To spot the William Dorsheimer House, just look for the impressive red-brick building with a slate-covered mansard roof and gray sandstone stripes stretching across its bold facade-it’s the one with three levels and big dormer windows popping out from the top floor, right on Delaware Avenue.
Now, let’s step back in time and imagine you’re standing on this very spot on a crisp morning in 1868. Horses clatter down the street, and here stands William Dorsheimer’s brand-new home, freshly built by a young architect who-believe it or not-would go on to become a superstar in the world of design: Henry Hobson Richardson. The house might seem simple at first glance with its neat square lines, but look closer; there’s a parade of carved stone rosettes and triglyphs-a little party of patterns, if you will-running along those sandstone bands. It’s like the bricks are wearing a French-inspired suit, right after the Civil War, all stylish and confident.
William Dorsheimer himself was a big deal-a sharp lawyer, eventually Lieutenant Governor of New York, and a master of throwing a good party. Picture the halls echoing with political debates and laughter as Buffalo’s elite gathered under that graceful slate roof. But here’s the plot twist: this house changed the fate of architecture in Buffalo. Richardson’s work here opened up doors for him across the city and beyond, leading to grand commissions like the Buffalo State Hospital, and even all the way to the New York State Capitol.
Fast forward to today, and you’ll find the inside looks quite different-remodeled for modern business, but the main curving staircase still sweeps up from the north entrance, a secret passageway to the building’s storied past. So, as you stand here, you’re not just looking at a brick building. You’re gazing at a launching pad for artistic innovation and some good old-fashioned Buffalo ambition-a place where history and creativity shook hands and decided to stick around. Pretty inspiring, right? Or at least more interesting than your average house, unless your house hosted state governors and famous architects on the regular!
