This Victorian mansion, with its brick exterior and mansard roof, was designed by well-known 19th century Buffalo architect Cyrus K. Porter and built in 1876 as a private home for Robert B. Adam. Adam came from Scotland in 1857 and a decade later started the Adam, Meldrum & Anderson department store.

The Buffalo City Directories list Adam living here from at least 1878-1906.

A 1989 drawing by Lawrence McIntyre depicts the house with a small porch in front of the front entrance. McIntyre writes, "The mansion was a private residence until about 1920, when it became the Johnson and Wilkins Funeral Home." Apparently that's when the porch was enlarged and expanded across the entire front of the house. The (1920's?) photo below clearly shows the expanded porch.

McIntyre also writes that the building was converted to 6,600 square feet of office space by David W. Rumsey, president of Rumsey Real Estate, Inc., about 1985. 

See also:

• Robert B. Adam
• Cyrus K. Porter: Plymouth Methodist Church/Karpales Library
• Porter & Watkins: Engine 2, Ladder 9
• 591 Delaware Also owned by TRM Architect and scheduled for restoration after 2003

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Special thanks to TRM Architect  (Oct. 2012) for their cooperation and assistance.

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Color photos and their arrangement © 2003 Chuck LaChiusa
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