The Maloney House (279 Caledonia Street) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. Portions of the content on this web page were adapted from a copy of the original nomination document. [1]
Description
The Maloney House (279 Caledonia Street), one of Lockport's extant nineteenth-century stone residences, is located in a residential district located on the city's north side. The neighborhood surrounding the house consists of modest wood frames dating from 1850 to 1910. The Maloney House is located on a 60-feet wide by 165-feet deep lot on the north side of Caledonia Street, west of Prospect Street. An asphalt drive extends from the street, running along the west side of the house, to a noncontributing, front-gable, two-car wood-frame garage located behind the house.
Constructed in the 1850s, the Maloney House is a three-bay, one-and-one-half-story, vernacular, front-gable single-family dwelling constructed of Gasport Limestone. The Maloney House consists of a simple rectangular gable-roof block. The main facade is constructed of dressed Gasport Limestone laid in regular-course ashlar. Secondary facades are constructed of uncoursed rubble covered by tuckpointing. Tuckpointing, a popular nineteenth-century masonry surface finish, was intended to simulate the appearance of tooled ashlar. The rubble stone surface of the Maloney House's rear and side walls is covered with stopping. A narrow bead of mortar is applied to the stopping in a random coursed ashlar pattern, independent of the wall's actual coursing. Much of the tuckpointed finish has been removed by weathering and the growth of ivy. The corners of the building are reinforced with large sawed-finish quoins. Exterior wall openings incorporate dressed stone lintels and sills that are currently painted.
The Maloney House's south-facing street facade has a simple three-bay arrangement. The two second-floor window openings are placed symmetrically about the center of the facade. The main entrance door is located at the east side of the front facade. The house's fenestration consists of uniformly sized, tall, narrow wood six-over-six double-hung windows.
The gently sloped pitched roof incorporates broad projecting eaves with a narrow wood frieze. The eaves and frieze are clad with aluminum.
A noncontributing one-and-one-half-story wood frame wing dating from the second quarter of the twentieth century is attached to the northeast rear corner of the house. The wing has been altered by late twentieth-century fenestration changes and vinyl siding.
The Maloney House has a simple interior plan arranged around the open stair located at the southeast corner of the house. The stair incorporates darkly stained natural finish trim, turned balusters and an octagonal newel post. The interior of the Maloney House retains its historic configuration although it has been altered to provide modern kitchen and bath facilities. The house retains its nineteenth century trim, plaster wall finishes, casings and two-panel doors.
Significance
The Maloney House (279 Caledonia Street) is significant under National Register Criterion C as an intact example of nineteenth-century stone architecture in Lockport, New York. The Maloney House is associated with the historic context "The History of Stone Architecture in Lockport: 1821-1909" which is fully described in The Stone Buildings of Lockport, New York Multiple Property Documentation Form. The Maloney House is representative of the modest scale and use of readily available native stone that typified the city's domestic vernacular stone architecture between 1830 and 1860. The Maloney House represents the Gasport Limestone-Ashlar primary facade/uncoursed rubble secondary facades type of domestic architecture.
History
Lockport developed directly as a result of the creation of the Erie Canal. Prior to creation of the canal, there was no settlement in the immediate area of the present town. As a consequence of the canal survey, the area of present day Lockport was selected as the easiest location to cross the Niagara escarpment. The identification of the final canal route created a land rush in the area in the late 1810s and early 1820s. The development of the canal and the ensuing commerce and industry it spawned resulted in Lockport's first period of significant growth.
The area now occupied by the Maloney House was subdivided into residential lots between 1845 and 1851. As was common with land located in the northwest quadrant of Lockport, the parcel at 279 Caledonia was transferred many times during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The Enlarged and Complete Map of the Village of Lockport drawn by Jesse Haines in 1851 indicates that the current site of the Maloney House was part of a large property owned by Mike Carroll of 17 Prospect Street. The map, which shows the outline of buildings throughout the village, does not show any structure at the site of the Maloney House. Carroll's property occupied the corner of Caledonia and Prospect Streets and included Lot 59 on Caledonia Street and Lots 17, 18 and 19 on Prospect Street. Carroll was a lumber dealer whose business was located at 2 Lock Street.
The actual date of the construction of the Maloney House is unclear. In 1860, city directories indicate Patrick Maloney, a stone mason, was living at 24 (later renumbered as 279) Caledonia Street. Maloney's father, John F. Maloney, an Irish immigrant (1804-1860), lived at 18 Prospect Street. Both men were stone masons and both resided on lots owned by Philip Carroll.
Patrick Maloney, who was born in 1828, died in 1906 and is buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery at the north edge of the City of Lockport. His widow, Catherine Maloney, remained in the home until 1922.
In 1926, the property was deeded to Ross and Sarah Bailey. Mr. Bailey was a quarryman who after 1920 worked for the Western Block Company.
Architectural Design
The Maloney House is an example of the simple, modest stone houses constructed by the village's working and middle-class families during the third quarter of the nineteenth century. The house's simple rectangular block massing, front-gable orientation, and three bay/side entrance facade are typical characteristics of Lockport's domestic architecture during the period.
The Maloney House displays masonry techniques typical in Lockport during the period including the use of dressed lintels and sills, massive quoins and the use of quarry-face stone. The street facade displays more reined masonry work than the other facades. The front of the Maloney House is laid in regular coursed quarry-face ashlar while the secondary facades are constructed of uncoursed rubble with a tuckpointed surface treatment. Tuckpointing, a popular nineteenth-century masonry surface finish, was intended to simulate the appearance of tooled ashlar. The rubble stone surface of the Maloney House's rear and side walls is covered with brownish-red tinted stopping. A narrow bead of mortar is applied to the stopping in a random coursed ashlar pattern, independent of the wall's actual coursing. Much of the tuckpointed finish has been removed by weathering.
Although the Maloney House's massing and fenestration recall local vernacular domestic design of the 1830s, the open eaves, back banded interior casings and octagonal stair newel suggest a date closer to mid century. The Maloney House's small scale, simple design and detail, and use of stone masonry are typical of the working-class residences constructed throughout the north side of Lockport between 1830 and 1860.
The Maloney House is a significant survivor of the modest working class cottages that were built throughout the northern half of Lockport in the nineteenth century. Today, most of these houses are demolished; suffering from deterioration; or their architectural integrity has been severely compromised by fenestration changes, the application of modern manufactured claddings and other renovations. Despite twentieth-century alterations, the Maloney House remains an excellent example of Lockport's nineteenth century domestic stone construction.
References
(See Stone Buildings of Lockport, NY Multiple Property Documentation Form.)
Clipping and Obituary Files of the Niagara County Historian
Abstract of Title for 279 Caledonia Street, Lockport, Niagara County, New York.
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
Caledonia Street