherhouses generally did not exhibit the level and quality of architectural detail found at St. Mary of the Angels. Other than the recent window replacements and the 1951 alterations to enclose and reduce the height of the main bell tower, originally 88 feet, the Motherhouse has changed little since it was built in 1928.

The complex is an outstanding example of the work of the Buffalo architecture firm of Dietel and Wade. This firm's most celebrated work is Buffalo City Hall (1929-1931), one of this country's most impressive Art Deco style public building. George Dietel (1876-1974), and John J. Wade (1893-1990), formed the firm in 1926. Dietel and Wade also designed St. Francis de Sales Church on Humbolt Parkway and the Queen of Peace Church on Genesee Street in Buffalo. The period when the Motherhouse complex was in construction was an important one in the career of John Wade. Appointed in 1926 to play a consulting role to the City Architect, Howard L. Beck, in the design of Buffalo City Hall, Wade was at the center of a lively public discussion on a series of alternative designs for the massive structure. Early schemes, including Wade's first proposal, described a tall office tower with lower wings, enhanced by classical vocabulary. Wade eventually prevailed with a second scheme which abandoned the classical exterior treatment in favor of the Art Deco vocabulary of the emerging New York skyscraper style. The fact that Wade could produce designs for the Gothic Revival Motherhouse complex and the Art Deco Buffalo City Hall within a period of a few years is a testament to his stylistic versatility and to the shift in the public's architectural taste during that period.

The park-like setting with its notable landscape features, the four utility buildings to the north of the convent, the gatehouse, the remaining garden structures (gazebo, arbor, stone grotto and pump house) as well as the remaining fruit trees in the large orchard to the south of the convent, all contribute to a unique parcel.

Site Description

The St. Mary of the Angels/Sisters of St. Francis Motherhouse Complex is a campus of a main building and several outbuildings and related landscape structures which were developed around 1928 on the northern portion of the Sisters' Amherst property, to serve as the headquarters for their religious community. The main building, also known as the convent, is a four story massive rectangular block built around two courtyards. It has exterior walls of buff-colored brick, stone trim at entrances, windows and watertable, a slate roof, and a prominent five-story central tower at the main (south) facade. The convent is located on a rise overlooking an orchard and a wide curve in Ellicott Creek. There are several outbuildings to the north and west of the convent, including a boiler house, three garages and a gatehouse. Other site features include the circular drive surrounding the convent and a set of radial walkways leading to various places of contemplation, the arbor, the gazebo, the stone grotto, and the stone steps leading to the orchard.

The complex is located in the Town of Amherst, northeast of the City of Buffalo, just north of the Village of Williamsville. The surrounding neighborhood is largely residential. Portions of the original Sisters property which have been subdivided and developed to other uses include the 1963-64 contemporary style Holy Family Home immediately north of the Motherhouse, the 1956 St. Francis Home, a health-related facility for the aged on the southern end of the property, and the 1998 Motherhouse and Convent, which replaced the 1928 structure as the headquarters of the order, also at the south end of the property. An open area of State park lands occupies the remaining southern section of the original property, including both sides of Ellicott Creek. The Park County Club borders the property on the east across Ellicott Creek.

The convent is located on a rise of the Onondaga Escarpment. Access to the convent is past a gatehouse and down long tree-lined driveway off Mill Street. A circular drive is located south of the Motherhouse. Further south is a hillside which is planted with mature pine trees. A flight of stone steps leads to the orchard and the Amherst State Park area to the south of the Motherhouse grounds. The orchard was a feature of the farm operations at the Motherhouse complex when it opened in 1928, and it was clearly still present at the time of a 1951 aerial photograph. Scattered aging fruit trees remain in this wide meadow area. A dirt road provides access across the flats to a small bridge spanning Ellicott Creek.

A small meditation garden area is located in the southwestern corner of the property. The existing asphalt sidewalk leads to this area which is enclosed by a circle of yews. A stone pedestal suggests a statue was once located at this location.

The Motherhouse has a modular plan consisting of north, south, east and west wings. A central block with dining room on the first floor and chapel on the second floor divides the building in half with courtyards to the east and west. Stairs are logically located at each corner of the building, in the main lobby and also on the east and west sides of the central block.

The building is designed in a rectangular plan with two exterior courtyards. The building appears as a three-story structure with developed attic areas featuring dormers and raised walls at the fourth floor. The construction of the building includes brick and stone masonry with masonry buttresses and stone sills. Exterior walls are approximately 21 inches thick. The roofing over much of the building is natural slate. Gutters and downspouts are of copper. The structural system includes steel columns within rooms and corridor spaces. Floor construction is made of fireproof concrete.

The architect has broken the long expanse of the main (south) facade by dividing it into distinct projecting or receding sections. The focal point of the facade is the tower with entrance pavilion that projects forward slightly with long expanses of wall on either side. While the fenestration pattern is regular of the facade, there are subtle variations between the sections of the facade to the east of the tower vs the section to the west. These variations help to enliven the facade. The east end of the facade has two small dormer sections, which rise up to the fourth story. Each of these is comprised of two front-gabled dormers with single windows flanking a shed roof dormer featuring a band of four windows. The front-gabled block at the far east end of the south facade projects forward. A secondary entrance to the building is located here.

The western end of the south facade features one large wall dormer with front-gabled dormers at each end and a shed roof in between. The windows in this upper story are accentuated by stone trim. The secondary entrance at this part of the facade is stepped forward slightly and has a pointed arch opening with a stone surround. Near the west end, the facade projects forward and has three front-gabled forms. Of special note here is the stonework at the windows, which is comprised of stone mullions, panels and quoin-like trim. The far west end of the facade is stepped back slightly and has pairs of windows with stone trim at the second and third stories.

The five-story central tower features contrasting stone and brickwork at the entrance pavilion, buttresses and at the recessed pointed arch niche on the upper stories. The gray color of the stone contrasts with the buff color of the brick. The recessed pointed arch entrance is notable for the stone moldings and the decorative stone blocks in the archivolt. The pair of the paneled doors features strap hinges and small leaded glass lites. Above the doors, the pointed arch is filled with wood battens, leaded glass light and fanciful arabesque ironwork. The wall above the entrance arch features decorative stone blocks with angel heads. A stone statue of the Virgin Mary was originally located in the central niche with the name "St. Mary of the Angels" in gilded letters on either side; it was removed in 1998. The corner buttresses at the entrance pavilion are ornamented with cinquefoil, trefoil and other Gothic-inspired ornamental motifs in cast stone.

The upper story of the tower is divided into three bays with pairs of arched windows in each with stone surrounds. The parapet wall of the tower is crenellated. Projecting from the front southwest corner of the tower is a gargoyle. Rising above the southeast corner is a copper clad spirelet.

There are three main doors located on the south side of the building.

The main entrance has a pair of paneled wood doors with small glass lites with diagonal pattern. Two large black iron strap hinges support each door. A large" transom is panel is located above the entry doors. The transom has a gothic pointed arch head with a fixed lite with diamond patterned leaded glazed window and decorative wrought iron tracery.

The south facade west entrance leads to the auditorium. Letters cast in the stone above the entrance spell out "The Auditorium" in a gothic style font. A pair of wood doors with two long vertical glaze lites with arabesque arch and quatrefoil lites. The wood paneling and hexagonal style light above the door may have been a later addition.

The south facade east entrance door leads to stair number 4. The doors are similar to the ones at the west entrance. There is some highly work stone detail around the doors around the doors.

The west elevation faces towards Ellicott Creek. The projecting block and stacked porch structure at the southwest corner is constructed with some minor masonry detailing, featuring stone sills, masonry rustication and dentils near the roof; this porch structure appears to be a later addition.

The north elevation is located on the side of the building used for maintenance and service functions. The architectural elements featured in the building are reduced to reflect the change in use. The kitchen area has an awning at its west entrance. A four-story flat-roofed porch is located at the rear northeast corner of the building. This porch has angled corner buttresses with stone trim at the bases. Projecting from the center of the rear (north) elevation is the flat-roofed kitchen wing. The Gothic style chapel with its polygonal apse, pointed arch windows and steeply pitched slate roof is visible at the center of the rear elevation, above the kitchen wing.

The east elevation is located on a prominent side of the building, facing the main entrance driveway. The architectural detail on this side of the building is similar to the west elevation.

There are two exterior courtyard spaces within the building. They are similar in shape and scale. The walls around the space vary between three to four stories. Access to each courtyard is limited to two doors. The ground surface is primarily grass that has been overgrown by weeds in recent years. The facade areas within the two courtyard areas are devoid of architectural features. The stone horizontal band above the first floor window is still evident. Other windows are finished with brick soldier courses at head and brick rowlock sills. The original stained glass windows in the chapel area would have been visible from the courtyard spaces.

A three-story section located in the center of the building, between the two exterior courtyard spaces, features a dining room at the first level approximately 18" below the main entry level. The second level of the connecting wing is a two story high chapel with a choir loft and balcony. Basement areas are located under the kitchen and a portion of the east wing of the building.

In 1989-93 the original wood windows were removed and replaced with aluminum double hung windows. A metal cladding system was used between the brick masonry openings and the window frames.

The stained glass windows, which once adorned the chapel area, were removed when the Sisters of St. Francis relocated from the building in 1998. The windows were replaced with single pane glass in steel frames.

The main entrance opens into the first floor front vestibule, a two-story lobby, which features a flagstone floor, plaster walls and a beamed ceiling with decorative stenciling. Central corridors lead through each of the wings. Many of the rooms are of standard size depending upon their function. Rooms on the first floor include offices, parlors, a heritage room, a meeting room, a dining room, a kitchen, a small laundry room, a multi-cultural room, a library and an auditorium, which is located in the west wing.

The corridors within the building provide access to various rooms located around the building. Some of the corridors are finished with terrazzo flooring. The terrazzo is typically gray in color with a dark green border. Other corridors are finished with wood strip flooring. Corridor walls are painted plaster. The doors along the corridors are wood paneled doors with glass lite transom panels.

The width and locations of the corridors also vary within each wing of the building. The corridors in the south wing of the building are located in the center of the wing and are about 8' wide. The corridors in the east wing of the building are also centered in the wings but are 8 feet wide on the first floor and 6 feet wide on floors 2, 3 and 4. The corridors in the north wing of the building are located to the south of the center and vary from approximately 5'6" to 6'. The corridors of the west wing of the building are located in the center of the wing and are approximately 6' wide.

The chapel in the Motherhouse is the most significant space in the building. The original design, materials and features of the chapel are largely intact and include terrazzo floors, suspended light fixtures and a gallery on the third floor. The primary access to the chapel is from the ornamental stair leading from the foyer. The chapel has a traditional gothic plan. The nave is aligned along a north-south axis and has a traditional aisle with fixed wooden pews. The plan of the chapel is rectangular with a transept at the end.

There are three rib vaults on each side of the nave. Brick masonry walls on the exterior located within the courtyard spaces buttress the vaults. The intersecting transepts that leads to the chancel area have large east and west windows with three long windows topped by gothic detail. These windows were once glazed with stained glass. A balcony and choir loft is located at the third floor within the south nave area. The balcony is constructed with wood paneling with ornate circular detail. At the south end of the chapel above the rear balcony is a faux window with stone tracery that concealed the original pipes of the organ and provided ventilation to the space. The pipes for the organ have been removed. There are 10 metal lantern style light fixtures suspended from the arches at the near mid point of the stone arches. Several ceiling fans are attached at the top of the arches.

The chancel is raised three steps above the main level. The main altar was located within a three sided apse structure at north end of the chapel. Two side altars were constructed east and west of the chancel. Two large windows with gothic heads and stone tracery are located in the east and west walls of the apse. The flooring in the aisle is a terrazzo with a primary gray color with green border. Designs in the terrazzo feature red and mustard colored geometric shapes. The original white wood pews are attached to the floor.

Since the Sisters of St. Francis closed the St. Mary of the Angels Motherhouse, the chapel has lost some of its original historic elements. The stained glass windows were removed and replaced with clear glass. The main altar of the chapel and statuary was removed. Other items removed include the marble railing at the chancel and the pipe organ at the south end of the chapel at the fourth floor.

In the later years of the Motherhouse occupancy the northeast section of the first floor, north of the auditorium and along the north wing, was devoted to facilities for St. Clare Junior College, a two-year college for young women. Faculty offices faced the courtyard, while the north-facing rooms functioned as classrooms and the college library.

The auditorium is located at the west wing of the building approximately 4' 6" below the main first floor level. An ornamental stair provides access to the auditorium from the auditorium entrance door located on the south side of the building. The stair discharges into a lobby area that leads to the auditorium space. A second stair in the same area also provides direct access between the auditorium and first floor level. The auditorium ceiling is plastered and features dropped beams. The proscenium arch constructed at the front of the stage features wood columns with and ornamental plaster corner detail. The back stage area is finished with wood paneling and paneled doors.

Large windows in the auditorium overlook the west exterior courtyard area to the east and the view to the west of the site. A wooden ramp was constructed later to provide handicapped access to the stage level and the corridors and rooms in the north wing.

Two large meeting rooms are located at the south end of the auditorium. One is accessed from the lobby area. A third room located off the auditorium was used for serving small meals following auditorium events. A set of wooden steps provides access from the kitchen area to an exterior fenced in service area.

The dining room is approximately 18" below the main first floor level. The dining room is accessed from two doorways located at the corners of the south end of the space. A row of cast iron columns is located down the center of the room. These columns support the loads from the chapel area above. There are also two large columns in the east and west sides of the space which support the main columns where the nave and transepts intersect in the chapel. Built-in cabinets for storage of dinnerware and utensils are locate in the north corners of the room.

Dormitory rooms facing in to the courtyards and outward occupy over half the building area on the second through fourth floors. Originally designed as a home for the aged and infirm as well as a residence for the sisters of the Order, the three sides of the east courtyard were designated as almost entirely residential space, while the larger meeting rooms, classrooms and principal spaces were concentrated at the center and west sections of the building. The third floor east wing held the infirmary for sisters. A typical dormitory room was roughly 8' by 15' with a single closet; there are 165 such rooms on floors 2-4. The peak occupancy was roughly 200-250 sisters.

The two most notable stairs are the decorative stairs leading to the Chapel and Auditorium from their respective entrances. The Chapel Stair is open to the two-story lobby and features turned wood balusters and handrail. The Auditorium Stair features winders leading from the Southwest Entrance lobby down six risers to the vestibule room at the south end of the auditorium. This stair has a simple steel handrail and balusters. In addition there are four main stairways serving the full four floors (one near each corner) and four stairways serving the central north-south wing, Dining Hall and Chapel. These eight stairways are all constructed of steel and concrete, with similar detailing. The railing and support systems along the open side of the stairs include vertical balusters constructed of steel; handrails are wood. Newel posts at floors and landings are metal and have some detail at the top. Wall railings are typically constructed of wood with metal wall brackets. There is a single utilitarian stair leading from the main kitchen to the basement area and the tunnel to the Boiler House; in addition the stair in the northeast corner of the building extends to the basement level and the second tunnel.

Located at the entrance to the complex on Mill Street, the one-story brick gatehouse resembles a small chapel. This one-room gable-roofed structure is of brick with limestone trim at the single north end door, at the windows, and at the parapet walls. The roof is of slate shingles. A pair of brick piers with stone trim topped by urns flanks the entrance drive.

North of the Motherhouse building is a complex of outbuildings. These include the boiler house (ca. 1928) and three garages. The design and materials of these utilitarian buildings complement the convent.

The two-story flat-roofed square-plan brick boiler house has simple brick buttresses with stone caps, which divide the elevations into bays. The first-story windows appear to be the original one-over-one double-hung wood sash with a transom above. A clay tile smokestack is attached to the boiler house at the northwest corner. A one-story flat-roofed block building is attached to the west wall of this building. A laundry area was also located within the building, and was connected to the convent by an underground tunnel.

North of the boiler house is the remains of an L-plan frame garage with gable roof, which was reportedly was sided, in wide wood clapboards. All that remains of the building is a concrete slab and foundation. Across the driveway, to the east, is a long one-story brick garage with a slate-shingled gable roof with cross-gables located at the ends.

West of the Motherhouse building and the east of Ellicott Creek are two wood frame structures. A path from the Motherhouse leads through the arbor and gazebo structures to Ellicott Creek. The buildings are currently in fair condition and were probably not original structures. The Gazebo is circular in plan and features large wood columns and trellis roof structure for plantings. The plantings are overgrown and have caused structural damage to the overhead wooden trellis. The arbor building is smaller in size and rectangular in plan. The arbor has two benches either side of the structure. A trellis provides cover over the arbor area.

A stone shrine structure is located south east of the Motherhouse. The structure is circular in plan and is constructed of fieldstone. A portal in the structure facing the Motherhouse building has a circular arch supported by steel culvert piping. A statue of St. Teresa, now removed, was placed on stone altar in the grotto. The date is unknown.

Near the bank of Ellicott Creek is what remains of a former pump house building that was once used to provide water to the Motherhouse complex. The building is rectangular in plan and is approximately 10' wide x 15' long. The exterior is constructed of brick similar to the material used in the Motherhouse building. The roof is a mansard style with wooden shingles. The building is in poor repair with much of the roof structure open and rotten.

The pump house is located along the banks of Ellicott Creek. Views of the creek and the park-like setting of the adjacent golf course across the creek create a peaceful setting for people from the Motherhouse and the Amherst State Park area.