H. H. Little - Table of Contents
H. H. Little - A Short Biography
By Alan Gerstman
TEXT Beneath Illustrations
869 Delaware Ave. |
869 Delaware Ave. - Detail |
869 Delaware Ave. - Detail |
|
54 Norwood Ave. |
90 Norwood Ave. |
90 Norwood Ave. - Detail |
90 Norwood Ave. - Detail |
100 Norwood Ave. |
100 Norwood Ave. - Detail |
100 Norwood Ave. - Detail |
242 Norwood Ave. |
Foster House, 3 St. John's Place |
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242 Norwood Ave. - Detail |
Burger-Little Mausoleum, Forest Lawn |
Burgess-Little Mausoleum, Forest Lawn - Detail |
H. H. (Henry Harrison) Little was a prominent Buffalo architect who practiced from 1874 until his death in 1917. There are few known facts about his early life.
He was probably born in Lancaster, New York about 1848. He spent some years in Detroit before returning to Buffalo about 1874, when he apprenticed with C.K. Porter, one of Buffalo's distinguished mid-19th century architects.
In 1878 Little joined in a partnership with Eugene L. Holmes, an already established architect. The firm designed commercial, institutional and residential buildings. Their largest commission was the Fitch Accident Hospital (1881), a charitable emergency hospital at the south-west corner of Seneca and Michigan Streets. During its four years' existence the partnership designed a number of mansions on North Street.
In 1882 Little struck out on his own, opening a practice at 31 White's Building. He maintained this office through the remainder of his career. Little's practice relied on commercial and institutional clients. He also designed a significant number of houses, frequently for his commercial clients. Among his most famous clients were Denton Cottier and Daniels, for whom he designed a store at the comer of Main and Swan streets. This was the forerunner to that venerable company's long-time headquarters on Court Street.
Lost buildings
- Other now lost buildings included many wholesale and retail businesses throughout downtown Buffalo and the area now known as the Cobblestone District, much of which has been lost to urban renewal of the 1960's and 1970's.
- One of Little's first major independent commissions was the Niagara University Medical College (1884) at 295 Ellicott Street.
- During 1885 and 1886 he served as supervising architect of the Buffalo Post Office.
- He also designed the now demolished City Morgue (1886) on the Terrace
- High schools for the City of Olean and the Village of Silver Creek, New York.
Extant Buildings
- 54 Norwood Avenue was Little's own home that he designed.
- His inventive Red Jacket Apartments (1894), at the southwest comer of Main and Allen Streets, is an example of Little's commercial work
- Little designed additions to Public School 15 at Oak and Carlton Streets (1884) and Public School 46 (1888) at the comer of Virginia Street and South Elmwood Avenue. This school stands as the City's oldest school building in continuous use.
- PHOTOS ABOVE: 869 Delaware Avenue (W.W. Sloan Residence). This is the largest of the remaining Little designed houses. It was designed for William W. Sloan, treasurer of the Buffalo General Electric Company. Sloan also owned a malt company at 698 Carroll Street.
- PHOTOS ABOVE: 90 Norwood Avenue (Behn Residence). This large two family house was built before 1898 for F. Behn and Carl Behn of the Buffalo Refrigeration Company. Note the unusual length of the house and the repeat of fenestration patterns on the first and second floors, indicating identical floor plans for each flat.
- PHOTOS ABOVE: 100 Norwood Avenue (Kronenberg Residence) Built in 1894 for John L. Kronenberg, secretary and treasurer of Machwirth Bros., Co., a roofing and metalworks manufacturer. The carved shells, bays, and Rococo fantasies reflect in wood the decorative themes carried out in terra-cotta and brick on the Red Jacket Apartments .
- PHOTOS ABOVE: 242 Norwood Avenue (Thos. Jones Residence). This 1894 house displays the typical massing and multiple gables of the late Queen Anne. The flat-roofed veranda with classically ordered columns reflects the Beaux Arts style which was popularized by Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.
- 3 St. John's Place (Dr. H.A. Forster Residence). This large brick house, built for Dr. Hubbard A. Forster, was one of Little's favorite designs. He always included it, with the W.W. Sloan house, in promotional literature for his firm.
Politics
Little was a founding member of the Cleveland Democracy, a reform political club which arose to back the presidential bid of Grover Cleveland in 1884. Elected Alderman from the 4th Ward in November 1885, Little served one term ( 1886 -1887), but did not stand for re-election. He remained active in Democratic politics in the city, nonetheless.
He was a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the Buffalo Institute of Architects.
Memorial
Little died in 1917. He is buried with his wife, Anna Burger Little, and her parents, the Rev. Otto and Marie Elwert Burger, in the Burger-Little Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery (PHOTOS ABOVE).